Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1910.10737 · Optical Materials Express

Single crystal diamond pyramids for applications in nanoscale quantum sensing

Marietta Batzer, Brendan Shields, Elke Neu, Claudia Widmann, Christian Giese, Christoph Nebel, Patrick Maletinsky

Published Dec 11, 2019• 24 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We present a new approach combining top down fabrication and bottom up overgrowth to create diamond photonic nanostructures in the form of single-crystalline diamond nanopyramids. Our approach relies on diamond nanopillars, that are overgrown with single-crystalline diamond to form pyramidal structures oriented along crystal facets. To characterize the photonic properties of the pyramids, color centers are created in a controlled way using ion implantation and annealing. We find very high collection efficiency from color centers close to the pyramid apex. We further show excellent smoothness and sharpness of our diamond pyramids with measured tip radii on the order of 10 nm. Our results offer interesting prospects for nanoscale quantum sensing using diamond color centers, where our diamond pyramids could be used as scanning probes for nanoscale imaging. There, our approach would offer significant advantages compared to the cone-shaped scanning probes which define the current state of the art.

DOI
10.1364/ome.380362

Related papers

Nanoscale Sensing Using Point Defects in Single-Crystal Diamond: Recent Progress on Nitrogen Vacancy Center-Based Sensors

Ettore Bernardi, Richard Nelz, Selda Sonusen +1 more

Individual, luminescent point defects in solids, so-called color centers, are atomic-sized quantum systems enabling sensing and imaging with nanoscale spatial resolution. In this overview, we introduce nanoscale sensing based on individual nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. We discuss two central challenges of the field: first, the creation of highly-coherent, shallow NV centers less than 10 nm below the surface of a single-crystal diamond; second, the fabrication of tip-like photonic nanostructures that enable efficient fluorescence collection and can be used for scanning probe imaging based on color centers with nanoscale resolution.

arXiv:1704.04011•Crystals•Apr 28, 2017•64 citations

Deterministic Arrays of Epitaxially Grown Diamond Nanopyramid s with Embedded Silicon‐Vacancy Centers

Tzach Jaffe, Nina Felgen, Lior Gal +4 more

Abstract The negatively charged silicon‐vacancy center (SiV) in diamond is a potential high‐quality source of single‐indistinguishable photons for quantum information processing and quantum electrodynamics applications. However, when embedded in bulk diamond, this emitter suffers from both, relatively low extraction efficiency attributed to total internal reflection as well as nondeterministic location. On the other hand, its implementation in nanodiamonds is impeded by optical dephasing owing to their degraded surface quality. Here a robust and deterministic template‐assisted bottom‐up process for the creation of high‐quality diamond nanopyramids incorporating SiVs is reported. This method employs a predefinition of high‐precision nanopillars by e‐beam lithography and dry etching, and subsequent epitaxial overgrowth during which Si atoms are introduced into diamond. The overgrown layer, including the nanopyramid arrays, is epitaxial as confirmed by comprehensive analyses. This diamond nanopyramid, hosting the SiVs, can pave the way toward efficient localized single‐photon source arrays and potentially outshine nanodiamonds and nanosized structures prepared by a top‐down method. The lateral confinement of the SiVs inside the deterministic nanosized pyramids enables their positioning at the center of cavities and optical structures for enhanced quantum efficiency and light–matter manipulation, and their employment as a system to explore collective coherent interactions between ensembles and confined light.

Advanced Optical Materials•Dec 3, 2018•23 citations

Bottom‐Up Synthesis of Single Crystal Diamond Pyramids Containing Germanium Vacancy Centers

Milad Nonahal, Simon White, Blake Regan +5 more

Abstract Diamond resonators containing color‐centers are highly sought after for application in quantum technologies. Bottom‐up approaches are promising for the generation of single‐crystal diamond structures with purposely introduced color centers. Here the possibility of using a polycrystalline diamond to grow single‐crystal diamond structures by employing a pattern growth method is demonstrated. For, the possible mechanism of growing a single‐crystal structure with predefined shape and size from a polycrystalline substrate by controlling the growth condition is clarified. Then, by introducing germanium impurities during the growth, localized and enhanced emission from fabricated pyramid shaped single‐crystal diamonds containing germanium vacancy (GeV) color centers is demonstrated. Finally, linewidth of ∼500 MHz at 4 K from a single GeV center in the pyramid shaped diamonds is measured. The method is an important step toward fabrication of 3D structures for integrated diamond photonics.

