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arXiv:2508.16335

Observation of Shear Strain in Ion-Implanted Diamond Substrate and Diamond Nanophotonic Structures

Majumder, Ayan, Shukla, Vivek K, Anuj Bathla, Brajesh Singh Yadav, Singh, Nanhey, Padmnabh Rai, Kasturi Saha

Published Aug 22, 2025• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers and other color centers in diamonds have emerged as promising platforms for quantum communication, quantum information processing, and nanoscale sensing, owing to their long spin coherence times, fast spin control, and efficient photon coupling. Deterministic placement of individual color centers into nanophotonic structures is critical for scalable device integration, and ion implantation is the most viable technique. Nanofabrication processes, including diamond etching, are essential to realize these structures but can introduce crystal strain through lattice damage. In this work, we investigate the impact of ion implantation and nanofabrication-induced strain on the electronic spin levels of NV-centers. We demonstrate that the zero-field continuous-wave optically detected magnetic resonance (CW-ODMR) spectroscopy serves as a sensitive probe of local crystal strain. We report the presence of a shear strain feature in diamond substrates arising from the ion-implantation and nanofabrication processes, as evidenced by the asymmetric splitting black observed in the zero-field CW-ODMR spectrum of NV-centers.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2508.16335

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Negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers and other color centers in diamonds have emerged as promising platforms for quantum communication, quantum information processing, and nanoscale sensing, owing to their long spin coherence times, fast spin control, and efficient photon coupling. Deterministic placement of individual color centers into nanophotonic structures is critical for scalable device integration, and ion implantation is the most viable technique. Nanofabrication processes, including diamond etching, are essential to realize these structures but can introduce crystal strain through lattice damage. In this work, we investigate the impact of ion implantation and nanofabrication-induced strain on the electronic spin levels of NV-centers. We demonstrate that the zero-field continuous-wave optically detected magnetic resonance (CW-ODMR) spectroscopy serves as a sensitive probe of local crystal strain. We report the presence of a shear strain feature in diamond substrates arising from the ion-implantation and nanofabrication processes, as evidenced by the asymmetric splitting black observed in the zero-field CW-ODMR spectrum of NV-centers.
Determining Strain Components in a Diamond Waveguide from Zero-Field ODMR Spectra of NV−^{-}− Center Ensembles
The negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV−^{-}−) center in diamond has shown great potential in nanoscale sensing and quantum information processing due to its rich spin physics. An efficient coupling with light, providing strong luminescence, is crucial for realizing these applications. Laser-written waveguides in diamond promote NV−^{-}− creation and improve their coupling to light but, at the same time, induce strain in the crystal. The induced strain contributes to light guiding but also affects the energy levels of NV−^{-}− centers. We probe NV−^{-}− spin states experimentally with the commonly used continuous-wave zero-field optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR). In our waveguides, the ODMR spectra are shifted, split, and consistently asymmetric, which we attribute to the impact of local strain. To understand these features, we model ensemble ODMR signals in the presence of strain. By fitting the model results to the experimentally collected ODMR data, we determine the strain tensor components at different positions, thus determining the strain profile across the waveguide. This shows that zero-field ODMR spectroscopy can be used as a strain imaging tool. The resulting strain within the waveguide is dominated by a compressive axial component transverse to the waveguide structure, with a smaller contribution from vertical and shear strain components.
Scalable realizations of quantum network technologies utilizing the nitrogen vacancy center in diamond require creation of optically coherent NV centers in close proximity to a surface for coupling to optical structures. We create single NV centers by 15^{15}15N ion implantation and high-temperature vacuum annealing. Origin of the NV centers is established by optically detected magnetic resonance spectroscopy for nitrogen isotope identification. Near lifetime-limited optical linewidths (<<< 60 MHz) are observed for the majority of the normal-implant (7∘^\circ∘, ≈\approx≈ 100 nm deep) 15^{15}15NV centers. Long-term stability of the NV−^-− charge state and emission frequency is demonstrated. The effect of NV-surface interaction is investigated by varying the implantation angle for a fixed ion-energy, and thus lattice damage profile. In contrast to the normal implant condition, NVs from an oblique-implant (85∘^\circ∘, ≈\approx≈ 20 nm deep) exhibit substantially reduced optical coherence. Our results imply that the surface is a larger source of perturbation than implantation damage for shallow implanted NVs. This work supports the viability of ion implantation for formation of optically stable NV centers. However, careful surface preparation will be necessary for scalable defect engineering.
