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Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)

Studying photon number distribution of NV-centre-emission in diamond

Waldemar Schmunk, Marco Gramegna, G. Brida, Ivo Pietro Degiovanni, Marco Genovese, H. Hofer, S. Kück, L. Lolli, Matteo G. A. Paris, Silke Peters, M. Rajteri, A. Ruschhaupt, E. Taralli, P. Traina

Published May 1, 2011• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The present work focuses on laser excited nitrogen vacancies (NV-centres) in nanodiamonds. The emitted fluorescence of the investigated centres is observed after spectral filtering at (697 + 37) nm. To obtain the photon number distribution of different NV centres, the diagonal elements of the density matrix were experimentally determined using a transition-edge sensor (TES). This photon number resolving detector produces an output pulse proportional to the number of photons absorbed. Due to the absence of the two photon component, the g(2)(t = 0)-value calculated from the data is(2)function was measured by a Hanbury-Brown-Twiss (HBT) interferometer consisting of two single photon avalanche photodiodes (SPADs) and a beam splitter. By fitting the HBT-data, a g(2)(t = 0)-value of 0.03 ± 0.03 is determined, thus comparable with the TES value.

DOI
10.1109/cleoe.2011.5943075

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The present work focuses on laser excited nitrogen vacancies (NV-centres) in nanodiamonds. The emitted fluorescence of the investigated centres is observed after spectral filtering at (697 + 37) nm. To obtain the photon number distribution of different NV centres, the diagonal elements of the density matrix were experimentally determined using a transition-edge sensor (TES). This photon number resolving detector produces an output pulse proportional to the number of photons absorbed. Due to the absence of the two photon component, the g(2)(t = 0)-value calculated from the data is(2)function was measured by a Hanbury-Brown-Twiss (HBT) interferometer consisting of two single photon avalanche photodiodes (SPADs) and a beam splitter. By fitting the HBT-data, a g(2)(t = 0)-value of 0.03 ± 0.03 is determined, thus comparable with the TES value.
For applications in Quantum Information and Quantum Key Distribution an on-demand source of single photons is desirable because absolute security is of utmost importance. Photons are quantum systems; hence encoding information onto them offers a secure alternative to classical cryptography as a measurement cannot be performed on photons without altering their properties. The Nitrogen Vacancy (NV) centre in diamond is a good source of such photons. It is photo-stable and its location in diamond offers robustness. It has zero phonon line at 637 nm and its relative short luminescence life-time of about 12 ns makes it suitable for generating single photons. This thesis covers two aspects: Firstly the characterization of defects in diamonds and subsequent selection of diamonds suitable for use in the single photon setup and secondly, the development of the experimental setup for single photon generation. This thesis sets out to describe the development of a laboratory based single photon source using the NV centre in diamond. For this purpose a suite of diamond samples were selected and subjected to various spectroscopic tests in order to characterize and classify the samples, especially the presence of the NV centres and their concentrations. The characterization of the defects was done through the use of the following spectroscopic techniques: UltravioletVisible-Near infrared spectroscopy, Infrared spectroscopy, Electron Spin Resonance and Photoluminescence. These techniques enabled us to understand the types and origins of crystal defects that were present in the diamond samples used in this study and to use this to select diamonds that are most suitable for use in generation of single photons. The experimental setup for single photon generation using the NV centre is based on a confocal microscope arrangement. Single NV centres were identified by measuring the second order autocorrelation function of the fluorescence light emitted by the sample when illuminated with a laser. This measurement was done using a Hanbury-Brown Twiss (HBT) interferometer.
Defects in diamond have evolved as unique object for their potential application for Optical imaging and Nano-photonics. High pressure high temperature (HPHT) grown type-Ib diamond particles were milled down to the size of ~ 80 nm and purified to remove iron & graphitic carbon impurities and irradiated with 35 KeV He+ ions to create vacancies in the diamond lattice. Vacancies diffuse close to substitutional nitrogen impurities of nano-diamond particles upon thermal treatment. Characteristic sharp emission of NV centers were observed at 575.5 nm and 637.9 nm corresponding to NV° and NV− charged states in addition to a broad emission in the range 550-750 nm. Structural and photo-physical behavior of these fluorescent diamonds was found to depend on the method of purification adopted. Samples purified through acid reflux were found suitable for bio-imaging applications while, sample purified through air oxidation shows properties desirable for Nano-photonic applications. Photon-correlation measurements of emission from individual diamond nanoparticles using Hanbury Brown and Twiss interferometer (HBT) shows anti-bunching curve with g2(t)= 0 confirming their suitability as single photon source. Such sources of indistinguishable photons are highly desirable for quantum computation and quantum optics applications.
This paper reports on a study of the statistical properties of single photons emitted by a nitrogen vacancy centre using a confocal microscope and Hanbury-Brown and Twiss interferometer. High signal-to-noise photon correlation histograms from a single NV centre have been recorded for various pump laser powers. The form of these signals can be described by modelling the nitrogen vacancy as a three-level system. The parameters that characterize the model have been measured as a function of pump laser power.
We demonstrate the multi-focal fabrication of single N V − centres at different depths in a bulk diamond. After performing an annealing process, the optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) signal is measured to confirm the generation of N V − centres. These emitters are photo-stable and are imaged by using three different excitations wavelengths at different depths close to the bulk diamond surface. Using two-photon microscopy, the N V − centres are imaged with a resolution down to 0.36 µm to study the effect of the exposure time of the multi-focal laser writing on the spatial resolution of each fabrication. The Hanbury Brown and Twiss (HBT) test is performed with two-photon excitation to study the number of N V − centres at the location of each multi-focal fabrication. We demonstrate the formation of single N V − centres placed between 100 nm and 3 µm below the diamond surface. The ability to control the placement of single N V − centres with depth is of paramount importance for applications in quantum information, single spin magnetometry, and optical data storage.
The nanodiamond technology has developed the first packaged, single-photon source that operates at room temperature and in well-lit environments, where an ideal single-photon source produces one photon per pulse. These sources are key components for building quantum information systems that can implement quantum-key distribution (QKD) for ultrasecure communications. The optically active color centers in diamond have been found to exhibit attractive optical properties through the nitrogen-vacancy (N-V) center emission ranging 600 to 750 nm, and that have realized the practical sources of single-photon emission. Photo statistics has to be determined to measure the performance of a single-photon source, which can be measured by the autocorrelation function g2 (0) using Hanbury-Brown and Twiss interferometer. The results showed that the SPS 1.01 demonstrates stable single-photon performance without requirement of recalibration.
Colour centres in nanodiamonds provide robust sources of fluorescence and can be used as triggered sources of single photons at room temperature. However, practical devices require stability over thousands of hours of operation, and the use of strong pulsed optical excitation, placing significant burden on the robustness of the emitters that requires bespoke testing. In this work we report the response of single NV centres in nanodiamonds of 50 nm and 100 nm diameter to accelerated lifetime testing, exciting the defects close to saturation around 1013 times to simulate the minimum operational lifetime of a practical device. For nanodiamonds 50 nm in diameter, observed changes in the fluorescence intensity and lifetime suggest a progressive size reduction as a result of the pulsed laser excitation, combined with the introduction of non-radiative centres on or near the nanodiamond surface which affect the quantum efficiency of the NV centre and ultimately lead to photobleaching of the emission. We find examples of NV centres in 100 nm nanodiamonds for which triggered single photon emission remains stable for over these accelerated lifetime tests, demonstrating their suitability for use in practical devices.