Abstract
The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centre in diamond is emerging as a promising platform for solid-state quantum information processing and nanoscale metrology. Of interest in these applications is the manipulation of the NV charge, which can be attained by optical excitation. Here, we use two-colour optical microscopy to investigate the dynamics of NV photo-ionization, charge diffusion and trapping in type-1b diamond. We combine fixed-point laser excitation and scanning fluorescence imaging to locally alter the concentration of negatively charged NVs, and to subsequently probe the corresponding redistribution of charge. We uncover the formation of spatial patterns of trapped charge, which we qualitatively reproduce via a model of the interplay between photo-excited carriers and atomic defects. Further, by using the NV as a probe, we map the relative fraction of positively charged nitrogen on localized optical excitation. These observations may prove important to transporting quantum information between NVs or to developing three-dimensional, charge-based memories.
Highlights
The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centre in diamond is emerging as a promising platform for solid-state quantum information processing and nanoscale metrology
Of interest in these applications is the manipulation of the NV charge, which can be attained by optical excitation
Prior work on the ionization dynamics of individual defects demonstrates that the NV charge state can be controlled optically[13,14], prompting one to view the nitrogen-vacancy centre alternatively as a source of photons or charge carriers
Summary
The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centre in diamond is emerging as a promising platform for solid-state quantum information processing and nanoscale metrology. Of interest in these applications is the manipulation of the NV charge, which can be attained by optical excitation. By using the NV as a probe, we map the relative fraction of positively charged nitrogen upon localized optical excitation These observations may prove important to transporting quantum information between NVs or to developing three-dimensional, charge-based memories. Prior work on the ionization dynamics of individual defects demonstrates that the NV charge state can be controlled optically[13,14], prompting one to view the nitrogen-vacancy centre alternatively as a source of photons or charge carriers. The charge exchange between NVs and nitrogen donors — often invoked when explaining the origin of the NV- excess electron — has not yet been experimentally probed
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