Advanced Quantum Technologies•May 14, 2021•2 citations

Color center fluorescence and spin manipulation in single crystal, pyramidal diamond tips

Richard Nelz, Philipp Fuchs, Oliver Opaluch +4 more

We investigate bright fluorescence of nitrogen (NV)- and silicon-vacancy color centers in pyramidal, single crystal diamond tips, which are commercially available as atomic force microscope probes. We coherently manipulate NV electronic spin ensembles with T2 = 7.7(3) μs. Color center lifetimes in different tip heights indicate effective refractive index effects and quenching. Using numerical simulations, we verify enhanced photon rates from emitters close to the pyramid apex rendering them promising as scanning probe sensors.

arXiv:1608.08369•Applied Physics Letters•Nov 7, 2016•22 citations

Photonic nano-structures on (111)-oriented diamond

Elke Neu, Patrick Appel, Marc Ganzhorn +7 more

We demonstrate the fabrication of single-crystalline diamond nanopillars on a (111)-oriented chemical vapor deposited diamond substrate. This crystal orientation offers optimal coupling of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center emission to the nanopillar mode and is thus advantageous over previous approaches. We characterize single native NV centers in these nanopillars and find one of the highest reported saturated fluorescence count rates in single crystalline diamond in excess of 106 counts per second. We show that our nano-fabrication procedure conserves the preferential alignment as well as the spin coherence of the NVs in our structures. Our results will enable a new generation of highly sensitive probes for NV magnetometry and pave the way toward photonic crystals with optimal orientation of the NV center's emission dipole.

arXiv:1403.6063•Applied Physics Letters•Apr 14, 2014•108 citations

Single-color centers implanted in diamond nanostructures

Birgit J. M. Hausmann, Thomas M. Babinec, Jennifer T. Choy +6 more

The development of material-processing techniques that can be used to generate optical diamond nanostructures containing a single-color center is an important problem in quantum science and technology. In this work, we present the combination of ion implantation and top-down diamond nanofabrication in two scenarios: diamond nanopillars and diamond nanowires. The first device consists of a 'shallow' implant (∼20 nm) to generate nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers near the top surface of the diamond crystal prior to device fabrication. Individual NV centers are then mechanically isolated by etching a regular array of nanopillars in the diamond surface. Photon anti-bunching measurements indicate that a high yield (>10%) of the devices contain a single NV center. The second device demonstrates 'deep' (∼1 μm) implantation of individual NV centers into diamond nanowires as a post-processing step. The high single-photon flux of the nanowire geometry, combined with the low background fluorescence of the ultrapure diamond, allowed us to observe sustained photon anti-bunching even at high pump powers.

