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:2102.01322 · Physical Review Letters

Investigation of the Stark Effect on a Centrosymmetric Quantum Emitter in Diamond

Lorenzo De Santis, Matthew E. Trusheim, Kevin C. Chen, Dirk Englund

Published Sep 28, 2021• 55 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Quantum emitters in diamond are leading optically accessible solid-state qubits. Among these, Group IV-vacancy defect centers have attracted great interest as coherent and stable optical interfaces to long-lived spin states. Theory indicates that their inversion symmetry provides first-order insensitivity to stray electric fields, a common limitation for optical coherence in any host material. Here we experimentally quantify this electric field dependence via an external electric field applied to individual tin-vacancy (SnV) centers in diamond. These measurements reveal that the permanent electric dipole moment and polarizability are at least 4 orders of magnitude smaller than for the diamond nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers, representing the first direct measurement of the inversion symmetry protection of a Group IV defect in diamond. Moreover, we show that by modulating the electric-field-induced dipole we can use the SnV as a nanoscale probe of local electric field noise, and we employ this technique to highlight the effect of spectral diffusion on the SnV.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.127.147402

Related papers

Electrical Tuning of Tin-Vacancy Centers in Diamond

Shahriar Aghaeimeibodi, Daniel Riedel, Alison E. Rugar +2 more

Many applications in quantum information processing require multiple, identical quantum emitters. Among various color centers in diamond, tin-vacancy centers draw attention because of their high quantum efficiency and long spin coherence. The authors study the shifts of optical-transition frequencies of these centers in an applied electric field, and importantly find that both the linear and quadratic coefficients are orders of magnitude smaller than those of non-inversion-symmetric defects such as nitrogen-vacancy centers. This low susceptibility allows the integration of tin-vacancy centers into photonic nanostructures, which is essential for efficient spin-photon interfaces.

arXiv:2103.01917•Physical Review Applied•Jun 3, 2021•37 citations

Characterization of optical and spin properties of single tin-vacancy centers in diamond nanopillars

Alison E. Rugar, Constantin Dory, Shuo Sun +1 more

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.

arXiv:1811.09941•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•May 16, 2019•71 citations

Identifying high performance spectrally-stable quantum defects in diamond

Yihuang Xiong, Yizhi Zhu, Shay McBride +2 more

Point defects in semiconductors are becoming central to quantum technologies. They can be used as spin qubits interfacing with photons, which are fundamental for building quantum networks. Currently, the most prominent quantum defect in diamond is the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center. However, it suffers from spectral diffusion that negatively impacts optical coherence and is due to the coupling of the emission energy with uncontrolled electric fields. The group IV vacancy complexes on the other hand have shown to be significantly more spectrally-stable as they are centrosymmetric and thus immune to the linear Stark shift. They however suffer from several issues ranging from low operation temperature to low optical efficiency due to dark states and difficulty in stabilizing the right defect charge state. Here we search for alternative to the group IV vacancy complex in diamond by systematically evaluating all possible vacancy complex using high-throughput first-principles computational screening. We identify the defects that combine centrosymmetry, emission in the visible range, as well as favorable and achievable electronic structure promoting higher operation temperature and defect levels well within the band gap. We find Zn$V^{-2}$ to be especially appealing.

arXiv:2504.11598•Apr 15, 2025•0 citations

Optical interfacing of tin-vacancy spin qubits in diamond

Philipp Fuchs, Johannes Görlitz, Robert Morsch-Golsong +2 more

Color centers in diamond, specifically the group-IV-vacancy centers, have emerged as promising candidates among solid state qubits. Among these, the tin-vacancy (SnV) center features the optimum combination of long spin coherence time and favorable optical properties. We here investigate the generation of indistinguishable single photons from SnV centers and explore the influence of residual spectral diffusion. To improve the photon collection efficiency we fabricate a planar optical antenna based on two silver mirrors coated on a thin (sub-µm) single crystal diamond membrane. We demonstrate its operation at room and cryogenic temperatures and strong enhancement of the collectible photon rate.

Photonic and Phononic Properties of Engineered Nanostructures•Mar 4, 2022•0 citations

Integrating the tin-vacancy defect into diamond nanostructures

Oliver von Berg, Vladislav Bushmakin, Rainer Stöhr +2 more

Spin defects in diamond are attracting interest because of their possible application in quantum information processing. One group of such defects are group 4 defects (G4V). They posses an inversion symmetry, which makes them (in first order) invariant under electric fields, allowing them to be placed inside nanophotonic structures. One of those defects is the tin-vacancy (SnV) center. It has an atom like energy structure with the zero phonon line (ZPL) at 620 nm and a Debye-Waller factor of 0.6. The lower two branches are separated by 850 GHz [1], which means that phonon induced dephasing can be neglected at 2 K.

