Deterministic creation of strained color centers in nanostructures via high-stress thin films
Daniel Assumpção, Chang Jin, Madison Sutula, Sophie Weiyi Ding, P. Pham, Can M. Knaut, Mihir K. Bhaskar, A.C. Panday, Aaron M. Day, Dylan L. Renaud, Mikhail D. Lukin, Evelyn L. Hu, Bartholomeus Machielse, Marko Lončar
Color centers have emerged as a leading qubit candidate for realizing hybrid spin-photon quantum information technology. One major limitation of the platform, however, is that the characteristics of individual color centers are often strain dependent. As an illustrative case, the silicon-vacancy center in diamond typically requires millikelvin temperatures in order to achieve long coherence properties, but strained silicon-vacancy centers have been shown to operate at temperatures beyond 1 K without phonon-mediated decoherence. In this work, we combine high-stress silicon-nitride thin films with diamond nanostructures to reproducibly create statically strained silicon-vacancy color centers (mean ground state splitting of 608 GHz) with strain magnitudes of ∼4×10−4. Based on modeling, this strain should be sufficient to allow for operation of a majority silicon-vacancy centers within the measured sample at elevated temperatures (1.5 K) without any degradation of their spin properties. This method offers a scalable approach to fabricate high-temperature operation quantum memories. Beyond silicon-vacancy centers, this method is sufficiently general that it can be easily extended to other platforms as well.
Color centers have emerged as a leading qubit candidate for realizing hybrid spin-photon quantum information technology. One major limitation of the platform, however, is that the characteristics of individual color centers are often strain dependent. As an illustrative case, the silicon-vacancy center in diamond typically requires millikelvin temperatures in order to achieve long coherence properties, but strained silicon-vacancy centers have been shown to operate at temperatures beyond 1 K without phonon-mediated decoherence. In this work, we combine high-stress silicon-nitride thin films with diamond nanostructures to reproducibly create statically strained silicon-vacancy color centers (mean ground state splitting of 608 GHz) with strain magnitudes of ∼4×10−4. Based on modeling, this strain should be sufficient to allow for operation of a majority silicon-vacancy centers within the measured sample at elevated temperatures (1.5 K) without any degradation of their spin properties. This method offers a scalable approach to fabricate high-temperature operation quantum memories. Beyond silicon-vacancy centers, this method is sufficiently general that it can be easily extended to other platforms as well.
Strain engineering is vital for tuning the optical and spin properties of solid-state color centers, enhancing spin coherence and compensating emission wavelength shift. Here, we develop an all-optical approach to directly modify the local strain of color centers at the nanoscale by migrating the nearby defect. High-power pulsed optical irradiation triggers defect migration, which subsequently leads to the redistribution of the local crystal lattice of the host material. This redistribution alters the strain experienced by nearby color centers. Using silicon-vacancy centers in diamond, we validate this method and demonstrate a ground state splitting enhancement of up to 1.8 THz. Unlike conventional methods, our approach requires no external fields or nanostructure modifications, enabling non-volatile strain control and optical memory functionality across wide temperature ranges. Its local, permanent nature offers a scalable path for enhancing spin coherence in large-scale quantum systems and has potential applications in photonic machine learning. Strain engineering can be used to control spin and optical properties of defect centers. Xue et al. report an all-optical method to reconfigure and increase the local strain of color centers in diamond, which, unlike previous approaches, does not require external fields or nanostructure modifications.
Abstract Solid-state spin defects, such as color centers in diamond, are among the most promising candidates for scalable and integrated quantum technologies. In particular, the good optical properties of silicon-vacancy centers in diamond, combined with naturally occurring and exceptionally coherent nuclear spins, serve as a building block for quantum networking applications. Here, we show that leveraging an ultra-high-strained silicon-vacancy center inside a nanodiamond allows us to coherently and efficiently control its electron spin, while mitigating phonon-induced dephasing at liquid helium temperature. Moreover, we indirectly control and characterize a 13C nuclear spin and establish a quantum register. We overcome limited nuclear spin initialization by implementing single-shot nuclear spin readout. Lastly, we demonstrate coherent optical control with GHz rates, thus opening a potential connection of the register to the optical domain. Our work paves the way for future integration of quantum network registers into conventional, well-established photonics and hybrid quantum communication systems.
