High-Resolution Timing for Nitrogen-Vacancy Spin Memory Control

Abstract

Pulse-sequence timing influences the fidelity of electronic-spin operations and the ability to spectrally resolve and control nearby nuclear spins. This thesis presents a method for achieving effective $200\,\mathrm{ps}$ timing resolution in nitrogen-vacancy (NV) qubit experiments using the Quantum Instrument Control Kit--Diamond Arbitrary Waveform Generator (QICK-DAWG) implemented on the RFSoC 4$\times$2, without modifying the underlying gateware. By using structured waveform banks and sequencer-level control, this approach enables efficient parameter sweeps while preserving the flexibility of QICK's pulse-sequencing model. We apply the methodology to room‑temperature electronic‑spin characterization and to dynamical-decoupling-based nuclear‑spin spectroscopy of a single NV center in diamond. These measurements demonstrate that software-level sequencing strategies can expand the capabilities of existing quantum-control hardware, enabling sub-nanosecond timing control on an inexpensive and flexible open-source platform. This work establishes QICK-DAWG as a practical platform for high-temporal-resolution quantum defect memory control and provides a path toward more precise electron--nuclear spin manipulation.