Quantum enhanced radio detection and ranging with solid spins

Nat. Commun. 14, 1288 (2023) · DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36929-8

License: CC BY 4.0.

Abstract

The accurate radio frequency (RF) ranging and localizing of objects has benefited the researches including autonomous driving, the Internet of Things, and manufacturing. Quantum receivers have been proposed to detect the radio signal with ability that can outperform conventional measurement. As one of the most promising candidates, solid spin shows superior robustness, high spatial resolution and miniaturization. However, challenges arise from the moderate response to a high frequency RF signal. Here, by exploiting the coherent interaction between quantum sensor and RF field, we demonstrate quantum enhanced radio detection and ranging. The RF magnetic sensitivity is improved by three orders to 21 pT/$\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$, based on nanoscale quantum sensing and RF focusing. Further enhancing the response of spins to the target’s position through multi-photon excitation, a ranging accuracy of 16 $\mu$m is realized with a GHz RF signal. The results pave the way for exploring quantum enhanced radar and communications with solid spins.

Figures

14 panels with data across 3 figures. Each panel page shows the plot, its columns and its files; each data.csv begins with a header naming the paper, the panel, the source, the license and the provenance route.

Fig. 1

Illustrative figure, no extractable data. Shown in the paper PDF.

Fig. 2

• panel (a): ODMR spectrum of the NV centre ensemble: fluorescence $I$ (arb. units) against RF frequency (GHz). Circles are the experimental results and the solid line is the Lorentz fit; the dashed vertical line marks 2.885 GHz, between the two dips labelled $\omega_-$ and $\omega_+$. data.csv
• panel (b): Rabi oscillation of the NV centre ensemble: fluorescence $I$ (arb. units) against RF duration $t_{\mathrm{RF}}$ (ns). Circles with error bars (standard error) are the experiments, the solid curve is a damped-sine fit to them, and the dashed curve is the expectation for a perfect spin transition. The print draws all three about 1% higher. data.csv
• panel (d): Map of the RF field around the centre of the nanowire-bowtie antenna, imaged through the NV fluorescence under continuous-wave RF and laser excitation: normalized fluorescence on a pixel grid (column, row; row 0 at the top). The print shows the same scan as $B_{\mathrm{loc}}$ on a Min to Max colour bar with a 5 $\mu$m scale bar. data.csv
• panel (e): Real-time measurement of RF amplitude modulation: fluorescence $I$ (arb. units) against measurement number while the RF amplitude is raised in steps of 0.95 nT. The dashed lines mark the levels the print labels on a right-hand $\Delta B_{\mathrm{RF}}$ (nT) axis (0 to 3.8 nT), drawn here as labelled lines. data.csv

Fig. 3

• panel (b-1): Normalized ranging signal $I/I_0$ against target position $\Delta L$ (mm) for $N = 1$, one of the three stacked plots of panel (b) (top to bottom: $N = 1$, 1.8, 4). Points joined by lines; the dashed vertical line marks $\varphi(L) = (2n+1)\pi$. data.csv
• panel (b-2): Normalized ranging signal $I/I_0$ against target position $\Delta L$ (mm) for $N = 1.8$, one of the three stacked plots of panel (b) (top to bottom: $N = 1$, 1.8, 4). Points joined by lines; the dashed vertical line marks $\varphi(L) = (2n+1)\pi$. The print draws this series 0.25 mm to the left. data.csv
• panel (b-3): Normalized ranging signal $I/I_0$ against target position $\Delta L$ (mm) for $N = 4$, one of the three stacked plots of panel (b) (top to bottom: $N = 1$, 1.8, 4). Points joined by lines; the dashed vertical line marks $\varphi(L) = (2n+1)\pi$. The FWHM marker drawn in the print is not reproduced. data.csv
• panel (c): FWHM (mm) of the ranging signal against the RF $\pi$ pulse number $N$: experimental points with standard-error bars, with the solid $1/N$ and dashed $1/N^{1/2}$ estimates. data.csv
• panel (d-1): Normalized optical response $dI/dL$ (%/mm) against target position $\Delta L$ (mm) for $N = 1$, one of the three stacked plots of panel (d) (top to bottom: $N = 1$, 1.8, 4), deduced from the ranging signal of panel (b) and normalized by $I_0$. Points joined by lines. The printed $N = 1$ curve differs from these values. data.csv
• panel (d-2): Normalized optical response $dI/dL$ (%/mm) against target position $\Delta L$ (mm) for $N = 1.8$, one of the three stacked plots of panel (d) (top to bottom: $N = 1$, 1.8, 4), deduced from the ranging signal of panel (b) and normalized by $I_0$. Points joined by lines. data.csv
• panel (d-3): Normalized optical response $dI/dL$ (%/mm) against target position $\Delta L$ (mm) for $N = 4$, one of the three stacked plots of panel (d) (top to bottom: $N = 1$, 1.8, 4), deduced from the ranging signal of panel (b) and normalized by $I_0$. Points joined by lines. data.csv
• panel (e): Maximum optical response $[dI/dL]_{\mathrm{Max}}$ (%/mm) against the RF $\pi$ pulse number $N$: experimental points (circles, with standard-error bars), with the solid $N$ and dashed $N^{1/2}$ estimates. data.csv

Fig. 4

• panel (a): Time trace of the normalized ranging signal $I/I_0$ against time (s) with $N = 4$, with the RF pulse set for a local maximum of the optical response $dI/dL$. data.csv
• panel (b): Allan deviation of the ranging (mm) against measurement time $t_{\mathrm{m}}$ (s), log-log: circles joined by lines are the experimental results and the dashed line is the shot-noise limit $1/t_{\mathrm{m}}^{1/2}$. data.csv

Fig. 5

Illustrative figure, no extractable data. Shown in the paper PDF.

Cite

Xiang-Dong Chen, En-Hui Wang, Long-Kun Shan, Shao-Chun Zhang, Ce Feng, Yu Zheng, Yang Dong, Guang-Can Guo, Fang-Wen Sun. Quantum enhanced radio detection and ranging with solid spins. Nat. Commun. 14, 1288 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36929-8

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