High-resolution spectroscopy of single NV defects coupled with nearby 13C nuclear spins in diamond

We report a systematic study of the hyperfine interaction between the electron spin of a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) defect in diamond and nearby ¹³C nuclear spins, by using pulsed electron-spin resonance spectroscopy. We isolate a set of discrete values of the hyperfine coupling strength ranging from 14 MHz to 400 kHz and corresponding to ¹³C nuclear spins placed at different lattice sites of the diamond matrix. For each lattice site, the hyperfine interaction is further investigated through nuclear-spin polarization measurements and by studying the magnetic field dependence of the hyperfine splitting. This work provides information that is relevant for the development of nuclear-spin-based quantum register in diamond.