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:2208.06275

Identical Photons from Multiple Tin-Vacancy Centers in Diamond

Narita, Yasuyuki, Peng Wang, Oba, Kazuki, Yoshiyuki Miyamoto, Takashi Taniguchi, Shinobu Onoda, Mutsuko Hatano, Takayuki Iwasaki

Published Aug 12, 2022• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We report the narrow inhomogeneous distribution of the zero-phonon line from tin-vacancy (SnV) centers in diamond and the overlap of spectra from multiple separated SnV centers. Photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy measurements at a cryogenic temperature showed that SnV centers exhibit stable fluorescence and linewidths close to the Fourier transform-limited linewidth. The inhomogeneous distribution was as low as ~4 GHz, which enabled the observation of Sn isotope-dependent resonant frequencies. Owing to the narrow inhomogeneous distribution, we observed multiple SnV centers showing identical photons with almost the same wavelength and linewidth. Identical SnV centers were also observed even in different diamond samples, confirming the reliable fabrication of the high-quality SnV centers.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2208.06275

Related papers

Fabrication and Photoluminescence Studies of Tin-Vacancy Centers in Chemical Vapor Deposition Diamond

Rani Mary Joy, Miquel Cherta Garrido, Omar J. Y. Harb +8 more

Group IV color centers in diamond are promising single-photon emitters for quantum information processing and networking. Among them, the tin-vacancy (SnV) center stands out due to its long spin coherence times at cryogenic temperatures above 1 K. While SnV centers have been realized using various fabrication routes, their in situ formation via microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (MW PE CVD) remains relatively unexplored. In this study, SnV centers, identified by a zero-phonon line (ZPL) near 620 nm, were synthesized in nanocrystalline diamond and free-standing microcrystalline diamond using tin oxide (SnO 2 ) as a dopant source at substrate temperatures of 750°C and 850°C. Photoluminescence measurements reveal that lowering the substrate temperature enhances both the ZPL intensity and spatial uniformity of SnV centers. These results highlight substrate temperature as a key parameter for controlling SnV incorporation during MW PE CVD growth and provide insights into optimizing fabrication strategies for diamond-based quantum technologies.

ACS Materials Letters•Dec 2, 2025•1 citation

Multiple Tin-Vacancy Centers in Diamond with Nearly Identical Photon Frequency and Linewidth

Yasuyuki Narita, Peng Wang, Keita Ikeda +6 more

Tin-vacancy (Sn-$V$) centers in diamond, which possess good optical and spin properties, are a promising system for constructing quantum network nodes. Tin atoms are heavy, though, and generating photons with identical wavelength and linewidth from multiple Sn-$V$ emitters is challenging, due to the strain in the diamond host material. This study shows that multiple Sn-$V$ centers, formed deep within bulk diamond by ion implantation and high-temperature annealing, emit nearly identical photons. This leads to two-photon interference from distant centers, an important step toward building quantum network nodes.

Physical Review Applied•Feb 23, 2023•21 citations

Charge State Transition of Spectrally Stabilized Tin-Vacancy Centers in Diamond

Keita Ikeda, Yiyang Chen, Peng Wang +5 more

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Solid-state quantum emitters are important platforms for quantum information processing. The fabrication of the emitters with stable photon frequency and narrow line width is a fundamental issue, and it is essential to understand optical conditions under which the emitter keeps a bright charge state or transitions to a dark state. For these purposes, in this study, we investigate the spectral stability and charge state transition of tin-vacancy (SnV) centers in diamond. The photoluminescence excitation spectra of multiple SnV centers are basically stable over time with nearly transform-limited line widths under resonant excitation, while simultaneous irradiation of resonant and nonresonant lasers makes spectra from the SnV centers unstable. We find that the instability occurs due to the charge state transition to a dark state. The charge state transition rates are quantitatively investigated depending on the laser powers. Lastly, with first-principles calculations, we model the charge state transition of the SnV center under laser irradiation.

arXiv:2412.07087•ACS Photonics•Mar 4, 2025•4 citations

Strongly inhomogeneous distribution of spectral properties of silicon-vacancy color centers in nanodiamonds

