Continuous dynamical decoupling magnetometry

Solid-state qubits hold the promise to achieve an unmatched combination of sensitivity and spatial resolution. To achieve their potential, the qubits need, however, to be shielded from the deleterious effects of the environment. While dynamical decoupling techniques can improve the coherence time, they impose a compromise between sensitivity and the frequency range of the field to be measured. Moreover, the performance of pulse sequences is ultimately limited by control bounds and errors. Here we analyze a versatile alternative based on continuous driving. We find that continuous dynamical decoupling schemes can be used for ac magnetometry, providing similar frequency constraints on the ac field and improved sensitivity for some noise regimes. In addition, the flexibility of phase and amplitude modulation could yield superior robustness to driving errors and a better adaptability to external experimental scenarios. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.86.062320