Robust Noise Suppression and Quantum Sensing by Continuous Phased Dynamical Decoupling

Abstract

We propose and demonstrate experimentally continuous phased dynamical decoupling (CPDD), where we apply a continuous field with discrete phase changes for quantum sensing and robust compensation of environmental and amplitude noise. CPDD does not use short pulses, making it particularly suitable for experiments with limited driving power or nuclear magnetic resonance at high magnetic fields. It requires control of the timing of the phase changes, offering much greater precision than the Rabi frequency control needed in standard continuous sensing schemes. We successfully apply our method to nanoscale nuclear magnetic resonance and combine it with quantum heterodyne detection, achieving microhertz uncertainty in the estimated signal frequency for a 120 s measurement. Our Letter expands significantly the applicability of dynamical decoupling and opens the door for a wide range of experiments, e.g., in nitrogen-vacancy centers, trapped ions, or trapped atoms.

The main text includes 4 figures, 6 pages. The supplemental material includes 6 more figures and provides more details on the theory, numerical simulation, as well as additional experimental results