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arXiv:2305.15160

Dopant-assisted stabilization of negatively charged single nitrogen-vacancy centers in phosphorus-doped diamond at low temperatures

Jianpei Geng, Tetyana Shalomayeva, Mariia Gryzlova, Amlan Mukherjee, S. Santonocito, Dzhavid Dzhavadzade, Durga Bhaktavatsala Rao Dasari, Hiromitsu Kato, Rainer Stöhr, Andrej Denisenko, Norikazu Mizuochi, Jörg Wrachtrup

Published May 24, 2023• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Charge state instabilities have been a bottleneck for the implementation of solid-state spin systems and pose a major challenge to the development of spin-based quantum technologies. Here we investigate the stabilization of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV$^-$) centers in phosphorus-doped diamond at liquid helium temperatures. Photoionization of phosphorous donors in conjunction with charge diffusion at the nanoscale enhances NV$^0$ to NV$^-$ conversion and stabilizes the NV$^-$ charge state without the need for an additional repump laser. The phosphorus-assisted stabilization is explored and confirmed both with experiments and our theoretical model. Stable photoluminescence-excitation spectra are obtained for NV$^-$ centers created during the growth. The fluorescence is continuously recorded under resonant excitation to real-time monitor the charge state and the ionization and recombination rates are extracted from time traces. We find a linear laser power dependence of the recombination rate as opposed to the conventional quadratic dependence, which is attributed to the photo-ionization of phosphorus atoms.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2305.15160

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Charge State Control of Single Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers in Diamond

悠生 土井

Quantum information in which spin is used as a source of non-classical computation and communication, attracts considerable interest.A long spin coherence (T 2 ) are required toward quantum processing.In addition, small spectral diffusion of single photon for realization of quantum cryptography and building quantum network is needed.The nitrogen-vacancy center (NV) in diamond have long T 2 (up to several milliseconds at room temperature) and become single-photon emitter.Now a days, optically induced charge state interconversion on NV significantly extend T 2 of proximal nuclear spin owing to hyperfine interaction is weaken by motion narrowing.Theory predicts that T 2 exceeding 1 min with preventing heating of diamond due to high laser power excitation.This demonstration show potential of charge state and its non-optical control for spin properties of the NV center.Despite optical illumination is essential for NV to initialize and readout spin, optically induced charge state interconversion causes error in quantum control and spectral diffusion in emitted single photons.In this study, charge state of single NV centers are deterministically controlled by non-optical method.Charge state of single NVs formed in the intrinsic layer of p-in diode are modulated by current injection.Transition rate and its dependence on current is revealed.Recent controllable direction of charge state is limited; however this non-optical charge state control on spin-active negatively charged state (NV -) open the new way to spin related experiments.This study also realize purely populated charge state on the single NVs in phosphorus doped n-type diamond.Charge state is perfectly stabilized into NV -state even under optical illumination (1 µW, 593 nm).After NV - charge state is disturbed by strong laser excitation, state recovered to NV -state under dark condition.This result pave the way to the single spin manipulation in high efficiency and suppress spectral diffusion of single emitted photons. 概要この NV 中心は光励起下(波長: 593 nm, 強度: 1 µW) においても電荷状態が変化しない。また強い光励起によって電荷状態の変化が引き起こ されても、その後 0.28 ms -1 のレートで完全に NV -へと回復することがわかった。この 成果は単一スピン操作の精度、並びに単一光子のスペクトルの安定性向上に繋がる。 Contents 5.2.Raster scan images and fluorescence time traces . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.3.Single-shot charge-state measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.4.Recombination/recharge rate in the dark condition . . . . . . . . . . . .5.5.Charge-state population and recombination rate under laser excitation .5.6.ODMR and spin coherence measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

