Applications of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond exploit the centers unique optical and spin properties, which at ambient temperature, are predominately governed by electron-phonon interactions. Here, we investigate these interac
tions at ambient and elevated temperatures by observing the motional narrowing of the centers excited state spin resonances. We determine that the centers Jahn-Teller dynamics are much slower than currently believed and identify the vital role of symmetric phonon modes. Our results have pronounced implications for centers diverse applications (including quantum technology) and for understanding its fundamental properties.
We describe an experimental technique for associating the satellite lines in a rare earth optical spectrum caused by a defect with the rare earth ions in crystal sites around that defect. This method involves measuring the hyperfine splitting caused
by a magnetic dipole-dipole interaction between host ions and a magnetic defect. The method was applied to Ce3+:EuCl3.6H2O to assign 13 of the outermost 22 satellite lines to sites. The assignments show that the optical shift of a satellite line is loosely dependent on the distance to the dopant. The interaction between host and dopant ions is purely dipole-dipole at distances greater than 7 Angstroms, with an additional contribution, likely superexchange, at distances less than 7 Angstroms.
The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) colour centre in diamond is an important physical system for emergent quantum technologies, including quantum metrology, information processing and communications, as well as for various nanotechnologies, such as biological
and sub-diffraction limit imaging, and for tests of entanglement in quantum mechanics. Given this array of existing and potential applications and the almost 50 years of NV research, one would expect that the physics of the centre is well understood, however, the study of the NV centre has proved challenging, with many early assertions now believed false and many remaining issues yet to be resolved. This review represents the first time that the key empirical and ab initio results have been extracted from the extensive NV literature and assembled into one consistent picture of the current understanding of the centre. As a result, the key unresolved issues concerning the NV centre are identified and the possible avenues for their resolution are examined.
