Diamond photonics provides an attractive architecture to explore room temperature cavity quantum electrodynamics and to realize scalable multi-qubit computing. Here, we review the present state of diamond photonic technology. The design, fabrication and characterization of a novel nanobeam cavity produced in a single crystal diamond are demonstrated. The present cavity design, based on a triangular cross-section, allows vertical confinement and better signal collection efficiency than that of slab-based nanocavities and eliminates the need for a pre-existing membrane. The nanobeam is fabricated by focused-ion-beam (FIB) patterning. The cavity is characterized by confocal photoluminescence. The modes display quality factors of Q ∼220 and deviate in wavelength by only ∼1.7 nm from the nitrogen-vacancy (NV − ) color center zero phonon line (ZPL). The measured results are found to be in good agreement with three-dimensional finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) calculations. A more advanced cavity design with Q =22 000 is modeled, showing the potential for high- Q implementations using the triangular geometry. The prospects of this concept and its application in spin non-demolition measurement and quantum computing are discussed.
Diamond photonics provides an attractive architecture to explore room temperature cavity quantum electrodynamics and to realize scalable multi-qubit computing. Here, we review the present state of diamond photonic technology. The design, fabrication and characterization of a novel nanobeam cavity produced in a single crystal diamond are demonstrated. The present cavity design, based on a triangular cross-section, allows vertical confinement and better signal collection efficiency than that of slab-based nanocavities and eliminates the need for a pre-existing membrane. The nanobeam is fabricated by focused-ion-beam (FIB) patterning. The cavity is characterized by confocal photoluminescence. The modes display quality factors of Q ∼220 and deviate in wavelength by only ∼1.7 nm from the nitrogen-vacancy (NV − ) color center zero phonon line (ZPL). The measured results are found to be in good agreement with three-dimensional finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) calculations. A more advanced cavity design with Q =22 000 is modeled, showing the potential for high- Q implementations using the triangular geometry. The prospects of this concept and its application in spin non-demolition measurement and quantum computing are discussed.
Recently, developments in novel and high-purity materials allow for the presence of a single, solitary crystalline defect to define the electronic, magnetic, and optical functionality of a device. The discrete nature of the active dopant, whose properties are defined by a quantum mechanical description of its structure, enables radically new quantum investigations and applications in these arenas. Finally,there has been significant development in large-scale device engineering due to mature semiconductor manufacturing techniques. The diverse set of photonic device architectures offering light confinement, guiding, and extraction is a prime example. These three paradigms – solitary dopant photonics and optoelectronics (solotronics), quantum science\tand technology, and device engineering – merge in the development of novel quantum photonic devices for the next generation of information processing systems. We present in this thesis a series of investigations of optical nanostructures for single optically active spins in single crystal diamond. Chapter 1 introduces the Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) color center, summarizes its applications, and motivates the need for their integration into photonic structures. Chapter 2 describes two prototype nanobeam photonic crystal cavities for generating strong light-matter interactions with NV centers. The first device consists of a silicon nitride photonic crystal nanobeam cavity with high quality factor \\(Q \\sim 10^5\\) and small mode volume \\(V \\sim 0.5*(\\lambda/n)^3\\). The second device consists of a monolithic diamond nanobeam cavity fabricated with the focused ion beam (FIB) directly in a single crystal diamond sample. Chapter 3 presents a high-efficiency source of single photons consisting of a single NV center in a photonic diamond nanowire. Early FIB prototypes are described, as is the first successful realization of the device achieved via reactive ion etching nanowires in a single crystal diamond containing NV centers, and finally a variation of this approach based on incorporation of NV centers in pure diamond via ion implantation. In chapter 4 we consider the optimal design of photonic devices offering both collection efficiency and cavity-enhancements and extend the model of the NV center to include photonic effects. In chapter 5 we briefly introduce a novel optically active spin discovered in a diamond nanowire. Finally, in chapter 6 we conclude with several proposals to extend this research program.
The realization of efficient optical interfaces for solid-state atom-like systems is an important problem in quantum science with potential applications in quantum communications and quantum information processing. We describe and demonstrate a technique for coupling single nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers to suspended diamond photonic crystal cavities with quality factors up to 6000. Specifically, we present an enhancement of the NV center's zero-phonon line fluorescence by a factor of ~ 7 in low-temperature measurements.