The development of material-processing techniques that can be used to generate optical diamond nanostructures containing a single-color center is an important problem in quantum science and technology. In this work, we present the combination of ion implantation and top-down diamond nanofabrication in two scenarios: diamond nanopillars and diamond nanowires. The first device consists of a 'shallow' implant (∼20 nm) to generate nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers near the top surface of the diamond crystal prior to device fabrication. Individual NV centers are then mechanically isolated by etching a regular array of nanopillars in the diamond surface. Photon anti-bunching measurements indicate that a high yield (>10%) of the devices contain a single NV center. The second device demonstrates 'deep' (∼1 μm) implantation of individual NV centers into diamond nanowires as a post-processing step. The high single-photon flux of the nanowire geometry, combined with the low background fluorescence of the ultrapure diamond, allowed us to observe sustained photon anti-bunching even at high pump powers.
Creating dense and shallow nitrogen-vacancy (NV) ensembles with good spin properties is a prerequisite for developing diamond-based quantum sensors exhibiting better performance. Ion implantation is a key enabling tool for precisely controlling spatial localization and density of NV color centers in diamond. However, it suffers from a low creation yield, while higher ion fluences significantly damage the crystal lattice. In this work, we realize N2+ ion implantation in the 30–40 keV range at high temperatures. At 800 °C, NV's ensemble photoluminescence emission is three to four times higher than room temperature implanted films, while narrow electron spin resonance linewidths of 1.5 MHz, comparable to well-established implantation techniques, are obtained. In addition, we found that ion fluences above 2 × 1014 ions/cm2 can be used without graphitization of the diamond film, in contrast to room temperature implantation. This study opens promising perspectives in optimizing diamond films with implanted NV ensembles that could be integrated into quantum sensing devices.
Precise control over the spatial distribution and charge state of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond is a key requirement for further advancing this platform in quantum sensing and photonic applications. Here, we investigate nitrogen ion implantation as a scalable method to engineer NV centers in bulk single-crystalline (SC) and a 5 μ m -thick polycrystalline (PC) diamond membrane. Nitrogen-doped regions (1–80 ppm) were fabricated using a 0.7 MeV ion beam and high-temperature annealing, with NV center formation verified by confocal fluorescence imaging and spectral analysis. In SC bulk diamond, we estimate the NV concentration from spectral analysis and model the fluorescence response as a function of implantation dose, capturing both the initial increase at low concentrations and a saturation behavior at higher doses due to quenching mechanisms. In contrast, PC diamond membranes show a weaker dependence at low implantation fluences, consistent with pre-existing nitrogen impurities, thus making a statistical model significantly more complex. The activation yield is found to be of order of 1%, which is lower than in N-rich diamond samples, as implanted N is predominantly interstitial. Photoluminescence spectroscopy indicates that NV 0 is the dominant charge state in both materials, with a laser-power-dependent redistribution between neutral and negative charge states. Optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) measurements in SC bulk diamond resolve the hyperfine structure and allow extraction of the dephasing time ( T 2 ∗ ), while in PC diamond membranes, where NV centers tend do form near the grain boundaries, the ODMR signals are observed but spectral resolution is currently limited by impurities, grain-dependent NV orientations, and photoluminescence background.
Scalable realizations of quantum network technologies utilizing the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond require creation of optically coherent NV centers in close proximity to a surface for coupling to optical structures. We create single NV centers by 15N^{15}\mathrm{N}15N ion implantation and high-temperature vacuum annealing. The origin of the NV centers is established by optically detected magnetic resonance spectroscopy for nitrogen isotope identification. Near-lifetime-limited optical linewidths (<60MHz)(<60 \mathrm{MHz})(<60MHz) are observed for the majority of the normal-implant (${7}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$, $\ensuremath{\approx}100$ nm deep) 15NV^{15}\mathrm{NV}15NV centers. Long-term stability of the ${\mathrm{NV}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ charge state and emission frequency is demonstrated. The effect of NV-surface interaction is investigated by varying the implantation angle for a fixed ion energy, and thus lattice damage profile. In contrast to the normal-implant condition, NVs from an oblique implant (${85}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$, $\ensuremath{\approx}20$ nm deep) exhibit substantially reduced optical coherence. Our results imply that the surface is a larger source of perturbation than implantation damage for shallow implanted NVs. This work supports the viability of ion implantation for formation of optically stable NV centers. However, careful surface preparation will be necessary for scalable defect engineering.