Sarah Lindner, Alexander Bommer, Andreas Muzha +7 more

The silicon-vacancy (SiV) color center in diamond is a solid-state single photon emitter and spin quantum bit suited as a component in quantum devices. Here, we show that SiV centers in nanodiamonds exhibit a strongly inhomogeneous distribution with regard to the center wavelengths and linewidths of the zero-phonon-line (ZPL) emission at room temperature. We find that the SiV centers separate in two clusters: one group exhibits ZPLs with center wavelengths within a narrow range ≈730–742 nm and broad linewidths between 5 and 17 nm, whereas the second group comprises a very broad distribution of center wavelengths between 715 and 835 nm, but narrow linewidths from below 1 up to 4 nm. Supported by ab initio Kohn–Sham density functional theory calculations we show that the ZPL shifts of the first group are consistently explained by strain in the diamond lattice. Further, we suggest, that the second group showing the strongly inhomogeneous distribution of center wavelengths might be comprised of a new class of silicon-related defects. Whereas single photon emission is demonstrated for defect centers of both clusters, we show that emitters from different clusters show different spectroscopic features such as variations of the phonon sideband spectra and different blinking dynamics.

arXiv:1807.03842•New Journal of Physics•Oct 18, 2018•82 citations

Tin-Vacancy Centers in Diamond for Quantum Network

Takayuki Iwasaki

Quantum emitters in diamond are a promising candidate for quantum network applications. Here, we show basic properties of tin-vacancy (SnV) centers in diamond, which we recently discovered. The SnV center shows a sharp zero phonon line and a high fluorescence intensity. The SnV center has a possibility to have a long spin coherence time in the Kelvin temperature range, in contrast to other group-IV color centers, i.e. silicon-vacancy and germanium-vacancy centers. We discuss important experiments regarding spin and optical properties of the SnV quantum emitter for further development towards quantum network.

The Review of Laser Engineering•Jan 1, 2021•0 citations

Single tin-vacancy center in nanoscale diamond

Masanori Fujiwara, Masanao Ohori, Frederick T.-K. So +6 more

Group-IV color centers in diamonds are promising not only as spin-photon interfaces for quantum networks but also as multicolor photoluminescence probes and all-optical temperature sensors for biological research. Therefore, generating group-IV color centers in detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs), the smallest class of diamond nanocrystals, has become a research focal point. This approach holds potential for the noninvasive introduction of diamond sensors into living cell organelles, enabling sensing of local structural and temperature changes with minimal disturbance. Following the successful generation of silicon- and germanium-vacancy centers in DNDs, the generation of tin-vacancy (SnV) centers was investigated. Similar to other group-IV color centers, the SnV centers exhibit strong photoluminescence. In addition, the SnV center offers a long spin coherence time compared with those of silicon- and germanium-vacancy centers. However, the strain induced by large Sn atoms poses substantial challenges for generating SnV centers in ultrasmall nanodiamonds. In this study, Sn-doped DNDs with a mean particle size of ~ 5 nm were subjected to a 3 days boiling acid treatment, which led to sharp zero-phonon lines of SnV centers at ~ 620 nm in the photoluminescence spectra. Photon autocorrelation measurements further revealed the presence of single SnV centers in these DNDs.

