No Arabic abstract
We report electrical tuning by the Stark effect of the excited-state structure of single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers located less than ~100 nm from the diamond surface. The zero-phonon line (ZPL) emission frequency is controllably varied over a range of 300 GHz. Using high-resolution emission spectroscopy, we observe electrical tuning of the strengths of both cycling and spin-altering transitions. Under resonant excitation, we apply dynamic feedback to stabilize the ZPL frequency. The transition is locked over several minutes and drifts of the peak position on timescales greater than ~100 ms are reduced to a fraction of the single-scan linewidth, with standard deviation as low as 16 MHz (obtained for an NV in bulk, ultra-pure diamond). These techniques should improve the entanglement success probability in quantum communications protocols.
We demonstrate a robust, scale-factor-free vector magnetometer, which uses a closed-loop frequency-locking scheme to simultaneously track Zeeman-split resonance pairs of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. Compared with open-loop methodologies, this technique is robust against fluctuations in temperature, resonance linewidth, and contrast; offers a three-order-of-magnitude increase in dynamic range; and allows for simultaneous interrogation of multiple transition frequencies. By directly detecting the resonance frequencies of NV centers aligned along each of the diamonds four tetrahedral crystallographic axes, we perform full vector reconstruction of an applied magnetic field.
We demonstrate quantum interference between indistinguishable photons emitted by two nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in distinct diamond samples separated by two meters. Macroscopic solid immersion lenses are used to enhance photon collection efficiency. Quantum interference is verified by measuring a value of the second-order cross-correlation function $g^{(2)}(0) = 0.35 pm 0.04<0.5$. In addition, optical transition frequencies of two separated NV centers are tuned into resonance with each other by applying external electric fields. Extension of the present approach to generate entanglement of remote solid-state qubits is discussed.
The neutral charge state plays an important role in quantum information and sensing applications based on nitrogen-vacancy centers. However, the orbital and spin dynamics remain unexplored. Here, we use resonant excitation of single centers to directly reveal the fine structure, enabling selective addressing of spin-orbit states. Through pump-probe experiments, we find the orbital relaxation time (430ns at 4.7K) and measure its temperature-dependence up to 11.8K. Finally we reveal the spin relaxation time (1.5s), and realize projective high-fidelity single-shot readout of the spin state ($geq98%$).
Characterizing the local internal environment surrounding solid-state spin defects is crucial to harnessing them as nanoscale sensors of external fields. This is especially germane to the case of defect ensembles which can exhibit a complex interplay between interactions, internal fields and lattice strain. Working with the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond, we demonstrate that local electric fields dominate the magnetic resonance behavior of NV ensembles at low magnetic field. We introduce a simple microscopic model that quantitatively captures the observed spectra for samples with NV concentrations spanning over two orders of magnitude. Motivated by this understanding, we propose and implement a novel method for the nanoscale localization of individual charges within the diamond lattice; our approach relies upon the fact that the charge induces an NV dark state which depends on the electric field orientation.
Hybrid quantum devices, in which disparate quantum elements are combined in order to achieve enhanced functionality, have received much attention in recent years due to their exciting potential to address key problems in quantum information processing, communication, and control. Specifically, significant progress has been made in the field of hybrid mechanical devices, in which a qubit is coupled to a mechanical oscillator. Strong coupling in such devices has been demonstrated with superconducting qubits, and coupling defect qubits to mechanical elements via crystal strain has enabled novel methods of qubit measurement and control. In this paper we demonstrate the fabrication of diamond optomechanical crystals with embedded nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers, a preliminary step toward reaching the quantum regime with defect qubit hybrid mechanical devices. We measure optical and mechanical resonances of diamond optomechanical crystals as well as the spin coherence of single embedded NV centers. We find that the spin has long coherence times $T_2^* = 1.5 mu s$ and $T_2 = 72 mu s$ despite its proximity to nanofabricated surfaces. Finally, we discuss potential improvements of these devices and prospects for future experiments in the quantum regime.