•Mar 28, 2016•0 citations
Charge state instabilities have been a bottleneck for the implementation of solid-state spin systems and pose a major challenge to the development of spin-based quantum technologies. Here we investigate the stabilization of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV−^-−) centers in phosphorus-doped diamond at liquid helium temperatures. Photoionization of phosphorous donors in conjunction with charge diffusion at the nanoscale enhances NV0^00 to NV−^-− conversion and stabilizes the NV−^-− charge state without the need for an additional repump laser. The phosphorus-assisted stabilization is explored and confirmed both with experiments and our theoretical model. Stable photoluminescence-excitation spectra are obtained for NV−^-− centers created during the growth. The fluorescence is continuously recorded under resonant excitation to real-time monitor the charge state and the ionization and recombination rates are extracted from time traces. We find a linear laser power dependence of the recombination rate as opposed to the conventional quadratic dependence, which is attributed to the photo-ionization of phosphorus atoms.
Abstract Charge state instabilities have been a bottleneck for the implementation of solid-state spin systems and pose a major challenge to the development of spin-based quantum technologies. Here we investigate the stabilization of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV−) centers in phosphorus-doped diamond at liquid helium temperatures. Photoionization of phosphorous donors in conjunction with charge diffusion at the nanoscale enhances NV0 to NV− conversion and stabilizes the NV− charge state without the need for an additional repump laser. The phosphorus-assisted stabilization is explored and confirmed both with experiments and our theoretical model. Stable photoluminescence-excitation spectra are obtained for NV− centers created during the growth. The fluorescence is continuously recorded under resonant excitation to real-time monitor the charge state and the ionization and recombination rates are extracted from time traces. We find a linear laser power dependence of the recombination rate as opposed to the conventional quadratic dependence, which is attributed to the photo-ionization of phosphorus atoms.
The charge state stability of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers critically affects their application as quantum sensors and qubits. Understanding charge state conversion and equilibration is important not only for NV centers in diamond but also for defects and impurities in wide-bandgap materials in general. The mechanisms by which these centers change charge state upon optical or electronic excitation without the presence of mobile carriers remain unclear. Here, we elucidate this issue for the case of photoionization of NV center ensembles. Using pump-probe spectroscopy, we ionize negatively charged NV centers and monitor the recovery of NV^{-} on timescales of up to several seconds. We find that the recovery rate depends strongly on the concentration of surrounding nitrogen donors. Remarkably, the equilibration dynamics exhibit no discernible dependence on temperature, ruling out thermally activated processes. We develop a multiphonon-assisted electron-tunneling model, supported by density-functional calculations, that explains the measurements and identifies tunneling as the equilibration mechanism. Because tunneling rates depend exponentially on donor separation, the random distribution of nitrogen donors spreads recovery times from nanoseconds to hours or longer.
This is a preliminary version. Improvements and additional analysis will be included in a revised manuscript. We investigate the charge-state stability of individual nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in weakly doped HPHT IIa diamond containing sub-ppm concentrations of boron and nitrogen. Using Ti/Al coplanar electrodes on an oxygen-terminated surface, we study how applied electric fields and optical excitation jointly govern NV charge conversion. By combining voltage-dependent photoluminescence, real-time charge-state monitoring, laser-power saturation with spectral decomposition, and time-resolved measurements, we reveal that electric fields several micrometers from the contacts significantly increase the NV- population and enhance spin readout. At low excitation powers, the NV- population evolves on minute timescales following compressed-exponential kinetics, consistent with slow space-charge rearrangement in ultra-insulating diamond. Under pulsed excitation, we observe hundreds-of-nanoseconds NV-/NV0 conversion driven by hole capture, which is strongly suppressed by applied bias. Our results demonstrate that residual boron acceptors play a key role in determining charge-state stability and show how electrical bias can reliably stabilize NV- in weakly doped bulk diamond.
In this Letter, the photoinduced switching of the single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center between two different charge states, negative (${\mathrm{NV}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$) and neutral (NV0{\mathrm{NV}}^{0}NV0), is studied under resonant excitation at liquid helium temperature. We show that resonant conversion of NV0{\mathrm{NV}}^{0}NV0 to ${\mathrm{NV}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ significantly improves spectral stability of the ${\mathrm{NV}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ defect and allows high fidelity initialization of the spin qubit. Based on density functional theory calculations a novel mechanism involving an Auger ionization of ${\mathrm{NV}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ and charge transfer of an electron from the valence band to NV0{\mathrm{NV}}^{0}NV0 is discussed. This study provides further insight into the charge dynamics of the NV center, which is relevant for quantum information processing based on an ${\mathrm{NV}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ defect in diamond.
The realization of electroluminescence (EL) of negatively charged nitrogen vacancy (NV−) centers is important toward all-electrical control of diamond quantum devices. In this study, we demonstrated electrical excitation and detection of EL of single NV− centers by using lateral diamond p+–i(n−)–n+ diodes. It had been grown by homoepitaxy using the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique. We introduced a lightly phosphorus doped i(n−) layer to stabilize the negative state of NV centers. It was estimated that the efficiency of the electrical excitation rate of the NV center was more than 30 times enhanced by introducing lateral diamond p+–i(n−)–n+ diodes structure compared with the previous vertical diode. Furthermore, the EL of a single NV− center embedded in the i(n−) layer region was characterized. The results show that the charge state of the single NV centers can be manipulated by the voltage applied to the p+–i(n−)–n+ diode, where the emission of EL is increasingly dominated by NV− in the range of 30 to 50 V.
Quantum information in which spin is used as a source of non-classical computation and communication, attracts considerable interest.A long spin coherence (T 2 ) are required toward quantum processing.In addition, small spectral diffusion of single photon for realization of quantum cryptography and building quantum network is needed.The nitrogen-vacancy center (NV) in diamond have long T 2 (up to several milliseconds at room temperature) and become single-photon emitter.Now a days, optically induced charge state interconversion on NV significantly extend T 2 of proximal nuclear spin owing to hyperfine interaction is weaken by motion narrowing.Theory predicts that T 2 exceeding 1 min with preventing heating of diamond due to high laser power excitation.This demonstration show potential of charge state and its non-optical control for spin properties of the NV center.Despite optical illumination is essential for NV to initialize and readout spin, optically induced charge state interconversion causes error in quantum control and spectral diffusion in emitted single photons.In this study, charge state of single NV centers are deterministically controlled by non-optical method.Charge state of single NVs formed in the intrinsic layer of p-in diode are modulated by current injection.Transition rate and its dependence on current is revealed.Recent controllable direction of charge state is limited; however this non-optical charge state control on spin-active negatively charged state (NV -) open the new way to spin related experiments.This study also realize purely populated charge state on the single NVs in phosphorus doped n-type diamond.Charge state is perfectly stabilized into NV -state even under optical illumination (1 µW, 593 nm).After NV - charge state is disturbed by strong laser excitation, state recovered to NV -state under dark condition.This result pave the way to the single spin manipulation in high efficiency and suppress spectral diffusion of single emitted photons. 概要この NV 中心は光励起下(波長: 593 nm, 強度: 1 µW) においても電荷状態が変化しない。また強い光励起によって電荷状態の変化が引き起こ されても、その後 0.28 ms -1 のレートで完全に NV -へと回復することがわかった。この 成果は単一スピン操作の精度、並びに単一光子のスペクトルの安定性向上に繋がる。 Contents 5.2.Raster scan images and fluorescence time traces . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.3.Single-shot charge-state measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.4.Recombination/recharge rate in the dark condition . . . . . . . . . . . .5.5.Charge-state population and recombination rate under laser excitation .5.6.ODMR and spin coherence measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .