Nanoscale localization of the near-surface nitrogen vacancy center assisted by a silicon atomic force microscopy probe

Abstract

The nitrogen vacancy (NV) center in diamond has wide applications in sensing, imaging and quantum information processing. One of the bases of these applications is to localize the NV center in diamond with high precision. In this work we demonstrate a method for nanoscale imaging and locating near-surface NV centers on diamond waveguides based on an atomic force microscopy (AFM) combined confocal system. The resulted lateral resolution for imaging the NV center is 31.6 nm and the precision of locating the NV center in diamond is 0.7 nm. Finally, the position of the NV center is indicated in AFM images of the diamond waveguide. These results provide a useful characterization tool for optimizing the diamond nanostructure for quantum information processing and quantum sensing.