Spin ensembles of nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond are emerging as powerful spin-based sensors for magnetic, electric and thermal field imaging with high spatial and temporal resolution. Here we characterize the formation of depth-confined NV center ensembles, activated by electron irradiation in diamond layers grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition with nitrogen co-doping. To do so, we exploit the high magnetic sensitivity of ensembles of NV centers to probe their spin environment as a function of growth and irradiation parameters. We engineer an NV ensemble whose magnetic sensitivity is within a factor of two of the static NV-NV dipolar interaction limit, thus demonstrating a powerful platform for quantum sensing.
@article{arxiv.1901.11519,
title = {Optimizing the formation of depth-confined nitrogen vacancy center spin ensembles in diamond for quantum sensing},
author = {Tim R. Eichhorn and Claire A. McLellan and Ania C. B. Jayich},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1901.11519},
year = {2019}
}