Abstract
Atomic defects in wide band gap materials show great promise for development of a new generation of quantum information technologies, but have been hampered by the inability to produce and engineer the defects in a controlled way. The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color center in diamond is one of the foremost candidates, with single defects allowing optical addressing of electron spin and nuclear spin degrees of freedom with potential for applications in advanced sensing and computing. Here we demonstrate a method for the deterministic writing of individual NV centers at selected locations with high positioning accuracy using laser processing with online fluorescence feedback. This method provides a new tool for the fabrication of engineered materials and devices for quantum technologies and offers insight into the diffusion dynamics of point defects in solids.
Highlights
Color center point defects in wide band gap materials display strong optical transitions, allowing the addressing of single atoms using optical wavelengths within the transparency window of the solid
The NV centers displayed distinct photon anti-bunching, with g(2)(0) < 0.2 after correction for fluorescence and Raman signals from the surrounding bulk crystal, revealing that 24 of the 25 processed sites contained a single NV center, giving a yield of 96% Figure 3D shows a typical trace of fluorescence intensity as a function of time from the online feedback during laser processing
While the sample was irradiated by the diffusion pulses, there was an intermittent fluorescent signal, which stabilized at the higher level to indicate the formation of a stable NV center
Summary
Color center point defects in wide band gap materials display strong optical transitions, allowing the addressing of single atoms using optical wavelengths within the transparency window of the solid. NV centers are formed in diamond by the binding of a lattice vacancy with a substitutional nitrogen impurity along a [111] crystal axis. The fabrication of NV centers with controlled positioning is extremely challenging, requiring the targeted implantation of either nitrogen ions or vacancies inside the crystal. This is achieved using ion implantation and electron beam irradiation methods, followed by thermal annealing to stimulate diffusion of vacancies through the lattice whereupon random binding occurs to create the NV center [10,11,12,13,14]. This low yield and modest positioning accuracy would potentially limit the usefulness of the technique in device manufacturing
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
