NV Core

The signal generation and analysis solution for almost any color center experiment

Nitrogen Vacancy experiments are about the optical setup, the pulse sequences, the microwave antenna, the sensor performance. But generating the laser and microwave signals and correlating the detector signal to this input takes up most of the development time and budget. What if you could run NV experiments with a single instrument?


That is exactly what the NV Core is, an all-in-one solution that frees you from reinventing the wheel and lets you focus on doing the physics, not the boiler-plate engineering.

Applications

The NV core facilitates fundamental scientific research in NV and color centres. The fully integrated solution gets your setup running fast, the extended capabilities allow you to perform arbitrary complex experiments.


It can also be a platform to build devices for applications: high-sensitivity magnetometers, single photon sources or quantum computing demonstrations. Prototype with the NV core, then use the OEM components for your product.


Regardless of your application, the software suite gets you data fast and reliably, acting either as experimental control or, via the API, as a building block.

What's in the box

Components and specifications

Hardware

Digital is the future. The combination of FPGA and RF DAC create signals with large instantaneous bandwidth and large spurious free dynamic range over a large range of frequencies.

Highlights:

  • 1 GS/s, 16 bit I/Q arbitrary waveforms (2 GS/s in Q4 2026)
  • 1 MHz to 5.5 GHz frequency range (10 GHz in Q4 2026) at 2 W saturated output
  • 40 dBc SFDR, no LO leakage or sidebands/harmonics
  • LO hopping with 264 ns/1 μs minimum time between successive LO hops
  • Two channel 125 MS/s 16-bit ADC for detector signal
  • Digital signal processing for reduced processor load and improved sensitivity
  • Frequency tracking of ODMR resonances
  • FM Lock-in available (multifrequency in Q4 2026)

Software

Flexible and powerful software does not imply a steep learning curve. QS3 software suite highlights:

  • Standard experiments have dedicated widgets: ODMR, Rabi, Ramsey, Echo, T1
  • Pulse sequence designer for creating arbitrary pulsed measurements
  • Scripting interface for arbitrary parameter sweeps with visualization
  • Extendable backends for stage control and other instruments
  • API and digital I/O for interfacing available

Lasers and detectors

Excitation options:

  • QZabre laser driver with 5 mW or 50 mW laser diode at standard diode wavelengths. Rise times of 10 ns and three laser levels for pulsed measurements with varying power
  • Toptica iBeam smart or Cobolt 06-01 lasers

Detection options:

  • Laser Components Count modules
  • QZabre Avalanche Photodiodes


The NV Core is also available without detector or laser. TTL and analog signals are available as inputs and outputs for excitation and detection.