Solid-state spin defects, such as color centers in diamond, are among the most promising candidates for scalable and integrated quantum technologies. In particular, the good optical properties of silicon-vacancy centers in diamond combined with naturally occurring and exceptionally coherent nuclear spins serve as a building block for quantum networking applications. Here, we show that leveraging an ultra-high strained silicon-vacancy center inside a nanodiamond allows us to coherently and efficiently control its electron spin, while mitigating phonon-induced dephasing at liquid helium temperature. Moreover, we indirectly control and characterize a 13C nuclear spin and establish a quantum register. We overcome limited nuclear spin initialization by implementing single-shot nuclear spin readout. Lastly, we demonstrate coherent optical control with GHz rates, thus connecting the register to the optical domain. Our work paves the way for future integration of quantum network registers into conventional, well-established photonics and hybrid quantum communication systems.
Abstract One ultimate goal of quantum information processing is to construct a quantum network for direct sharing of quantum information between distant parties based on stationary qubits for information storage and flying qubits for information transmission. This requires long‐lived quantum memories, efficient light–matter interface, and deterministic quantum gate operations. Among matter qubits, the electron spin of nitrogen vacancy center in diamond is an appealing option for its long coherence time at room temperature, deterministic microwave control, and optical preparation and readout of the qubit. However, its poor optical properties, including weak zero‐phonon‐line emission and large spectral diffusion, limit its potential for large‐scale deployment in quantum nodes. This has motivated the investigation for alternative quantum emitters that combine long‐time memory and coherent optical properties together. The emerging group‐IV split‐vacancy color centers in diamond, such as silicon‐vacancy, germanium‐vacancy, tin‐vacancy, and lead‐vacancy centers, are promising candidates of this ongoing exploration. These quantum emitters simultaneously possess microsecond spin coherence time and optically bright transitions with narrow linewidths. This review reports recent efforts on extending the spin coherence time of these color centers via temperature, strain, and charge control, which paves the road towards constructing solid‐based matter–photon interface for quantum network applications.
Diamond has emerged as a leading host material for solid-state quantum emitters, quantum memories, and quantum sensors. However, the challenges in fabricating photonic devices in diamond have limited its potential for use in quantum technologies. While various hybrid integration approaches have been developed for coupling diamond color centers with photonic devices defined in a heterogeneous material, these methods suffer from either large insertion loss at the material interface or evanescent light-matter coupling. Here, we present a new technique that enables the deterministic assembly of diamond color centers in a silicon nitride photonic circuit. Using this technique, we observe Purcell enhancement of silicon vacancy centers coupled to a silicon nitride ring resonator. Our hybrid integration approach has the potential for achieving the maximum possible light-matter interaction strength while maintaining low insertion loss and paves the way toward scalable manufacturing of large-scale quantum photonic circuits integrated with high-quality quantum emitters and spins.
Realization of physical systems for quantum information processing fundamentally rests on the ability to generate entanglement among many quantum bits. To this end, solid state quantum systems are often considered a scalable approach due to the relative ease of generating of a large number of individual qubits. However, realizing strong coherent interactions that dominate decoherence processes in the solid state environment is a formidable challenge that has continued to motivate the investigation of new physical systems to store quantum information and new mechanisms to achieve controllable interactions. This thesis takes steps in these directions with diamond color centers, which can store optically accessible quantum information in their electronic spin. We study color center spins as acoustic two level systems, and consider whether their interaction with single phonons in diamond can be engineered to be coherent. Through spectroscopy of color centers in diamond nanomechanical devices and follow-up theoretical work, we identify the negatively charged silicon vacancy (SiV) color center as a promising candidate for phonon-mediated quantum information processing. In the process, an electromechanical device platform capable of tuning the strain environment of color centers is developed. It is used to mitigate thermal decoherence of the SiV spin and demonstrate photon-mediated quantum interference between two SiV centers on a diamond chip, highlighting the utility of nanomechanical devices for photonic quantum networks. Finally, we present high quality factor, wavelength scale acoustic resonators in diamond using phononic crystals towards a coherent interface between SiV centers and single phonons.