Quantum Computing, Communication, and Simulation•Jan 26, 2024•0 citations

Quantum embedding study of strain- and electric-field-induced Stark effects on the NV − center in diamond

Gabriel I. López‐Morales, Joanna M. Zajac, Johannes Flick +2 more

The negatively charged nitrogen vacancy (NV${}^{\ensuremath{-}}$) center in diamond is a well-known color center with interesting applications in nanoscale sensing and quantum metrology, due to its high sensitivity to minute local electric, magnetic, and strain fields. Motivated by these applications of the this center, the authors employ here first-principles calculations based on quantum embedding to derive a many-body description of its excited-state dipole couplings and strain susceptibilities, which underlie the electric field and strain induced Stark effects.

Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Dec 13, 2024•13 citations
Quantum emitters in diamond are leading optically accessible solid-state qubits. Among these, Group IV-vacancy defect centers have attracted great interest as coherent and stable optical interfaces to long-lived spin states. Theory indicates that their inversion symmetry provides first-order insensitivity to stray electric fields, a common limitation for optical coherence in any host material. Here we experimentally quantify this electric field dependence via an external electric field applied to individual tin-vacancy (SnV) centers in diamond. These measurements reveal that the permanent electric dipole moment and polarizability are at least 4 orders of magnitude smaller than for the diamond nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers, representing the first direct measurement of the inversion symmetry protection of a Group IV defect in diamond. Moreover, we show that by modulating the electric-field-induced dipole we can use the SnV as a nanoscale probe of local electric field noise, and we employ this technique to highlight the effect of spectral diffusion on the SnV.
Many applications in quantum information processing require multiple, identical quantum emitters. Among various color centers in diamond, tin-vacancy centers draw attention because of their high quantum efficiency and long spin coherence. The authors study the shifts of optical-transition frequencies of these centers in an applied electric field, and importantly find that both the linear and quadratic coefficients are orders of magnitude smaller than those of non-inversion-symmetric defects such as nitrogen-vacancy centers. This low susceptibility allows the integration of tin-vacancy centers into photonic nanostructures, which is essential for efficient spin-photon interfaces.
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 T2{T}_{2}T2​ 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<250<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.
Point defects in semiconductors are becoming central to quantum technologies. They can be used as spin qubits interfacing with photons, which are fundamental for building quantum networks. Currently, the most prominent quantum defect in diamond is the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center. However, it suffers from spectral diffusion that negatively impacts optical coherence and is due to the coupling of the emission energy with uncontrolled electric fields. The group IV vacancy complexes on the other hand have shown to be significantly more spectrally-stable as they are centrosymmetric and thus immune to the linear Stark shift. They however suffer from several issues ranging from low operation temperature to low optical efficiency due to dark states and difficulty in stabilizing the right defect charge state. Here we search for alternative to the group IV vacancy complex in diamond by systematically evaluating all possible vacancy complex using high-throughput first-principles computational screening. We identify the defects that combine centrosymmetry, emission in the visible range, as well as favorable and achievable electronic structure promoting higher operation temperature and defect levels well within the band gap. We find ZnV−2V^{-2}V−2 to be especially appealing.
Color centers in diamond, specifically the group-IV-vacancy centers, have emerged as promising candidates among solid state qubits. Among these, the tin-vacancy (SnV) center features the optimum combination of long spin coherence time and favorable optical properties. We here investigate the generation of indistinguishable single photons from SnV centers and explore the influence of residual spectral diffusion. To improve the photon collection efficiency we fabricate a planar optical antenna based on two silver mirrors coated on a thin (sub-µm) single crystal diamond membrane. We demonstrate its operation at room and cryogenic temperatures and strong enhancement of the collectible photon rate.
Spin defects in diamond are attracting interest because of their possible application in quantum information processing. One group of such defects are group 4 defects (G4V). They posses an inversion symmetry, which makes them (in first order) invariant under electric fields, allowing them to be placed inside nanophotonic structures. One of those defects is the tin-vacancy (SnV) center. It has an atom like energy structure with the zero phonon line (ZPL) at 620 nm and a Debye-Waller factor of 0.6. The lower two branches are separated by 850 GHz [1], which means that phonon induced dephasing can be neglected at 2 K.
The negatively charged nitrogen vacancy (NV${}^{\ensuremath{-}}$) center in diamond is a well-known color center with interesting applications in nanoscale sensing and quantum metrology, due to its high sensitivity to minute local electric, magnetic, and strain fields. Motivated by these applications of the this center, the authors employ here first-principles calculations based on quantum embedding to derive a many-body description of its excited-state dipole couplings and strain susceptibilities, which underlie the electric field and strain induced Stark effects.