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physica status solidi (b)

Coupling of single nitrogen‐vacancy defect centers in diamond nanocrystals to optical antennas and photonic crystal cavities

Janik Wolters, Günter Kewes, Andreas Wolfgang Schell, Nils Nüsse, Max Schoengen, Bernd Löchel, Tobias Hanke, Rudolf Bratschitsch, Alfred Leitenstorfer, Thomas Aichele, Oliver J. Benson

Published Feb 1, 2012• 41 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract We demonstrate the ability to modify the emission properties and enhance the interaction strength of single‐photon emitters coupled to nanophotonic structures based on metals and dielectrics. Assembly of individual diamond nanocrystals, metal nanoparticles, and photonic crystal cavities to meta‐structures is introduced. Experiments concerning controlled coupling of single defect centers in nanodiamonds to optical nanoantennas made of gold bowtie structures are reviewed. By placing one and the same emitter at various locations with high precision, a map of decay rate enhancements was obtained. Furthermore, we demonstrate the formation of a hybrid cavity quantum electrodynamics system in which a single defect center is coupled to a single mode of a gallium phosphite photonic crystal cavity.

DOI
10.1002/pssb.201100156

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Abstract We demonstrate the ability to modify the emission properties and enhance the interaction strength of single‐photon emitters coupled to nanophotonic structures based on metals and dielectrics. Assembly of individual diamond nanocrystals, metal nanoparticles, and photonic crystal cavities to meta‐structures is introduced. Experiments concerning controlled coupling of single defect centers in nanodiamonds to optical nanoantennas made of gold bowtie structures are reviewed. By placing one and the same emitter at various locations with high precision, a map of decay rate enhancements was obtained. Furthermore, we demonstrate the formation of a hybrid cavity quantum electrodynamics system in which a single defect center is coupled to a single mode of a gallium phosphite photonic crystal cavity.
We demonstrate the coupling of single color centers in diamond to plasmonic and dielectric photonic structures to realize novel nanophotonic devices. Nanometer spatial control in the creation of single color centers in diamond is achieved by implantation of nitrogen atoms through high-aspect-ratio channels in a mica mask. Enhanced broadband single-photon emission is demonstrated by coupling nitrogen-vacancy centers to plasmonic resonators, such as metallic nanoantennas. Improved photon-collection efficiency and directed emission is demonstrated by solid immersion lenses and micropillar cavities. Thereafter, the coupling of diamond nanocrystals to the guided modes of micropillar resonators is discussed along with experimental results. Finally, we present a gas-phase-doping approach to incorporate color centers based on nickel and tungsten, in situ into diamond using microwave-plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The fabrication of silicon-vacancy centers in nanodiamonds by microwave-plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition is discussed in addition.
The nitrogen vacancy center in diamond in its negative charge state is a promising candidate for quantum optic experiments that require single photon emitters. Important benefits of the NV center are its high brightness and photo-stability, even at room temperature. Engineering the emission properties of NV centers with optical resonators is a widely followed approach to meet the requirements for quantum technological applications, but the effect on non-radiative decay paths is yet to be understood. Here we report on modifying the internal quantum efficiency of a single NV center in a nanodiamond coupled to a 1D photonic crystal cavity. We assess the Purcell enhancement via three independent measurement techniques and perform autocorrelation measurements at elevated excitation powers in confocal microscopy. Employing a three-level model allows us to extract the setup efficiency, individual transition rates and thus the internal quantum efficiency of our system. Combining our results, we find that the enhancement of the radiative decay rate via the Purcell effect results in an internal quantum efficiency of 90 % for cavity-coupled NV centers. Our findings will facilitate the realization of nano-scale single photon sources with near-unity internal quantum efficiencies operating at high repetition rates.
Nitrogen–vacancy (NV) centers in diamond are generally recognized as highly promising as indefinitely stable highly efficient single-photon sources. We report an experimental quantification of the brightness, radiative decay rate, nonradiative decay rate and quantum efficiency of single NV centers in diamond nanocrystals. Our experiments show that the commonly observed large spread in fluorescence decay rates of NV centers in nanodiamond is inconsistent with the common explanation of large nanophotonic mode-density variations in the ultra-small high-index crystals at near-unity quantum efficiency. We report that NV centers in 25 nm nanocrystals are essentially insensitive to local density of optical states (LDOS) variations that we induce at a dielectric interface by using liquids to vary the refractive index, and propose that quantum efficiencies in such nanocrystals are widely distributed between 0 and 20%. For single NV centers in larger 100 nm nanocrystals, we show that decay rate changes can be reversibly induced by nanomechanically approaching a mirror to change the LDOS. Using this scanning mirror method, for the first time we report calibrated quantum efficiencies of NV centers, and show that different but nominally identical nanocrystals have widely distributed quantum efficiencies between 10 and 90%. Our measurements imply that nanocrystals that are to be assembled into hybrid photonic structures for cavity QED should first be individually screened to assess fluorescence properties in detail.
We demonstrate the controlled coupling of a single diamond nanocrystal to a planar photonic crystal double-heterostructure cavity. A dip-pen deposition method and subsequent manipulation with an atomic force microscope was used to precisely position the nanocrystal on top of the cavity. The optical properties of this combined system are investigated with regard to changes in the quality factor and resonance wavelength of the cavity mode as a function of the size and relative position of the diamond nanocrystal. These studies represent an important step toward well-controlled cavity-QED experiments with single-defect centers in diamond.