Summary form only given. Deterministic coupling of a single emitter to a photonic crystal cavity is an important step towards the realization of integrated solid-state devices for quantum photonics. As single emitters, color centers in diamond, e.g. the Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) center or the Silicon-Vacancy (SiV) center have attracted significant interest due to their extraordinary properties like long spin-coherence times or narrowband and bright single photon emission, respectively. For the realization of recent proposals like cavity-enhanced spin measurements or cavity-enhanced single photon sources, it is necessary to couple single color centers to a cavity with small mode volume and high quality factor. Photonic crystal cavities directly fabricated within a monocrystalline diamond membrane are well suited for this task, as they offer tiny mode volumes for efficient emitter-cavity coupling as well as scalable architectures for integrated photonic devices.In order to achieve controlled coupling of a color center to a photonic crystal cavity, several challenges have to be tackled, e.g. exact emitter positioning and alignment of its dipole moment with the cavity electric field as well as the ability for cavity tuning. For deterministic emitter-cavity positioning, two different routes can be pursued: In the first approach, a single emitter is localized within the diamond, its dipole orientation is determined and the cavity is subsequently structured around it. In the second approach, the cavity is fabricated first and a single color center is created within the cavity, e.g. via ion implantion or creation of vacancies. Here we present strategies to realize both methods for deterministic emitter-cavity coupling. For the first approach, we use a monocrystalline diamond film containing single SiV centers. Figure 1a) shows a fluorescence scan of a single SiV center with position markers next to it. The position markers are subsequently used to structure a photonic crystal cavity around the color center using focused ion beam milling [1]. Figures 1b) and c) show SEMimages before and after the cavity fabrication. The photonic crystal lattice constant a ≈ 283nm is chosen such that the cavity modes are red shifted with respect to the SiV emission lines. Using an oxidation tuning method, the cavity modes are tuned into resonance with the zero-phonon line at 740nm of a single SiV center (see Fig. 1d)). On resonance, we measure an intensity enhancement by a factor of 3.8 compared to the off-resonant case.
The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond has an optically addressable, highly coherent spin. However, an NV center even in high quality single-crystalline material is a very poor source of single photons: extraction out of the high-index diamond is inefficient, the emission of coherent photons represents just a few per cent of the total emission, and the decay time is large. In principle, all three problems can be addressed with a resonant microcavity, which significantly boosts the emission rate of coherent photons into the cavity mode based on the Purcell effect. In practice though, it has proved difficult to implement this concept: photonic engineering hinges on nano-fabrication yet it is notoriously difficult to process diamond without degrading the NV centers. \nIn this thesis, we present a microcavity scheme which employs minimally processed diamond membranes, thereby preserving the high quality of the starting material. The miniaturized plano-concave Fabry-Perot microcavity platform features full in situ spatial and spectral tunability. We demonstrate a clear change in the lifetime for multiple individual NV centers on tuning both the cavity frequency and anti-node position. The overall Purcell factor for the zero-phonon line (ZPL) of ~30 translates to an increase in the ZPL emission probability from ~3% to ~46%. \nFurthermore, we report the creation of a low-loss, broadband optical antenna giving highly directed output from a coherent single spin in the solid state. The device, the first crystalline solid-state realization of a dielectric antenna, is engineered for individual NV electronic spins in diamond. The photonic structure preserves the high spin coherence of single-crystalline diamond (T2 ~100µs). We demonstrate a directionality of close to 10 and single photon count rates approaching one MHz. The analysis of the angular emission pattern of our device suggests that 95% of the broadband NV fluorescence is channeled into a solid angle corresponding to a numerical aperture of 0.8. \nThe abovementioned approaches feature complementary benefits. The narrowband enhancement of the ZPL emission rate provided by the microcavity benefits applications in quantum information processing relying on coherent photons. With the prospect of integrating lifetime-limited emitters and achieving a high ZPL collection efficiency our results pave the way for much enhanced spin-photon and spin-spin entanglement rates. On the other hand, by channeling the major fraction of the broadband NV fluorescence into a narrow solid angle the dielectric optical antenna facilitates efficient spin readout. Our approach enables a near-unity collection efficiency which, upon mitigation of the known photon losses, renders it a potential key technology for quantum sensing applications. \n
Efficient single photon sources are a crucial component for quantum key distribution, may be pivotal in the development of realizable quantum computers, and are a requisite for numerous lines of scientific enquiry. We show progress in coupling colour centres in diamond to novel open access microcavities with the potential of creating highly efficient single photon devices. Finite difference time domain results support the design of microcavities with specific radii of curvature. These cavities can then be produced with unparalleled fidelity to the modelled specification with a focused ion beam milling procedure. These cavities are then used for controlled coupling of nitrogen vacancy centers’ zero-phonon lines at low temperatures.
The nitrogen-vacancy (N-V) defect in ultra-pure diamond shows great promise for the implementation of qubits for quantum computing. The N-V defect is a three level system which behaves as an efficient room temperature source of single photons at a wavelength of 637 nm. The N-V centre ground state spin strongly modulates the rate of spontaneous emission providing a mechanism for spin read out. Recently, it is shown that spin-readout with the minimum number of photons can be achieved by efficiently coupling light to the transition in a sub- wavelength scale micro-cavity. The aim of this paper is to place the N-V centre into a cavity at the centre of a suspended slab photonic crystal structure made from hexagonal array of cylindrical air holes. The light is confined by distributed Bragg reflection in the plane of periodicity (xy) and by total internal reflection in the perpendicular plane (z). The work consists of both modelling the photonic crystal to optimise the parameters and fabricating the structures using focussed ion beam milling.