Coherent control of solid state nuclear spin nano-ensembles

Detecting and controlling nuclear spin nano-ensembles is crucial for the further development of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and for the emerging solid state quantum technology. Here we present the fabrication of a ≈1 nanometre thick diamond layer consisting of 13C nuclear spins doped with nitrogen-vacancy centres (NV) embedded in a spin-free 12C crystal matrix. A single NV in the vicinity of the layer is used for polarization of the 13C spins and the readout of their magnetization. We demonstrate a method for coherent control of few tens of nuclear spins by using radio frequency pulses, and show the basic coherent control experiments, Rabi oscillations and Ramsey spectroscopy, though any NMR pulse sequence can be implemented. The results shown here present an important step towards the realization of a nuclear spin based quantum simulator.