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Functional Diamond

Research Progress on Silicon Vacancy Color Centers in Diamond

Chengke Chen, Bo Jiang, Xiaojun Hu

Published Mar 23, 2024• 17 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The silicon vacancy (SiV) color centers in diamond have significant potential in the fields of quantum information, nanophotonics, bioimaging and sensing, due to its good structural stability at room temperature, strong photostability, short luminescence lifetime, narrow zero-phonon line bandwidth, and avoidance of biological autofluorescence. They have attracted extensive attention and in-depth research from researchers. The applications of SiV color centers in the above areas require addressing key issues such as control over the number and charge state of SiV color centers in diamond, as well as improving the luminous efficiency. Therefore, this review summarizes some recent relevant research progress, including common methods for preparing SiV color centers, control over their luminescence intensity, preparation of SiV single-photon sources, and research on the control of SiV color center charge states. Based on these, an outlook is provided for the preparation and application of SiV color centers in diamond.

DOI
10.1080/26941112.2024.2332346

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The silicon vacancy (SiV) color centers in diamond have significant potential in the fields of quantum information, nanophotonics, bioimaging and sensing, due to its good structural stability at room temperature, strong photostability, short luminescence lifetime, narrow zero-phonon line bandwidth, and avoidance of biological autofluorescence. They have attracted extensive attention and in-depth research from researchers. The applications of SiV color centers in the above areas require addressing key issues such as control over the number and charge state of SiV color centers in diamond, as well as improving the luminous efficiency. Therefore, this review summarizes some recent relevant research progress, including common methods for preparing SiV color centers, control over their luminescence intensity, preparation of SiV single-photon sources, and research on the control of SiV color center charge states. Based on these, an outlook is provided for the preparation and application of SiV color centers in diamond.
Silicon-vacancy (SiV) centers in diamond are gaining an increased interest for application, such as in quantum technologies and sensing. Due to the strong luminescence concentrated in its sharp zero-phonon line at room temperature, SiV centers are being investigated as single-photon sources for quantum communication, and also as temperature probes for sensing. Here, we discussed strategies for the fabrication of SiV centers in diamond based on Si-ion implantation followed by thermal activation. SiV color centers in high-quality single crystals have the best optical properties, but polycrystalline micro and nanostructures are interesting for applications in nano-optics. Moreover, we discuss the photoluminescence properties of SiV centers in phosphorous-doped diamond, which are relevant for the creation of electroluminescent devices, and nanophotonics strategies to improve the emission characteristics of the SiV centers. Finally, the optical properties of such centers at room and high temperatures show the robustness of the center and give perspectives for temperature-sensing applications.
Atomic‐scale impurity spins, also called color centers, in an otherwise spin‐free diamond host lattice have proven to be versatile tools for applications in solid‐state‐based quantum technologies ranging from quantum information processing (QIP) to quantum‐enhanced sensing and metrology. Due to its wide band gap, diamond can host hundreds of different color centers. However, their suitability for QIP or sensing applications has only been tested for a handful of these, with the nitrogen vacancy (NV) strongly dominating this field of research. Due to its limited optical properties, the success of the NV for QIP applications however strongly depends on the development of efficient photonic interfaces. In the past years the negatively charged silicon vacancy (SiV−) center received significant attention due to its highly favourable spectral properties such as narrow zero phonon line transitions and weak phonon sidebands. Here, the recent work investigating the SiV center's orbital and electron spin coherence properties is reviewed as well as techniques to coherently control its quantum state using microwave as well as optical fields. Also, potential future experimental directions to improve the SiV's coherence time scale and to develop it into a valuable tool for QIP applications are outlined.
Single silicon vacancy (SiV) color centers in diamond have recently shown the ability for high brightness, narrow bandwidth, room temperature single photon emission. This work develops a model describing the three level population dynamics of single SiV centers in diamond nanocrystals on iridium surfaces including an intensity dependent de-shelving process. Furthermore, we investigate the brightness and photostability of single centers and find maximum single photon rates of 6.2 Mcps under continuous excitation. We investigate the collection efficiency of the fluorescence and estimate quantum efficiencies of the SiV centers.
In the last decade atom-sized point defects in diamond, so called colour centres, have proven to be suitable systems for quantum information processing as well as quantum communication and sensing applications. Besides the wellknown nitrogen vacancy centre, the negatively charged silicon vacancy centre has recently proven to be a promising candidate due to its superior spectral properties such as narrow zero-phonon line widths and small phonon sidebands. In this feature article (article No.201700586) the authors summarize the center's electronic and optical properties as well as recent advances in controlling its quantum state using microwave as well as ultrafast all-optical control techniques which make it accessible for future quantum information processing applications. Moreover, the authors outline potential future experimental directions to improve the center's coherence time scale which so far is limited by phonon-induced decoherence. The cover picture shows an artistic representation of the silicon vacancy centre with its inversion-symmetric structure in a diamond crystal being addressed by an ultrashort laser pulse.
Optical sources that deliver single photons on demand play a key role in quantum cryptography and optical quantum computations. At present, color centers in wide-bandgap semiconductors, such as the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) and silicon-vacancy (SiV) centers in diamond, are considered to be the most promising candidates for practical quantum information applications owing to their unique emission properties at room temperature. However, for practical reasons, single-photon sources should be pumped electrically, which is required for integrability, scalability, and energy efficiency. However, diamond and related wide-bandgap semiconductor materials are at the interface between insulators and semiconductors, which makes electrical excitation of color centers very challenging. Here, we report on our progress in the understanding of single-photon electroluminescence of color centers in diamond, discuss different factors affecting the brightness of these emitter under electrical excitation, and study how to improve the performance of electrically- pumped single-photon sources based on color centers in diamond.