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arXiv:2202.07906 · Nano Letters

Quantum Interference of Resonance Fluorescence from Germanium-Vacancy Color Centers in Diamond

Disheng Chen, Johannes E. Fröch, Shihao Ru, Hongbing Cai, Naizhou Wang, Giorgio Adamo, John A. Scott, Fuli Li, Nikolay I. Zheludev, Igor Aharonovich, Weibo Gao

Published Aug 1, 2022• 30 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Resonance fluorescence from a quantum emitter is an ideal source to extract indistinguishable photons. By using the cross-polarization to suppress the laser scattering, we observed resonance fluorescence from GeV color centers in diamond at cryogenic temperature. The Fourier-transform-limited line width emission with T 2 /2 T 1 ∼ 0.86 allows for two-photon interference based on single GeV color center. Under pulsed excitation, the separated photons exhibit a Hong–Ou–Mandel quantum interference above classical limit, whereas the continuous-wave excitation leads to a coalescence time window of 1.05 radiative lifetime. In addition, we demonstrated a single-shot readout of spin states with a fidelity of 74%. Our experiments lay down the foundation for building a quantum network with GeV color centers in diamond.

DOI
10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c01959

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Resonance fluorescence from a quantum emitter is an ideal source to extract indistinguishable photons. By using the cross-polarization to suppress the laser scattering, we observed resonance fluorescence from GeV color centers in diamond at cryogenic temperature. The Fourier-transform-limited line width emission with T 2 /2 T 1 ∼ 0.86 allows for two-photon interference based on single GeV color center. Under pulsed excitation, the separated photons exhibit a Hong–Ou–Mandel quantum interference above classical limit, whereas the continuous-wave excitation leads to a coalescence time window of 1.05 radiative lifetime. In addition, we demonstrated a single-shot readout of spin states with a fidelity of 74%. Our experiments lay down the foundation for building a quantum network with GeV color centers in diamond.
The realization of quantum networks is based on the entanglement of stationary qubits via flying photons. Therefore, a fundamental requirement is a single photon source that can efficiently generate indistinguishable photons for the entanglement generation. The group-IV vacancy centers in diamond have emerged as promising candidates due to their spectral stability benefiting from inversion symmetry and long spin coherence time. In particular, the lead-vacancy (PbV) center exhibits fourier-limited linewidths even above 10 K and is predicted to have millisecond-scale spin coherence time near 9 K, making it suitable for scalable quantum networks. Here, we report the indistinguishability of photons emitted from a single PbV center in diamond through a two-photon interference experiment, known as the Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) effect. Fluorescence from the PbV center was split into two paths and recombined at a HOM interferometer. Photon correlations were measured for parallel and orthogonal polarized schemes. In parallel polarization, a clear interference dip below 0.5 at zero time delay was observed, whereas for orthogonal polarization, the correlation function exceeded 0.5. These results confirm the generation of indistinguishable photons from a single PbV center, validating their potential as the solid-state quantum emitter. This work paves the way for the PbV-based application for quantum information processing.
Color centers in diamond—especially group IV defects—have been advanced as a viable solid-state platform for quantum photonics and information technologies. We investigate the photodynamics and characteristics of germanium-vacancy (GeV) centers hosted in high-pressure high-temperature diamond nanocrystals. Through back-focal plane imaging, we analyze the far-field radiation pattern of the investigated emitters and derive a crossed-dipole emission, which is strongly aligned along one axis. We use this information in combination with lifetime measurements to extract the decay rate statistics of the GeV emitters and determine their quantum efficiency, which we estimated to be ∼ ( 22 ± 2 ) % . Our results offer further insight into the photodynamic properties of the GeV center in nanodiamonds and confirm its suitability as a desirable system for quantum technologies.
Scalable quantum photonic networks require coherent excitation of quantum emitters. However, many solid-state systems can undergo a transition to a dark shelving state that inhibits the resonance fluorescence. Here, we demonstrate that by a controlled gating using a weak nonresonant laser, the resonant fluorescence can be recovered and amplified for single germanium vacancies. Employing the gated resonance excitation, we achieve optically stable resonance fluorescence of germanium vacancy centers. Our results are pivotal for the deployment of diamond color centers as reliable building blocks for scalable solid-state quantum networks.
Photon interference among distant quantum emitters is a promising method to generate large scale quantum networks. Interference is best achieved when photons show long coherence times. For the nitrogen-vacancy defect center in diamond we measure the coherence times of photons via optically induced Rabi oscillations. Experiments reveal a close to Fourier transform (i.e. lifetime) limited width of photons emitted even when averaged over minutes. The projected contrast of two-photon interference (0.8) is high enough to envisage the applications in quantum information processing. We report 12 and 7.8 ns excited state lifetime depending on the spin state of the defect.
Atomic-sized fluorescent defects in diamond are widely recognized as a promising solid state platform for quantum cryptography and quantum information processing. For these applications, single photon sources with a high intensity and reproducible fabrication methods are required. In this study, we report a novel color center in diamond, composed of a germanium (Ge) and a vacancy (V) and named the GeV center, which has a sharp and strong photoluminescence band with a zero-phonon line at 602 nm at room temperature. We demonstrate this new color center works as a single photon source. Both ion implantation and chemical vapor deposition techniques enabled fabrication of GeV centers in diamond. A first-principles calculation revealed the atomic crystal structure and energy levels of the GeV center.
Transform-limited photon emission from quantum emitters is essential for high-fidelity entanglement generation. In this Letter, we report the coherent optical property of a single negatively charged lead-vacancy (PbV) center in diamond. Photoluminescence excitation measurements reveal stable fluorescence with a linewidth of 39 MHz at 6 K, close to the transform limit estimated from the lifetime measurement. We observe 4 orders of magnitude different linewidths of the two zero-phonon lines, and find that the phonon-induced relaxation in the ground state contributes to this huge difference in the linewidth. Because of the suppressed phonon absorption in the PbV center, we observe nearly transform-limited photon emission up to 16 K, demonstrating its high temperature robustness compared to other color centers in diamond.