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Nano Letters

Nanoscale Engineering of Closely-Spaced Electronic Spins in Diamond

Diego Scarabelli, Matthew E. Trusheim, Ophir Gaathon, Dirk Englund, Shalom J. Wind

Published Jul 18, 2016• 50 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Numerous theoretical protocols have been developed for quantum information processing with dipole-coupled solid-state spins. Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have many of the desired properties, but a central challenge has been the positioning of NV centers at the nanometer scale that would allow for efficient and consistent dipolar couplings. Here we demonstrate a method for chip-scale fabrication of arrays of single NV centers with record spatial localization of about 10 nm in all three dimensions and controllable inter-NV spacing as small as 40 nm, which approaches the length scale of strong dipolar coupling. Our approach uses masked implantation of nitrogen through nanoapertures in a thin gold film, patterned via electron-beam lithography and dry etching. We verified the position and spin properties of the resulting NVs through wide-field super-resolution optically detected magnetic resonance imaging.

DOI
10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b01692

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Numerous theoretical protocols have been developed for quantum information processing with dipole-coupled solid-state spins. Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have many of the desired properties, but a central challenge has been the positioning of NV centers at the nanometer scale that would allow for efficient and consistent dipolar couplings. Here we demonstrate a method for chip-scale fabrication of arrays of single NV centers with record spatial localization of about 10 nm in all three dimensions and controllable inter-NV spacing as small as 40 nm, which approaches the length scale of strong dipolar coupling. Our approach uses masked implantation of nitrogen through nanoapertures in a thin gold film, patterned via electron-beam lithography and dry etching. We verified the position and spin properties of the resulting NVs through wide-field super-resolution optically detected magnetic resonance imaging.
Numerous theoretical protocols have been developed for quantum information processing with dipole-coupled solid-state spins. Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have many of the desired properties, but a central challenge has been the positioning of NV centers at the nanometer scale that would allow for efficient and consistent dipolar couplings. Here we demonstrate a method for chip-scale fabrication of arrays of single NV centers with record spatial localization of about 10 nm in all three dimensions and controllable inter-NV spacing as small as 40 nm, which approaches the length scale of strong dipolar coupling. Our approach uses masked implantation of nitrogen through nanoapertures in a thin gold film, patterned via electron-beam lithography and dry etching. We verified the position and spin properties of the resulting NVs through wide-field super-resolution optically detected magnetic resonance imaging.
We demonstrate a technique to nanofabricate nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond based on broad-beam nitrogen implantation through apertures in electron beam lithography resist. This method enables high-throughput nanofabrication of single NV centers on sub-100-nm length scales. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy measurements facilitate depth profiling of the implanted nitrogen to provide three-dimensional characterization of the NV center spatial distribution. Measurements of NV center coherence with on-chip coplanar waveguides suggest a pathway for incorporating this scalable nanofabrication technique in future quantum applications.
Abstract Nanophotonic devices in color center-containing hosts provide efficient readout, control, and entanglement of the embedded emitters. Yet control over color center formation – in number, position, and coherence – in nanophotonic devices remains a challenge to scalability. Here, we report a controlled creation of highly coherent diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers with nanoscale three-dimensional localization in prefabricated nanostructures with high yield. Combining nitrogen δ -doping during chemical vapor deposition diamond growth and localized electron irradiation, we form shallow NVs registered to the center of diamond nanopillars with wide tunability over NV number. We report a positioning precision of ~ 4 nm in depth and 46(1) nm laterally in 280 nm-diameter pillars (102(2) nm in bulk diamond). We reliably form single NV centers with long spin coherence times (average T2Hahn=98 μs{T}_{2}^{Hahn}=98\, \mu {{{\rm{s}}}}T2Hahn​=98μs T 2 H a h n = 98 μ s ) and higher average photoluminescence compared to NV centers randomly positioned in pillars. Our method can improve the performance of various NV-based devices. In the realm of magnetic sensing, we achieve a 3 × improved yield of NV centers with single electron-spin sensitivity over conventional implantation-based methods. Our high-yield defect creation method will enable scalable production of solid-state defect sensors and processors.
Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond are excellent quantum sensors possessing high sensitivity and nano-scale spatial resolution. Their integration in photonic structures is often desired, since it leads to an increased photon emission and also allows the realization of solid-state quantum technology architectures. Here, we report the fabrication of diamond nano-pillars with diameters up to 1000 nm by electron beam lithography and inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching in nitrogen-rich diamonds (type Ib) with [100] and [111] crystal orientations. The NV centers were created by keV-He ion bombardment and subsequent annealing, and we estimate an average number of NVs per pillar to be 4300 ± 300 and 520 ± 120 for the [100] and [111] samples, respectively. Lifetime measurements of the NVs’ excited state showed two time constants with average values of τ1 ≈ 2 ns and τ2 ≈ 8 ns, which are shorter as compared to a single color center in a bulk crystal (τ ≈ 10 ns). This is probably due to a coupling between the NVs as well as due to interaction with bombardment-induced defects and substitutional nitrogen (P1 centers). Optically detected magnetic resonance measurements revealed a contrast of about 5% and average coherence and relaxation times of T2 [100] = 420 ± 40 ns, T2 [111] = 560 ± 50 ns, and T1 [100] = 162 ± 11 μs, T1 [111] = 174 ± 24 μs. These pillars could find an application for scanning probe magnetic field imaging.
Abstract The nitrogen vacancy centre in diamond is a leading platform for nanoscale sensing and imaging, as well as quantum information processing in the solid state. To date, individual control of two nitrogen vacancy electronic spins at the nanoscale has been demonstrated. However, a key challenge is to scale up such control to arrays of nitrogen vacancy spins. Here, we apply nanoscale magnetic resonance frequency encoding to realize site-selective addressing and coherent control of a four-site array of nitrogen vacancy spins. Sites in the array are separated by 100 nm, with each site containing multiple nitrogen vacancies separated by ~15 nm. Microcoils fabricated on the diamond chip provide electrically tuneable magnetic field gradients ~0.1 G/nm. Tailored application of gradient fields and resonant microwaves allow site-selective nitrogen vacancy spin manipulation and sensing applications, including Rabi oscillations, imaging, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy with nanoscale resolution. Microcoil-based magnetic resonance of solid-state spins provides a practical platform for quantum-assisted sensing, quantum information processing, and the study of nanoscale spin networks.