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Register a new userLaser writing of coherent colour centres in diamond
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Optically active point defects in crystals have gained widespread attention as photonic systems that can find use in quantum information technologies. However challenges remain in the placing of individual defects at desired locations, an essential element of device fabrication. Here we report the controlled generation of single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres in diamond using laser writing. The use of aberration correction in the writing optics allows precise positioning of vacancies within the diamond crystal, and subsequent annealing produces single NV centres with up to 45% success probability, within about 200 nm of the desired position. Selected NV centres fabricated by this method display stable, coherent optical transitions at cryogenic temperatures, a pre-requisite for the creation of distributed quantum networks of solid-state qubits. The results illustrate the potential of laser writing as a new tool for defect engineering in quantum technologies.
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Stress and strain are important factors in determining the mechanical, electronic, and optical properties of materials, relating to each other by the materials elasticity or stiffness. Both are represented by second rank field tensors with, in general, six independent components. Measurements of these quantities are usually achieved by measuring a property that depends on the translational symmetry and periodicity of the crystal lattice, such as optical phonon energies using Raman spectroscopy, the electronic band gap using cathodoluminescence, photoelasticity via the optical birefringence, or Electron Back Scattering Diffraction (EBSD). A reciprocal relationship therefore exists between the maximum sensitivity of the measurements and the spatial resolution. Furthermore, of these techniques, only EBSD and off-axis Raman spectroscopy allow measurement of all six components of the stress tensor, but neither is able to provide full 3D maps. Here we demonstrate a method for measuring the full stress tensor in diamond, using the spectral and optical polarization properties of the photoluminescence from individual nitrogen vacancy (NV) colour centres. We demonstrate a sensitivity of order 10 MPa, limited by local fluctuations in the stress in the sample, and corresponding to a strain of about 10^-5, comparable with the best sensitivity provided by other techniques. By using the colour centres as built-in local sensors, the technique overcomes the reciprocal relationship between spatial resolution and sensitivity and offers the potential for measuring strains as small as 10^-9 at spatial resolution of order 10 nm. Furthermore it provides a straightforward route to volumetric stress mapping. Aside from its value in understanding strain distributions in diamond, this new approach to stress and strain measurement could be adapted for use in micro or nanoscale sensors.
We study single silicon vacancy (SiV) centres in chemical vapour deposition (CVD) nanodiamonds on iridium as well as an ensemble of SiV centres in a high quality, low stress CVD diamond film by using temperature dependent luminescence spectroscopy in the temperature range 5-295 K. We investigate in detail the temperature dependent fine structure of the zero-phonon-line (ZPL) of the SiV centres. The ZPL transition is affected by inhomogeneous as well as temperature dependent homogeneous broadening and blue shifts by about 20 cm-1 upon cooling from room temperature to 5 K. We employ excitation power dependent g(2) measurements to explore the temperature dependent internal population dynamics of single SiV centres and infer almost temperature independent dynamics.
Colour centres in diamond are promising candidates as a platform for quantum technologies and biomedical imaging based on spins and/or photons. Controlling the emission properties of colour centres in diamond is a key requirement for developing efficient single photon sources with high collection efficiency. A number of groups have produced enhancement in the emission rate over narrow wavelength ranges by coupling single emitters in nanodiamond crystals to resonant electromagnetic structures. Here we characterise in detail the spontaneous emission rates of nitrogen-vacancy centres positioned in various locations on a structured substrate. We show an average factor of 1.5 enhancement of the total emission rate when nanodiamonds are on an opal photonic crystal surface, and observe changes in the lifetime distribution. We present a model to explain these observations and associate the lifetime properties with dipole orientation and polarization effects.
Single photon emitters in silicon carbide (SiC) are attracting attention as quantum photonic systems. However, to achieve scalable devices it is essential to generate single photon emitters at desired locations on demand. Here we report the controlled creation of single silicon vacancy ($V_{Si}$) centres in 4H-SiC using laser writing without any post-annealing process. Due to the aberration correction in the writing apparatus and the non-annealing process, we generate single $V_{Si}$ centres with yields up to 30%, located within about 80 nm of the desired position in the transverse plane. We also investigated the photophysics of the laser writing $V_{Si}$ centres and conclude that there are about 16 photons involved in the laser writing $V_{Si}$ centres process. Our results represent a powerful tool in fabrication of single $V_{Si}$ centres in SiC for quantum technologies and provide further insights into laser writing defects in dielectric materials.
Stimulated emission is the process fundamental to laser operation, thereby producing coherent photon output. Despite negatively-charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV$^-$) centres being discussed as a potential laser medium since the 1980s, there have been no definitive observations of stimulated emission from ensembles of NV$^-$ to date. Reasons for this lack of demonstration include the short excited state lifetime and the occurrence of photo-ionisation to the neutral charge state by light around the zero-phonon line. Here we show both theoretical and experimental evidence for stimulated emission from NV$^-$ states using light in the phonon-sidebands. Our system uses a continuous wave pump laser at 532 nm and a pulsed stimulating laser that is swept across the phononic sidebands of the NV$^-$. Optimal stimulated emission is demonstrated in the vicinity of the three-phonon line at 700 nm. Furthermore, we show the transition from stimulated emission to photoionisation as the stimulating laser wavelength is reduced from 700nm to 620 nm. While lasing at the zero-phonon line is suppressed by ionisation, our results open the possibility of diamond lasers based on NV centres, tuneable over the phonon-sideband. This broadens the applications of NV magnetometers from single centre nanoscale sensors to a new generation of ultra-precise ensemble laser sensors, which exploit the contrast and signal amplification of a lasing system.
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