A robust laser cavity platform for NV-diamond singlet infrared absorption magnetometry
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Quantum Physics arXiv:2604.18937 (quant-ph) [Submitted on 21 Apr 2026] Title:A robust laser cavity platform for NV-diamond singlet infrared absorption magnetometry Authors:Shao Qi Lim, Alexander A. Wood, Brett C. Johnson, Qiang Sun, Jan Jeske, Hiroshi Abe, Takeshi Ohshima, David J. Ottaway, Heike Ebendorff-Heidepriem, Robert E. Scholten, Andrew D. Greentree, Brant C. Gibson View a PDF of the paper titled A robust laser cavity platform for NV-diamond singlet infrared absorption magnetometry, by Shao Qi Lim and 11 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract:The negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy center (NV$^-$) in diamond is a versatile platform for quantum magnetometry under ambient conditions. Recently, laser threshold magnetometry (LTM) has been proposed as a means to significantly enhance the sensitivity of NV-based magnetometers by incorporating a diamond hosting NV$^-$ centers within a laser cavity and operating near threshold. While demonstrations have validated the concept, practical implementations remain technically demanding, requiring high pump powers and precise alignment of free-space cavities. It remains unclear whether the benefits of operating near threshold will outpace increased laser noise. In this work, we integrate an NV-diamond with a high NV$^-$ content into a compact external cavity diode laser and demonstrate singlet infrared absorption optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR). The system exhibits exceptional threshold current stability, enabling ODMR using the threshold current as the read-out parameter. We report a five-fold enhancement in the ODMR contrast by operating near threshold. The best magnetic field sensitivity of $7.6~\mathrm{nT/\sqrt{Hz}}$ (DC-500 Hz) is achieved well above threshold, while near threshold sensitivity is limited by increased probe laser noise. These results establish a compact and mechanically robust platform for singlet absorption-based NV$^-$ magnetometry and highlight key trade-offs between contrast enhancement and laser noise near threshold. Comments: Subjects: Quantum Physics (quant-ph) Cite as: arXiv:2604.18937 [quant-ph] (or arXiv:2604.18937v1 [quant-ph] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2604.18937 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration) Submission history From: Shao Qi Lim PhD [view email] [v1] Tue, 21 Apr 2026 00:23:47 UTC (823 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View a PDF of the paper titled A robust laser cavity platform for NV-diamond singlet infrared absorption magnetometry, by Shao Qi Lim and 11 other authorsView PDFHTML (experimental)TeX Source view license Current browse context: quant-ph new | recent | 2026-04 References & Citations INSPIRE HEP NASA ADSGoogle Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Loading... BibTeX formatted citation × loading... Data provided by: Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer (What is the Explorer?) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers (What is Connected Papers?) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps (What is Litmaps?) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations (What are Smart Citations?) Code, Data, Media Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article alphaXiv Toggle alphaXiv (What is alphaXiv?) Links to Code Toggle CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers (What is CatalyzeX?) DagsHub Toggle DagsHub (What is DagsHub?) GotitPub Toggle Gotit.pub (What is GotitPub?) Huggingface Toggle Hugging Face (What is Huggingface?) ScienceCast Toggle ScienceCast (What is ScienceCast?) Demos Demos Replicate Toggle Replicate (What is Replicate?) Spaces Toggle Hugging Face Spaces (What is Spaces?) Spaces Toggle TXYZ.AI (What is TXYZ.AI?) Related Papers Recommenders and Search Tools Link to Influence Flower Influence Flower (What are Influence Flowers?) Core recommender toggle CORE Recommender (What is CORE?) Author Venue Institution Topic About arXivLabs arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs. Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax (What is MathJax?)