Impedance-tuned microwave loop for fast, homogeneous Rabi oscillations of a dense ensemble of NV-diamond electronic spins

Abstract: Obtaining a high Rabi oscillation frequency homogeneously across a spatially-extended population of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center electronic spins in diamond is useful for efficient spin-state manipulation of the NV ensemble and in using NVs to detect ensembles of other spin species. Here, we achieve a high, homogeneous Rabi frequency for a dense NV ensemble by enhancing the microwave magnetic fields in the center region of a diamond-coupled planar metallic loop via systematic engineering that increases the microwave current driving of the loop, while avoiding off-center proximity to the loop that gives strong but inhomogeneous microwave fields. With such enhanced microwave fields at 2.55 GHz, we achieve a 136.3 MHz NV Rabi frequency with 1.5% inhomogeneity over a 40 $\times$ 40 $\mu m^{2}$ diamond area; and use the NV ensemble to detect a ~30-MHz magnetic signal, similar to a nuclear magnetic resonance signal at a tesla-scale bias magnetic field, with Hz-scale spectral resolution.