Discover Nano•May 14, 2025•8 citations
We report the narrow inhomogeneous distribution of the zero-phonon line from tin-vacancy (SnV) centers in diamond and the overlap of spectra from multiple separated SnV centers. Photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy measurements at a cryogenic temperature showed that SnV centers exhibit stable fluorescence and linewidths close to the Fourier transform-limited linewidth. The inhomogeneous distribution was as low as ~4 GHz, which enabled the observation of Sn isotope-dependent resonant frequencies. Owing to the narrow inhomogeneous distribution, we observed multiple SnV centers showing identical photons with almost the same wavelength and linewidth. Identical SnV centers were also observed even in different diamond samples, confirming the reliable fabrication of the high-quality SnV centers.
Group IV color centers in diamond are promising single-photon emitters for quantum information processing and networking. Among them, the tin-vacancy (SnV) center stands out due to its long spin coherence times at cryogenic temperatures above 1 K. While SnV centers have been realized using various fabrication routes, their in situ formation via microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (MW PE CVD) remains relatively unexplored. In this study, SnV centers, identified by a zero-phonon line (ZPL) near 620 nm, were synthesized in nanocrystalline diamond and free-standing microcrystalline diamond using tin oxide (SnO 2 ) as a dopant source at substrate temperatures of 750°C and 850°C. Photoluminescence measurements reveal that lowering the substrate temperature enhances both the ZPL intensity and spatial uniformity of SnV centers. These results highlight substrate temperature as a key parameter for controlling SnV incorporation during MW PE CVD growth and provide insights into optimizing fabrication strategies for diamond-based quantum technologies.
Tin-vacancy (Sn-VVV) centers in diamond, which possess good optical and spin properties, are a promising system for constructing quantum network nodes. Tin atoms are heavy, though, and generating photons with identical wavelength and linewidth from multiple Sn-VVV emitters is challenging, due to the strain in the diamond host material. This study shows that multiple Sn-VVV centers, formed deep within bulk diamond by ion implantation and high-temperature annealing, emit nearly identical photons. This leads to two-photon interference from distant centers, an important step toward building quantum network nodes.
High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Solid-state quantum emitters are important platforms for quantum information processing. The fabrication of the emitters with stable photon frequency and narrow line width is a fundamental issue, and it is essential to understand optical conditions under which the emitter keeps a bright charge state or transitions to a dark state. For these purposes, in this study, we investigate the spectral stability and charge state transition of tin-vacancy (SnV) centers in diamond. The photoluminescence excitation spectra of multiple SnV centers are basically stable over time with nearly transform-limited line widths under resonant excitation, while simultaneous irradiation of resonant and nonresonant lasers makes spectra from the SnV centers unstable. We find that the instability occurs due to the charge state transition to a dark state. The charge state transition rates are quantitatively investigated depending on the laser powers. Lastly, with first-principles calculations, we model the charge state transition of the SnV center under laser irradiation.
The silicon-vacancy (SiV) color center in diamond is a solid-state single photon emitter and spin quantum bit suited as a component in quantum devices. Here, we show that SiV centers in nanodiamonds exhibit a strongly inhomogeneous distribution with regard to the center wavelengths and linewidths of the zero-phonon-line (ZPL) emission at room temperature. We find that the SiV centers separate in two clusters: one group exhibits ZPLs with center wavelengths within a narrow range ≈730–742 nm and broad linewidths between 5 and 17 nm, whereas the second group comprises a very broad distribution of center wavelengths between 715 and 835 nm, but narrow linewidths from below 1 up to 4 nm. Supported by ab initio Kohn–Sham density functional theory calculations we show that the ZPL shifts of the first group are consistently explained by strain in the diamond lattice. Further, we suggest, that the second group showing the strongly inhomogeneous distribution of center wavelengths might be comprised of a new class of silicon-related defects. Whereas single photon emission is demonstrated for defect centers of both clusters, we show that emitters from different clusters show different spectroscopic features such as variations of the phonon sideband spectra and different blinking dynamics.
Quantum emitters in diamond are a promising candidate for quantum network applications. Here, we show basic properties of tin-vacancy (SnV) centers in diamond, which we recently discovered. The SnV center shows a sharp zero phonon line and a high fluorescence intensity. The SnV center has a possibility to have a long spin coherence time in the Kelvin temperature range, in contrast to other group-IV color centers, i.e. silicon-vacancy and germanium-vacancy centers. We discuss important experiments regarding spin and optical properties of the SnV quantum emitter for further development towards quantum network.
Group-IV color centers in diamonds are promising not only as spin-photon interfaces for quantum networks but also as multicolor photoluminescence probes and all-optical temperature sensors for biological research. Therefore, generating group-IV color centers in detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs), the smallest class of diamond nanocrystals, has become a research focal point. This approach holds potential for the noninvasive introduction of diamond sensors into living cell organelles, enabling sensing of local structural and temperature changes with minimal disturbance. Following the successful generation of silicon- and germanium-vacancy centers in DNDs, the generation of tin-vacancy (SnV) centers was investigated. Similar to other group-IV color centers, the SnV centers exhibit strong photoluminescence. In addition, the SnV center offers a long spin coherence time compared with those of silicon- and germanium-vacancy centers. However, the strain induced by large Sn atoms poses substantial challenges for generating SnV centers in ultrasmall nanodiamonds. In this study, Sn-doped DNDs with a mean particle size of ~ 5 nm were subjected to a 3 days boiling acid treatment, which led to sharp zero-phonon lines of SnV centers at ~ 620 nm in the photoluminescence spectra. Photon autocorrelation measurements further revealed the presence of single SnV centers in these DNDs.