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Journal of Modern Optics

Nonclassical photon statistics in a single nickel–nitrogen diamond color center photoluminescence at room temperature

E Wu, J. R. Rabeau, François Treussart, Heping Zeng, Philippe Grangier, Steven Prawer, Jean-François Roch

Published Oct 10, 2008• 10 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The photoluminescence of a single nickel–nitrogen NE8 color center in a diamond nanocrystal is investigated at room temperature under pulsed excitation by scanning confocal optical microscopy. Photon arrival times are analyzed in terms of the temporal intensity correlation function. Antibunching at short times and bunching behavior for longer times is observed, associated with sub- and super-Poissonian statistics, respectively. The behavior is interpreted by a ‘on–off’ state model, and transition rates between these two states are inferred from intensity correlation measurements realized at different excitation powers. NE8 color center photoluminescence quantum yield is evaluated to be 65%, a value higher than achieved for a nitrogen-vacancy color center, which is, up to now, the most practical single emitter to build a reliable single-photon source at room temperature.

DOI
10.1080/09500340802267118

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The photoluminescence of a single nickel–nitrogen NE8 color center in a diamond nanocrystal is investigated at room temperature under pulsed excitation by scanning confocal optical microscopy. Photon arrival times are analyzed in terms of the temporal intensity correlation function. Antibunching at short times and bunching behavior for longer times is observed, associated with sub- and super-Poissonian statistics, respectively. The behavior is interpreted by a ‘on–off’ state model, and transition rates between these two states are inferred from intensity correlation measurements realized at different excitation powers. NE8 color center photoluminescence quantum yield is evaluated to be 65%, a value higher than achieved for a nitrogen-vacancy color center, which is, up to now, the most practical single emitter to build a reliable single-photon source at room temperature.
On-demand, high repetition rate sources of indistinguishable, polarized single photons are the key component for future photonic quantum technologies (O'Brien et al 2009 Nat. Photonics 3 687–95). Colour centres in diamond offer a promising solution, and the narrow linewidth of the recently identified nickel-based NE8 centre makes it particularly appealing for realizing the transform-limited sources necessary for quantum interference. Here, we report the characterization of dipole orientation and coherence properties of a single NE8 colour centre in a diamond nanocrystal at room temperature. We observe a single-photon coherence time of 0.21 ps and an emission lifetime of 1.5 ns. Combined with an emission wavelength that is ideally suited for applications in existing quantum optical systems, these results show that NE8 is a far more promising source than the more commonly studied nitrogen-vacancy centre and point the way to the realization of a practical diamond colour centre-based single-photon source.
Fluorescent emitters in nanodiamonds are considered to be a valuable resource for emerging fields such as quantum communication, quantum photonics and biological imaging. In this paper we report a wide range of narrow bandwidth spectral emission lines arising from different color centers at room temperature. We associate the zero phonon lines, observed using confocal microscopy, with previously identified nickel-related centers in high pressure high temperature diamond, with a Si/Ni complex and silicon vacancy defects. In particular we show the first observation of a 850 nm emission in diamond with single photon signature, indicating the potential for diamond to harbor infrared single-photon sources. Index Terms diamond defects, single-photon emission, confocal microscopy.
Diamond nanocrystals containing highly photoluminescent color centers are attractive, nonclassical, and near-field light sources. For near-field applications, the size of the nanocrystal is crucial, since it defines the optical resolution. Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers are efficiently created by proton irradiation and annealing of a nanodiamond powder. Using near-field microscopy and photon statistics measurements, we show that nanodiamonds with sizes down to 25 nm can hold a single NV color center with bright and stable photoluminescence.
We report the realization of a solid-state triggered single-photon source with narrow emission in the near infrared at room temperature. It is based on the photoluminescence of a single nickel–nitrogen NE8 colour centre in a chemical vapour deposited diamond nanocrystal. Stable single-photon emission has been observed in the photoluminescence under both continuous-wave and pulsed excitations. The realization of this source represents a step forward in the application of diamond-based single-photon sources to quantum key distribution (QKD) under practical operating conditions.
Individual color centers in diamond are promising for near-term quantum technologies including quantum key distribution and metrology. Here we show fabrication of an as-yet uncharacterized nickel-related complex in diamond which has photophysical properties surpassing the two main-stay centers for single-photon applications, namely, the nitrogen-vacancy and the nickel-nitrogen complex (NE8) center. This center was fabricated using focused ion-beam implantation of nickel into isolated chemical vapor-deposited diamond crystals. A possible correlation of the center to a Ni/Si complex is substantiated by a coimplantation of Ni and Si into a pure bulk diamond. Room-temperature photoluminescence studies reveal a narrow emission in the near infrared region centered at 768 nm with a lifetime as short as 2 ns.
A study of the photophysical properties of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond nanocrystals of size 50 nm or below is carried out by means of second-order time-intensity photon correlation and cross-correlation measurements as a function of the excitation power for both pure charge states, neutral and negatively charged, as well as for the photochromic state, where the center switches between both states at any power. A dedicated three-level model implying a shelving level is developed to extract the relevant photophysical parameters coupling all three levels. Our analysis confirms the very existence of the shelving level for the neutral NV center. It is found that it plays a negligible role on the photophysics of this center, whereas it is responsible for an increasing photon bunching behavior of the negative NV center with increasing power. From the photophysical parameters, we infer a quantum efficiency for both centers, showing that it remains close to unity for the neutral center over the entire power range, whereas it drops with increasing power from near unity to approximately 0.5 for the negative center. The photophysics of the photochromic center reveals a rich phenomenology that is to a large extent dominated by that of the negative state, in agreement with the excess charge release of the negative center being much slower than the photon emission process.