STAGE Spin-Mechanics with Levitating Diamonds

Experiments on trapping particles containing atoms with a spin degree of freedom have
shown remarkable progress in recent years [1].
In our team, we have developed a micro-electrostatic trap for diamond particles containing
defects whose spin can be coherently polarized and manipulated with microwaves (see fig. 1).
These defects are molecular systems consisting in the association of a nitrogen atom and a
vacancy (NV center). Thanks to a coupling mechanism of the spin of the NV centers in the
diamond with the oscillation of the diamond in the trap, we have been able to demonstrate an
efficient cooling mechanism of the angular motion of the latter [2].
It is in fact theoretically possible to control this motion until it is cooled to the ground state of
the harmonic oscillator. The objective of the internship (and later of the thesis) will be to
levitate ultra-pure diamond particles and employ instead the coupling of the motion to
nuclear spins to move towards this regime.
The perspectives offered by this type of experiments range from the detection of weak
magnetic fields to the observation of quantum effects on macroscopic objects.


[1] Perdriat M. et al. " Spin-mechanics with NV centers and trapped particles" Micromachines(2021): https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/12/6/651
[2] Delord T. et al. “spin-cooling of the motion of a trapped diamond”, Nature 580 (7801),56-59