arXiv:1811.09941 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B
Characterization of optical and spin properties of single tin-vacancy centers in diamond nanopillars
Alison E. Rugar, Constantin Dory, Shuo Sun, Jelena Vuckovic A
Abstract
Color centers in diamond have attracted much interest as candidates for optically active, solid-state quantum bits. Of particular interest are inversion-symmetric color centers based on group-IV impurities in diamond because they emit strongly into their zero-phonon lines and are insensitive to electric field noise to first order. Early studies of the negatively charged tin-vacancy (${\mathrm{SnV}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$) center in diamond have found the ${\mathrm{SnV}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ to be a promising candidate: it has high quantum efficiency, emits strongly into its zero-phonon lines, and is expected to have a long ${T}_{2}$ spin coherence time at 4 K. To develop the ${\mathrm{SnV}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ into a spin qubit requires further characterization, especially of the spin and optical properties of individual ${\mathrm{SnV}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ in nanofabricated structures. In this work, we isolate single ${\mathrm{SnV}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ centers in diamond nanopillars and characterize their emission properties and their spin response to a magnetic field. We observe narrow emission linewidths $<250$ MHz, as well as a strong polarization dependence of each transition. We also find the Zeeman splitting under a magnetic field to be in good agreement with theoretical prediction. Our results pave the way toward future employment of single ${\mathrm{SnV}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ centers as optically accessible quantum memories.