arXiv:1009.4224•New Journal of Physics•Apr 5, 2011•75 citations
We present a new approach combining top down fabrication and bottom up overgrowth to create diamond photonic nanostructures in the form of single-crystalline diamond nanopyramids. Our approach relies on diamond nanopillars, that are overgrown with single-crystalline diamond to form pyramidal structures oriented along crystal facets. To characterize the photonic properties of the pyramids, color centers are created in a controlled way using ion implantation and annealing. We find very high collection efficiency from color centers close to the pyramid apex. We further show excellent smoothness and sharpness of our diamond pyramids with measured tip radii on the order of 10 nm. Our results offer interesting prospects for nanoscale quantum sensing using diamond color centers, where our diamond pyramids could be used as scanning probes for nanoscale imaging. There, our approach would offer significant advantages compared to the cone-shaped scanning probes which define the current state of the art.
Individual, luminescent point defects in solids, so-called color centers, are atomic-sized quantum systems enabling sensing and imaging with nanoscale spatial resolution. In this overview, we introduce nanoscale sensing based on individual nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. We discuss two central challenges of the field: first, the creation of highly-coherent, shallow NV centers less than 10 nm below the surface of a single-crystal diamond; second, the fabrication of tip-like photonic nanostructures that enable efficient fluorescence collection and can be used for scanning probe imaging based on color centers with nanoscale resolution.
Abstract The negatively charged silicon‐vacancy center (SiV) in diamond is a potential high‐quality source of single‐indistinguishable photons for quantum information processing and quantum electrodynamics applications. However, when embedded in bulk diamond, this emitter suffers from both, relatively low extraction efficiency attributed to total internal reflection as well as nondeterministic location. On the other hand, its implementation in nanodiamonds is impeded by optical dephasing owing to their degraded surface quality. Here a robust and deterministic template‐assisted bottom‐up process for the creation of high‐quality diamond nanopyramids incorporating SiVs is reported. This method employs a predefinition of high‐precision nanopillars by e‐beam lithography and dry etching, and subsequent epitaxial overgrowth during which Si atoms are introduced into diamond. The overgrown layer, including the nanopyramid arrays, is epitaxial as confirmed by comprehensive analyses. This diamond nanopyramid, hosting the SiVs, can pave the way toward efficient localized single‐photon source arrays and potentially outshine nanodiamonds and nanosized structures prepared by a top‐down method. The lateral confinement of the SiVs inside the deterministic nanosized pyramids enables their positioning at the center of cavities and optical structures for enhanced quantum efficiency and light–matter manipulation, and their employment as a system to explore collective coherent interactions between ensembles and confined light.
Abstract Diamond resonators containing color‐centers are highly sought after for application in quantum technologies. Bottom‐up approaches are promising for the generation of single‐crystal diamond structures with purposely introduced color centers. Here the possibility of using a polycrystalline diamond to grow single‐crystal diamond structures by employing a pattern growth method is demonstrated. For, the possible mechanism of growing a single‐crystal structure with predefined shape and size from a polycrystalline substrate by controlling the growth condition is clarified. Then, by introducing germanium impurities during the growth, localized and enhanced emission from fabricated pyramid shaped single‐crystal diamonds containing germanium vacancy (GeV) color centers is demonstrated. Finally, linewidth of ∼500 MHz at 4 K from a single GeV center in the pyramid shaped diamonds is measured. The method is an important step toward fabrication of 3D structures for integrated diamond photonics.
We investigate bright fluorescence of nitrogen (NV)- and silicon-vacancy color centers in pyramidal, single crystal diamond tips, which are commercially available as atomic force microscope probes. We coherently manipulate NV electronic spin ensembles with T2 = 7.7(3) μs. Color center lifetimes in different tip heights indicate effective refractive index effects and quenching. Using numerical simulations, we verify enhanced photon rates from emitters close to the pyramid apex rendering them promising as scanning probe sensors.
We demonstrate the fabrication of single-crystalline diamond nanopillars on a (111)-oriented chemical vapor deposited diamond substrate. This crystal orientation offers optimal coupling of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center emission to the nanopillar mode and is thus advantageous over previous approaches. We characterize single native NV centers in these nanopillars and find one of the highest reported saturated fluorescence count rates in single crystalline diamond in excess of 106 counts per second. We show that our nano-fabrication procedure conserves the preferential alignment as well as the spin coherence of the NVs in our structures. Our results will enable a new generation of highly sensitive probes for NV magnetometry and pave the way toward photonic crystals with optimal orientation of the NV center's emission dipole.
The development of material-processing techniques that can be used to generate optical diamond nanostructures containing a single-color center is an important problem in quantum science and technology. In this work, we present the combination of ion implantation and top-down diamond nanofabrication in two scenarios: diamond nanopillars and diamond nanowires. The first device consists of a 'shallow' implant (∼20 nm) to generate nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers near the top surface of the diamond crystal prior to device fabrication. Individual NV centers are then mechanically isolated by etching a regular array of nanopillars in the diamond surface. Photon anti-bunching measurements indicate that a high yield (>10%) of the devices contain a single NV center. The second device demonstrates 'deep' (∼1 μm) implantation of individual NV centers into diamond nanowires as a post-processing step. The high single-photon flux of the nanowire geometry, combined with the low background fluorescence of the ultrapure diamond, allowed us to observe sustained photon anti-bunching even at high pump powers.