Spin and Orbital Resonance Driven by a Mechanical Resonator

I will describe our experiments to drive spin and orbital resonance of single diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers using the gigahertz-frequency strain oscillations produced within a diamond acoustic resonator. Strain-based coupling between a resonator and a defect center takes advantage of intrinsic and reproducible coupling mechanisms while maintaining compatibility with conventional magnetic and optical techniques, thus providing new functionality for quantum-enhanced sensing and quantum information processing. Using a spin-strain interaction at room temperature, we demonstrate coherent spin control over both double quantum (Δm=±2) and single quantum (Δm=±1) transitions. This mechanically-driven quantum control enables opportunities for quantum sensing and the opportunity to extend spin coherence. At cryogenic temperatures, we use orbital-strain interactions driven by a diamond acoustic resonator to study multi-phonon orbital resonance of a single NV center. Additionally, I’ll describe our efforts to enhance electron-phonon coupling by engineering mechanical resonators with small modal volumes based a semi-confocal acoustic cavity.