Color center systems are the leading candidates for deterministic quantum sources, quantum repeaters, and other key devices for quantum information processing. Their integration with photonic devices is the direction toward high fidelity performance and scalability.
Optically active color centers in nanodiamonds offer unique opportunities for generating and manipulating quantum states of light. These mechanically, chemically, and optically robust emitters can be produced in mass quantities, deterministically manipulated, and integrated with a variety of quantum device geometries and photonic material platforms. Nanodiamonds with deeply sub-wavelength sizes coupled to nanophotonic structures feature a giant enhancement of light-matter interaction, promising high bitrates in quantum photonic systems. We review the recent advances in controlled techniques for synthesizing, selecting, and manipulating nanodiamond-based color centers for their integration with quantum nanophotonic devices.
Optically active color centers in nanodiamonds offer unique opportunities for generating and manipulating quantum states of light. These mechanically, chemically, and optically robust emitters can be produced in mass quantities, deterministically manipulated, and integrated with a variety of quantum device geometries and photonic material platforms. Nanodiamonds with deeply sub-wavelength sizes coupled to nanophotonic structures feature a giant enhancement of light-matter interaction, promising high bitrates in quantum photonic systems. We review the recent advances in controlled techniques for synthesizing, selecting, and manipulating nanodiamond-based color centers for their integration with quantum nanophotonic devices.
Single-photon sources are important for integrated photonics and quantum technologies, and can be used in quantum key distribution, quantum computing, and sensing. Color centers in the solid state are a promising candidate for the development of the next generation of single-photon sources integrated in quantum photonics devices. They are point defects in a crystal lattice that absorb and emit light at given wavelengths and can emit single photons with high efficiency. The landscape of color centers has changed abruptly in recent years, with the identification of a wider set of color centers and the emergence of new solid-state platforms for room-temperature single-photon generation. This review discusses the emerging material platforms hosting single-photon-emitting color centers, with an emphasis on their potential for the development of integrated optical circuits for quantum photonics.
Color centers in silicon carbide are a promising platform for quantum technologies, offering long-coherence electron and nuclear spins for storing and manipulating quantum information, as well as single-photon emission for quantum communication. Low photon collection efficiency is commonly addressed by integrating color centers into nanophotonic devices. Here, we report a scalable method for the deterministic integration of color centers into silicon carbide nanopillars, using the same nanoscale mask for both implantation of oxygen-related color centers (PL5, PL6) and subsequent nanopillar fabrication via dry etching. This approach solves the issue of low color center creation yield in nanostructures, with figures of merit comparable to bulk samples. We demonstrate count rate enhancements of up to one order of magnitude for PL5 and four times for PL6, while preserving spin coherence times. Our method is directly applicable to other solid-state platforms, offering a scalable route to efficiently integrate color centers into nanostructures.