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SPIE Quantum Technologies for Defence and Security

The NV center in diamond: physics and some applications to quantum sensing

Jean-François Roch

Published Nov 15, 2024• 0 citations
Publisher
DOI
10.1117/12.3038042

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Abstract The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond is the most promising candidate for quantum sensing because of its beneficial properties. For quantum-sensing applications, a shallow NV center is critical for approximating the sensing target on a diamond surface. Such shallow NV centers are strongly affected by the diamond surface termination. The properties of shallow NV centers in hydrogen-, oxygen-, and fluorine-terminated diamond have been well studied. In recent years, silicon-terminated diamond has also been investigated; however, the effect of silicon-terminated diamond on the properties of shallow NV centers remains unclear. Recently, the suitability of nitrogen-terminated diamond for shallow NV centers has been theoretically and experimentally examined; however, quantum sensing has not yet been performed. In this work, we evaluated the effect of silicon and nitrogen termination on shallow NV centers. The negatively charged state of shallow NV centers was unstable below silicon termination. In contrast, the properties of shallow NV centers in nitrogen-terminated diamond were satisfactory for quantum sensing and enabled 1H NMR detection. Our results are in good agreement with previous reports on silicon and nitrogen terminations and provide the perspective that the stability of shallow NV centers highly depends on the polarity of electron affinity of the diamond surface.

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Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond are expected to be quantum sensing devices such as magnetic and electric fields, temperature, pressure and so on. The generation of NV centers by irradiations of femtosecond laser pulses has been reported. Femtosecond laser can write NV centers in diamond directly and this direct writing can realize a flexible spatial arrangement of NV centers. As the application of the laser system, we have constructed the femtosecond laser irradiation platform for creating the quantum sensing device, such as NV centers. The femtosecond laser pulse is focused on a sample surface by an objective lens and laser pulse intensity is controlled by attenuators. By use of this irradiation apparatus, we have irradiated diamond samples to create NV centers. We could confirm several graphitization spots, but the signal intensity from NV center did not exist. To use the irradiation platform for creating NV centers in diamond, it needs some improvement, more increasing the repetition rate of irradiation laser and/or impurity nitrogen density in diamond sample.

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High-quality nanostructured diamond membranes for nanoscale quantum sensing

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Deploying nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond as nanoscale quantum sensors for condensed matter and materials physics requires placing the NV centers close to the sensing target. One solution is to fabricate diamond nanostructures and integrate them with materials and devices. However, diamond etching and ion milling can introduce subsurface damage and surface defects that degrade the charge stability and spin coherence of NV centers near the surface. Here we report a procedure for fabricating low-damage nanostructured diamond membranes, and we show that this fabrication scheme preserves the optical and spin properties of state-of-the-art shallow NV center quantum sensors, within nanometers of the diamond surface, while providing significant photonic enhancement. Furthermore, we demonstrate a pick-and-place transfer method, which enables integration with diverse sensing targets.

cond-mat.mes-hallCross-listedarXiv:2511.08632•Nov 11, 2025•0 citations
Abstract The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond is the most promising candidate for quantum sensing because of its beneficial properties. For quantum-sensing applications, a shallow NV center is critical for approximating the sensing target on a diamond surface. Such shallow NV centers are strongly affected by the diamond surface termination. The properties of shallow NV centers in hydrogen-, oxygen-, and fluorine-terminated diamond have been well studied. In recent years, silicon-terminated diamond has also been investigated; however, the effect of silicon-terminated diamond on the properties of shallow NV centers remains unclear. Recently, the suitability of nitrogen-terminated diamond for shallow NV centers has been theoretically and experimentally examined; however, quantum sensing has not yet been performed. In this work, we evaluated the effect of silicon and nitrogen termination on shallow NV centers. The negatively charged state of shallow NV centers was unstable below silicon termination. In contrast, the properties of shallow NV centers in nitrogen-terminated diamond were satisfactory for quantum sensing and enabled 1H NMR detection. Our results are in good agreement with previous reports on silicon and nitrogen terminations and provide the perspective that the stability of shallow NV centers highly depends on the polarity of electron affinity of the diamond surface.
Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond are expected to be quantum sensing devices such as magnetic and electric fields, temperature, pressure and so on. The generation of NV centers by irradiations of femtosecond laser pulses has been reported. Femtosecond laser can write NV centers in diamond directly and this direct writing can realize a flexible spatial arrangement of NV centers. As the application of the laser system, we have constructed the femtosecond laser irradiation platform for creating the quantum sensing device, such as NV centers. The femtosecond laser pulse is focused on a sample surface by an objective lens and laser pulse intensity is controlled by attenuators. By use of this irradiation apparatus, we have irradiated diamond samples to create NV centers. We could confirm several graphitization spots, but the signal intensity from NV center did not exist. To use the irradiation platform for creating NV centers in diamond, it needs some improvement, more increasing the repetition rate of irradiation laser and/or impurity nitrogen density in diamond sample.
Nitrogen Vacancy (NV) centers are point defects in diamond that allow magnetic field sensing based on Optically Detected Magnetic Resonance (ODMR). They are processed in ultrapure single-domain CVD grown diamond crystals and can be operated at room temperature. This results in solid-state sensors with a wide variety of applications. Ensemble of NV centers can be used to perform wide-field magnetic imaging with sensitivity in the nT range. Single NV centers can also be processed, which allows sensing at the atomic scale. This possibility, combined with its unique coherence properties, make NV center an ideal candidate for quantum sensing.
Deploying nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond as nanoscale quantum sensors for condensed matter and materials physics requires placing the NV centers close to the sensing target. One solution is to fabricate diamond nanostructures and integrate them with materials and devices. However, diamond etching and ion milling can introduce subsurface damage and surface defects that degrade the charge stability and spin coherence of NV centers near the surface. Here we report a procedure for fabricating low-damage nanostructured diamond membranes, and we show that this fabrication scheme preserves the optical and spin properties of state-of-the-art shallow NV center quantum sensors, within nanometers of the diamond surface, while providing significant photonic enhancement. Furthermore, we demonstrate a pick-and-place transfer method, which enables integration with diverse sensing targets.