Writing the report

Writing a report is a central part of this course. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you review these guidelines to see what we expect. An additional good source is this document, written by prof. Gary Steele.

In particular, figures are a key element of a report and require significant time investment. Figures should be clear and convey a clear message. Moreover, the caption should describe in detail what is in the figure. The reader should be able to understand the complete experiment just by reading your figure captions.

Report structure and assessment

We will assess the report based on the general grading scheme for the RP practicum (Brightspace/RP practicum/Content). Here, we summarize what we expect in the report for this practicum, while leaving room for your own interpretations:

Theory

• Describe the NV center and how you can use it for magnetometry (Exercise 1).
• Include a plot of the theoretical prediction of ESR frequencies vs. applied field. (Exercise 2)

Methods

• Describe the experimental setup: both the optical setup and how you mount the permanent magnet with respect to the NV centers in the diamond.
• Include a plot of the expected field for a cylindrical magnet (Exercise 3).

Results & discussion

• Plots of your measurements that help answer your research question.

Figures and captions

Figures should have the proper labels (with units) and should be readable (increase font size if necessary). If multiple curves are visible, include a legend. It is recommended to use software such as Inkscape, Illustrator, or Powerpoint to improve the labels and readability. A good caption describes:

• The message of the figure
• What is displayed on the axes
• What the different curves in a figure are.
• All metadata necessary to understand the figure well, e.g.: how did you obtain the data.