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arXiv:1406.3955 · Journal of Optics

Increasing the photon collection rate from a single NV center with a silver mirror

Niels Møller Israelsen, Shailesh Kumar, Mahmoud Tawfieq, Jonas Schou Neergaard-Nielsen, Alexander Huck, Ulrik L. Andersen

Published Nov 1, 2014• 10 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

In the pursuit of realizing quantum optical networks, a large variety of different approaches have been studied to achieve a single photon source on-demand. The common goal for these approaches is to harvest all the emission from a quantum emitter into a single spatial optical mode while maintaining a high signal-to-noise ratio. In this work, we use a single nitrogen vacancy center in diamond as a quantum emitter operating at ambient conditions and we demonstrate an increased photon count rate up to a factor of 1.76 by placing a silver mirror fabricated on the end facet of an optical fiber near the emitter.

DOI
10.1088/2040-8978/16/11/114017

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In the pursuit of realizing quantum optical networks, a large variety of different approaches have been studied to achieve a single photon source on-demand. The common goal for these approaches is to harvest all the emission from a quantum emitter into a single spatial optical mode while maintaining a high signal-to-noise ratio. In this work, we use a single nitrogen vacancy center in diamond as a quantum emitter operating at ambient conditions and we demonstrate an increased photon count rate up to a factor of 1.76 by placing a silver mirror fabricated on the end facet of an optical fiber near the emitter.
An alignment free, micrometer-scale single photon source consisting of a single quantum emitter on an optical fiber operating at room temperature is demonstrated. It easily integrates into fiber optic networks for quantum cryptography or quantum metrology applications.(1) Near-field coupling of a single nitrogen-vacancy center is achieved in a bottom-up approach by placing a preselected nanodiamond directly on the fiber facet. Its high photon collection efficiency is equivalent to a far-field collection via an objective with a numerical aperture of 0.82. Furthermore, simultaneous excitation and re-collection through the fiber is possible by introducing a fiber-connected single emitter sensor.
We report the realization of a device based on a single Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) center in diamond coupled to a fiber-cavity for use as single photon source (SPS). The device consists of two concave mirrors each directly fabricated on the facets of two optical fibers and a preselected nanodiamond containing a single NV center deposited onto one of these mirrors. Both, cavity in- and out-put are directly fiber-coupled, and the emission wavelength is easily tunable by variation of the separation of the two mirrors with a piezo-electric crystal. By coupling to the cavity, we achieve an increase of the spectral photon rate density by two orders of magnitude compared to free-space emission of the NV center. With this work, we establish a simple all-fiber based SPS with promising prospects for the integration into photonic quantum networks.
A central goal in quantum information science is to efficiently interface photons with single optical modes for quantum networking and distributed quantum computing. Here, we introduce and experimentally demonstrate a compact and efficient method for the low-loss coupling of a solid-state qubit, the nitrogen vacancy (NV) center in diamond, with a single-mode optical fiber. In this approach, single-mode tapered diamond waveguides containing exactly one high quality NV memory are selected and integrated on tapered silica fibers. Numerical optimization of an adiabatic coupler indicates that near-unity-efficiency photon transfer is possible between the two modes. Experimentally, we find an overall collection efficiency between 16% and 37% and estimate a single photon count rate at saturation above 700 kHz. This integrated system enables robust, alignment-free, and efficient interfacing of single-mode optical fibers with single photon emitters and quantum memories in solids.
Single-photon flux is one of the crucial properties of nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond for its application in quantum information techniques. Here we fabricate diamond conical nanowires to enhance the single-photon count rate. Through the interaction between tightly confined optical mode in nanowires and NV centers, the single-photon lifetime is much shortened and the collection efficiency is enhanced. As a result, the detected single-photon rate can be at 564 kcps, and the total detection coefficient can be 0.8%, which is much higher than that in bulk diamond. Such a nanowire single-photon device with high photon flux can be applied to improve the fidelity of quantum computation and the precision of quantum sensors.
A central goal in quantum information science is to efficiently interface photons with single optical modes for quantum networking and distributed quantum computing. Here, we introduce and experimentally demonstrate a compact and efficient method for the low-loss coupling of a solid-state qubit, the nitrogen vacancy (NV) center in diamond, with a single-mode optical fiber. In this approach, single-mode tapered diamond waveguides containing exactly one high quality NV memory are selected and integrated on tapered silica fibers. Numerical optimization of an adiabatic coupler indicates that near-unity-efficiency photon transfer is possible between the two modes. Experimentally, we find an overall collection efficiency between 16% and 37% and estimate a single photon count rate at saturation above 700 kHz. This integrated system enables robust, alignment-free, and efficient interfacing of single-mode optical fibers with single photon emitters and quantum memories in solids. A compact way to efficiently couple a solid-state qubit, the nitrogen vacancy center in diamond, with a single-mode optical fiber is shown. The ability to efficiently couple stationary quantum memories to a single spatial mode in a silica fiber is highly desired for various applications in quantum information processing. Now, Rishi Patel and co-workers, working in the group of Dirk Englund at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have proposed and experimentally demonstrated an approach involving adiabatic power transfer between a tapered silica fiber and a single-mode micro-waveguide made from high-quality diamond. This integrated diamond–silica waveguide system enables optical collection from nitrogen vacancy centers with overall efficiencies in the range 16%–37%—a roughly four-fold improvement over previous approaches that employed diamond point emitters rather than waveguiding structures. Numerical optimization analysis suggests that near-unity efficiencies are theoretically feasible.
Quantum emitters in solids are being developed for a range of quantum technologies, including quantum networks, computing, and sensing. However, a remaining challenge is the poor photon collection due to the high refractive index of most host materials. Here we overcome this limitation by introducing monolithic parabolic reflectors as an efficient geometry for broadband photon extraction from quantum emitter and experimentally demonstrate this device for the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond. Simulations indicate a photon collection efficiency exceeding 75% across the visible spectrum and experimental devices, fabricated using a high-throughput gray scale lithography process, demonstrating a photon extraction efficiency of (41 ± 5)%. This device enables a raw experimental detection efficiency of (12 ± 1)% with fluorescence detection rates as high as (4.114 ± 0.003) × 10 6 counts per second (cps) from a single NV center. Enabled by our deterministic emitter localization and fabrication process, we find a high number of exceptional devices with an average count rate of (3.1 ± 0.9) × 10 6 cps.