Device and method for frequency analysis of a signal

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11415609-B2
Application number	US-201916969334-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 14, 2019
Priority date	Feb 16, 2018
Publication date	Aug 16, 2022
Grant date	Aug 16, 2022

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for the frequency analysis of a signal, comprising a diamond crystal having NV centers defining sub-regions, an excitation unit for optically or electrically exciting each sub-region, an injection unit for injecting a signal so that the sub-region is in the presence of the signal, a magnetic field generator designed so as to generate a magnetic field on each sub-region, the magnetic field having a spatial variation of amplitude in a first direction, and a detector for detecting the resonance frequency of each sub-region of the region, the detector comprising an electrical contact for detecting the charges created in a sub-region, and a reading circuit.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A device for frequency analysis of a signal, comprising:
a diamond crystal having a crystal lattice, a valence band and a conduction band, the crystal comprising NV centers in the crystal lattice, each NV center being made up of a nitrogen atom substituted for a carbon atom and coupled to a vacancy, the nitrogen atom and vacancy pair making up a colored center in the crystal lattice, the diamond crystal having at least one region including several sub-regions each having a resonance frequency between the energy levels of the NV − center in which, for each of the sub-regions, when the sub-region is in the presence of an optical or electric excitation, charges are generated in the conduction band, and, in the presence of a signal having at least one frequency equal to the resonance frequency of the sub-regions, the quantity of charges varies with the amplitude of the frequency component of the signal at the resonance frequency,
an excitation unit for optically or electrically exciting each sub-region,
an injection unit for injecting a signal for the sub-region to be in the presence of the signal,
a magnetic field generator configured to generate a magnetic field on each sub-region, the magnetic field having a spatial variation of amplitude in a first direction, and
a detector adapted to detect the resonance frequency of each sub-region of the region, the detector including:
an electrical contact for each sub-region whose detector is adapted to detect the resonance frequency, each electrical contact being able to detect the charges created in the sub-region in question in the conduction band of the crystal in order to obtain a signal when the sub-region is simultaneously in the presence of an optical or electrical excitation coming from the excitation unit and a signal injected by the injection unit, and
a silicon reading circuit connected to the contacts to convert each obtained signal into a converted signal, each converted signal depending on the amplitude of the frequency component at the resonance frequency of the sub-region.

2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the distance between two contacts is less than 300 nanometers.

3. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the reading circuit is a CMOS circuit.

4. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the reading circuit includes a plurality of processing units, each processing unit being connected to a respective contact.

5. The device according to claim 4 , wherein each processing unit is connected to a respective contact by an indium pad or by a wire.

6. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the detector further includes a printed circuit board, the printed circuit board connecting the reading circuit to the contacts.

7. The device according to claim 1 , wherein each contact is formed by two electrodes interdigitated in a second direction, the second direction being perpendicular to the first direction.

8. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the crystal is a layer extending primarily along a plane and having an axis, the axis belonging to the plane.

9. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the number of contacts is greater than 500.

10. A method for the frequency analysis of a signal, the method including at least the following steps:
providing a diamond crystal having a crystal lattice, a valence band and a conduction band, the crystal comprising NV centers in the crystal lattice, each NV center being made up of a nitrogen atom substituted for a carbon atom and coupled to a vacancy, the nitrogen atom and vacancy pair making up a colored center in the crystal lattice, the crystal having at least one region including several sub-regions each having a resonance frequency between the energy levels of the NV − center in which, for each of the sub-regions, when the sub-region is simultaneously in the presence of an optical or electric excitation and a signal having at least one frequency equal to the resonance frequency of the subregion, a change in the quantity of charges generated in the conduction band appears;
optically or electrically exciting each sub-region of the diamond crystal,
injecting a signal so that the sub-region is in the presence of the signal,
generating a magnetic field on each sub-region, the magnetic field having a spatial variation of amplitude in a first direction, and
detecting the resonance frequency of each sub-region of the region by:
detecting the charges created in each sub-region in the conduction band of the diamond using an electrical contact specific to each sub-region, in order to obtain a signal and
converting each obtained signal into a converted signal with a silicon reading circuit connected to the contacts, each converted signal depending on the frequency component of the signal at the resonance frequency of the sub-region.

Assignees

• Thales Sa

Inventors

• Debuisschert Thierry
• Mayer Ludovic

Classifications

• G01R23/17

  with optical {or acoustical} auxiliary devices · CPC title

• G01R1/00

  Details of instruments or arrangements of the types included in groups G01R5/00 - G01R13/00 and G01R31/00 (constructional details particular to {electromechanical} arrangements for measuring the electric consumption G01R11/02) · CPC title

• G01R23/163 Primary

  adapted for measuring in circuits having distributed constants · CPC title

• G01R29/0878

  Sensors; antennas; probes; detectors (wave guide measuring sections G01R1/24) · CPC title

• G01R23/02 Primary

  Arrangements for measuring frequency, e.g. pulse repetition rate; Arrangements for measuring period of current or voltage · CPC title