Apparatus and method for hypersensitivity detection of magnetic field

1. A system for magnetic detection, comprising:

a nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers;

a radio frequency (RF) excitation source configured to provide RF excitation to the NV diamond material;

an optical excitation source configured to provide optical excitation to the NV diamond material;

an optical detector configured to receive an optical signal emitted by the NV diamond material, wherein the optical signal is based on hyperfine states of the NV diamond material; and

a controller configured to detect a gradient of the optical signal based on the hyperfine states emitted by the NV diamond material.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to detect a point of the largest gradient of the optical signal based on the hyperfine states.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

detect a movement of the gradient of the optical signal based on the hyperfine states emitted by the NV diamond material; and

compute a total incident magnetic field at the NV diamond material based on the movement of the gradient.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the RF excitation source is configured to provide the RF excitation at a power ranging from about 1 to about 10 W/mm 2 .

5. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a magnetic field generator configured to generate a bias magnetic field, wherein the controller is further configured to detect a plurality of gradients of the optical signal based on the hyperfine states for a plurality of NV center orientations.

6. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a magnetic field generator configured to generate a magnetic field, wherein the controller is further configured to control the magnetic field generator to generate a bias magnetic field and to detect a plurality of gradients of the optical signal based on the hyperfine states for a plurality of NV center orientations.

7. A system for magnetic detection, comprising:

a nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers;

means for providing a radio frequency excitation to the NV diamond material;

means for providing optical excitation to the NV diamond material;

means for receiving an optical signal emitted by the NV diamond material, wherein the optical signal is based on hyperfine states of the NV diamond material; and

means for detecting a gradient of the optical signal based on the hyperfine states emitted by the NV diamond material.

8. The system for magnetic detection of claim 7 , wherein the means for detecting a gradient of the optical signal based on the hyperfine states detects a point of the largest gradient of the optical signal.

9. The system for magnetic detection of claim 7 , further comprising means for generating a bias magnetic field, and wherein the means for detecting a gradient of the optical signal based on the hyperfine states detects a plurality of gradients of the optical signal for a plurality of NV center orientations.

10. A method for increasing measurement sensitivity of a magnetic detection system having a nitrogen vacancy (NV) diamond material comprising a plurality of NV centers, comprising:

applying RF excitation to the NV diamond material;

applying optical excitation to the NV diamond material;

measuring an optical signal emitted by the NV diamond material, wherein the optical signal emitted by the NV diamond is based on hyperfine states of the NV diamond material; and

detecting a gradient of the optical signal based on the hyperfine states emitted by the NV diamond material.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

detecting a movement of the gradient of the optical signal based on the hyperfine states emitted by the NV diamond material; and

computing a total incident magnetic field at the NV diamond material based on the movement of the gradient.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the detected gradient is a point of the largest gradient of the optical signal based on the hyperfine states.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the RF excitation is applied at a power ranging from about 1 to about 10 W/mm 2 .

14. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

applying a bias magnetic field; and

detecting a plurality of gradients of the optical signal based on the hyperfine states for a plurality of NV center orientations.

15. A system for magnetic detection, comprising:

a magneto-optical defect center material comprising a plurality of magneto-optical defect centers;

a radio frequency (RF) excitation source configured to provide RF excitation to the magneto-optical defect center material;

an optical excitation source configured to provide optical excitation to the magneto-optical defect center material;

an optical detector configured to receive an optical signal emitted by the magneto-optical defect center material, wherein the optical signal is based on hyperfine states of the magneto-optical defect center material; and

a controller configured to detect a gradient of the optical signal based on the hyperfine states emitted by the magneto-optical defect center material.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the controller is configured to detect a point of the largest gradient of the optical signal based on the hyperfine states.

17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

detect a movement of the gradient of the optical signal based on the hyperfine states emitted by the magneto-optical defect center material; and

compute a total incident magnetic field at the magneto-optical defect center material based on the movement of the gradient.

18. The system of claim 15 , wherein the RF excitation source is configured to provide the RF excitation at a power ranging from about 1 to about 10 W/mm 2 .

19. The system of claim 15 , further comprising a magnetic field generator configured to generate a bias magnetic field, wherein the controller is further configured to detect a plurality of gradients of the optical signal based on the hyperfine states for a plurality of magneto-optical defect center orientations.

20. The system of claim 15 , further comprising a magnetic field generator configured to generate a magnetic field, wherein the controller is further configured to control the magnetic field generator to generate a bias magnetic field and to detect a plurality of gradients of the optical signal based on the hyperfine states for a plurality of magneto-optical defect center orientations.

21. A method for increasing measurement sensitivity of a magnetic detection system having a magneto-optical defect center material comprising a plurality of magneto-optical defect centers, comprising:

applying RF excitation to the magneto-optical defect center material;

applying optical excitation to the magneto-optical defect center material;

measuring an optical signal emitted by the magneto-optical defect center material, wherein the optical signal emitted by the magneto-optical defect center material is based on hyperfine states of the magneto-optical defect center material; and

detecting a gradient of the optical signal based on the hyperfine states emitted by the magneto-optical defect center material.