Gyroscopes based on nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond

We propose solid-state gyroscopes based on ensembles of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV-) centers in diamond. In one scheme, rotation of the NV- symmetry axis will induce Berry phase shifts in the NV- electronic ground-state coherences proportional to the solid angle subtended by the symmetry axis. We estimate a sensitivity in the range of 5 x 10(-3) rad s(-1) Hz(-1/2) in a 1-mm(3) sensor volume using a simple Ramsey sequence. Incorporating dynamical decoupling to suppress dipolar relaxation may yield a sensitivity at the level of 10(-5) rad s(-1) Hz(-1/2). With a modified Ramsey scheme, Berry phase shifts in the N-14 hyperfine sublevels would be employed. The projected sensitivity is in the range of 10(-5) rad s(-1) Hz(-1/2), however, the lower gyromagnetic ratio of N-14 nuclei reduces the sensitivity to magnetic-field noise by several orders of magnitude. Reaching 10(-5) rad s(-1) Hz(-1/2) would represent an order of magnitude improvement over other compact, solid-state gyroscope technologies.