Probabilistic magnetometry with two-spin system in diamond

Abstract: Solid-state magnetometers like the Nitrogen-Vacancy center in diamond have been of paramount importance for the development of quantum sensing with nanoscale spatial resolution. The basic protocol is a Ramsey sequence, that imprints an external static magnetic field into phase of the quantum sensor, which is subsequently readout. In this work we show that the hyperfine coupling between the Nitrogen-Vacancy and a nearby Carbon-13 can be used to set a post-selection protocol that leads to an enhancement of the sensitivity under realistic experimental conditions. We found that for an isotopically purified sample the detection of weak magnetic fields in the $\mu$T range can be achieved with a sensitivity of few nTHz$^{-1/2}$ at cryogenic temperature ($4$ K), and $0.1$ $\mu$THz$^{-1/2}$ at room temperature.