Enhanced Widefield Quantum Sensing with Nitrogen-Vacancy Ensembles Using Diamond Nanopillar Arrays

Surface micro- and nano-patterning techniques are often employed to enhance the optical interface to single photoluminescent emitters in diamond, but the utility of such surface structuring in applications requiring ensembles of emitters is still open to investigation. Here, we demonstrate scalable and fault-tolerant fabrication of closely packed arrays of fluorescent diamond nanopillars, each hosting its own dense, uniformly bright ensemble of near-surface nitrogen-vacancy centers. We explore the optimal sizes for these structures and realize enhanced spin and photoluminescence properties resulting in a 4.5 times increase in optically detected magnetic resonance sensitivity when compared to unpatterned surfaces. Utilizing the increased measurement sensitivity, we image the mechanical stress tensor in each diamond pillar across the arrays and show that the fabrication process has a negligible impact on in-built stress compared to the unpatterned surface. Our results represent a valuable pathway toward future multimodal and vector-resolved imaging studies, for instance in biological contexts.