A highly sensitive diamond NV magnetometer using Ramsey interferometry with a short sensor-to-sample distance

Y Yuta Araki (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, School of Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo 1 , Meguro, Tokyo 152-8552,) T Takeharu Sekiguchi (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, School of Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo 1 , Meguro, Tokyo 152-8552,) Y Yuji Hatano (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, School of Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo 1 , Meguro, Tokyo 152-8552,) N Naota Sekiguchi (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, School of Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo 1 , Meguro, Tokyo 152-8552,) C Chikara Shinei (Research Center for Electronic and Optical Materials, National Institute for Materials Science 2 , Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044,) M Masashi Miyakawa (Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan) T Takashi Taniguchi T Tokuyuki Teraji (Research Center for Electronic and Optical Materials, National Institute for Materials Science 2 , Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044,) H Hiroshi Abe S Shinobu Onoda (Takasaki Institute for Advanced Quantum Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology: QST 5 , Takasaki, Gunma 370-1292,) T Takeshi Ohshima T Takayuki Shibata M Mutsuko Hatano (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo 4 , Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552,) T Takayuki Iwasaki (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo 4 , Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552,)

Abstract

In this study, we developed a diamond quantum magnetometer based on Ramsey interferometry with a short sensor-to-sample distance. Conventional biomagnetic sensors with ensemble nitrogen-vacancy centers using continuous-wave optically detected magnetic resonance and Ramsey methods typically rely on watt-level lasers to achieve high sensitivity, resulting in thermal issues. In contrast, by employing the light-trapping diamond waveguide technique in a high-pressure and high-temperature diamond sample treated with electron beam irradiation, we obtained a high optical power conversion efficiency of 9.5%, enabling us to simultaneously achieve a high sensitivity of 2.93(7) pT/Hz in the 100–400 Hz frequency range and a minimal temperature increase of only approximately 13 K at a low laser power of 210 mW. Using a dry phantom designed to mimic magnetoencephalography signals, we measured a weak magnetic field of 77.7(2) pT without signal averaging at a sensor-to-sample distance of 2.5 mm. This short distance measurement prevents severe spatial signal attenuation, yielding a high signal-to-noise ratio. The development here is crucial for practical biomagnetic applications based on Ramsey interferometry.

Article Details

Volume / Issue Vol. 129, Issue 3
Published July 20, 2026
ISSN 0003-6951
Publisher American Institute of Physics

Journal Info

Applied Physics Letters

American Institute of Physics

ISSN: 0003-6951 Physical Sciences

Authors (14)

Y

Yuta Araki

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, School of Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo 1 , Meguro, Tokyo 152-8552,

T

Takeharu Sekiguchi

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, School of Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo 1 , Meguro, Tokyo 152-8552,

Y

Yuji Hatano

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, School of Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo 1 , Meguro, Tokyo 152-8552,

N

Naota Sekiguchi

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, School of Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo 1 , Meguro, Tokyo 152-8552,

C

Chikara Shinei

Research Center for Electronic and Optical Materials, National Institute for Materials Science 2 , Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044,

M

Masashi Miyakawa

Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan

T

Takashi Taniguchi

T

Tokuyuki Teraji

Research Center for Electronic and Optical Materials, National Institute for Materials Science 2 , Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044,

H

Hiroshi Abe

S

Shinobu Onoda

Takasaki Institute for Advanced Quantum Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology: QST 5 , Takasaki, Gunma 370-1292,

T

Takeshi Ohshima

T

Takayuki Shibata

M

Mutsuko Hatano

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo 4 , Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552,

T

Takayuki Iwasaki

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo 4 , Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552,