No Arabic abstract
A solid-state system combining a stable spin degree of freedom with an efficient optical interface is highly desirable as an element for integrated quantum optical and quantum information systems. We demonstrate a bright color center in diamond with excellent optical properties and controllable electronic spin states. Specifically, we carry out detailed optical spectroscopy of a Germanium Vacancy (GeV) color center demonstrating optical spectral stability. Using an external magnetic field to lift the electronic spin degeneracy, we explore the spin degree of freedom as a controllable qubit. Spin polarization is achieved using optical pumping, and a spin relaxation time in excess of 20 $mu$s is demonstrated. Optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) is observed in the presence of a resonant microwave field. ODMR is used as a probe to measure the Autler-Townes effect in a microwave-optical double resonance experiment. Superposition spin states were prepared using coherent population trapping, and a pure dephasing time of about 19 ns was observed. Prospects for realizing coherent quantum registers based on optically controlled GeV centers are discussed.
The silicon-vacancy ($mathrm{SiV}^-$) color center in diamond has attracted attention due to its unique optical properties. It exhibits spectral stability and indistinguishability that facilitate efficient generation of photons capable of demonstrating quantum interference. Here we show high fidelity optical initialization and readout of electronic spin in a single $mathrm{SiV}^-$ center with a spin relaxation time of $T_1=2.4pm0.2$ ms. Coherent population trapping (CPT) is used to demonstrate coherent preparation of dark superposition states with a spin coherence time of $T_2^star=35pm3$ ns. This is fundamentally limited by orbital relaxation, and an understanding of this process opens the way to extend coherences by engineering interactions with phonons. These results establish the $mathrm{SiV}^-$ center as a solid-state spin-photon interface.
Color centers in diamond micro and nano structures are under investigation for a plethora of applications. However, obtaining high quality color centers in small structures is challenging, and little is known about how properties such as spin population lifetimes change during the transition from bulk to micro and nano structures. In this manuscript, we studied various ways to prepare diamond samples containing silicon vacancy centers and measured how population lifetimes of orbital states change in pillars as we varied their dimensions from approximately 1 $mu$m to 120 nm. We also researched the influence of the properties of the diamond substrate and the implantation and annealing methods on the silicon vacancy inhomogeneous linewidth and orbital lifetime. Our measurements show that nominally identical diamond samples can display significantly distinct inhomogeneous broadening. We observed weak indications that restricted vibrational modes in small structures may extend population lifetimes. However, imperfections in the crystal lattice or surface damage caused by etching reduce population lifetimes, especially in the smallest structures.
The silicon-vacancy center in diamond offers attractive opportunities in quantum photonics due to its favorable optical properties and optically addressable electronic spin. Here, we combine both to achieve all-optical coherent control of its spin states. We utilize this method to explore spin dephasing effects in an impurity-rich sample beyond the limit of phonon-induced decoherence: Employing Ramsey and Hahn-echo techniques at 12mK base temperature we identify resonant coupling to a substitutional nitrogen spin bath as the limiting decoherence source for the electron spin.
We theoretically propose a method to realize optical nonreciprocity in rotating nano-diamond with a nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center. Because of the relative motion of the NV center with respect to the propagating fields, the frequencies of the fields are shifted due to the Doppler effect. When the control and probe fields are incident to the NV center from the same direction, the two-photon resonance still holds as the Doppler shifts of the two fields are the same. Thus, due to the electromagnetically-induced transparency (EIT), the probe light can pass through the NV center nearly without absorption. However, when the two fields propagate in opposite directions, the probe light can not effectively pass through the NV center as a result of the breakdown of two-photon resonance.
We demonstrate a quantum nanophotonics platform based on germanium-vacancy (GeV) color centers in fiber-coupled diamond nanophotonic waveguides. We show that GeV optical transitions have a high quantum efficiency and are nearly lifetime-broadened in such nanophotonic structures. These properties yield an efficient interface between waveguide photons and a single GeV without the use of a cavity or slow-light waveguide. As a result, a single GeV center reduces waveguide transmission by $18 pm 1%$ on resonance in a single pass. We use a nanophotonic interferometer to perform homodyne detection of GeV resonance fluorescence. By probing the photon statistics of the output field, we demonstrate that the GeV-waveguide system is nonlinear at the single-photon level.