Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Quantum embedding study of strain- and electric-field-induced Stark effects on the NV − center in diamond

Gabriel I. López‐Morales, Joanna M. Zajac, Johannes Flick, Carlos A. Meriles, Cyrus E. Dreyer

Published Dec 13, 2024• 13 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The negatively charged nitrogen vacancy (NV${}^{\ensuremath{-}}$) center in diamond is a well-known color center with interesting applications in nanoscale sensing and quantum metrology, due to its high sensitivity to minute local electric, magnetic, and strain fields. Motivated by these applications of the this center, the authors employ here first-principles calculations based on quantum embedding to derive a many-body description of its excited-state dipole couplings and strain susceptibilities, which underlie the electric field and strain induced Stark effects.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.110.245127

Related papers

Quantum embedding study of strain and charge induced Stark effects on the NV$^{-}$ center in diamond

Gabriel I. López‐Morales, Joanna M. Zajac, Johannes Flick +2 more

The NV$^{-}$ color center in diamond has been demonstrated as a powerful nanosensor for quantum metrology due to the sensitivity of its optical and spin properties to external electric, magnetic, and strain fields. In view of these applications, we use quantum embedding to derive a many-body description of strain and charge induced Stark effects on the NV$^{-}$ center. We quantify how strain longitudinal to the axis of NV$^{-}$ shifts the excited states in energy, while strain with a component transverse to the NV$^{-}$ axis splits the degeneracies of the $^{3}E$ and $^{1}E$ states. The largest effects are for the optically relevant $^{3}E$ manifold, which splits into $E_{x}$ and $E_{y}$ with transverse strain. From these responses we extract strain susceptibilities for the $E_{x/y}$ states within the quasi-linear regime. Additionally, we study the many-body dipole matrix elements of the NV$^{-}$ and find a permanent dipole 1.64 D at zero strain, which is somewhat smaller than that obtained from recent density functional theory calculations. We also determine the transition dipole between the $E_{x}$ and $E_{y}$ and how it evolves with strain.

arXiv:2406.07772•Jun 11, 2024•0 citations

Imaging Strain and Electric Fields in NV Ensembles using Stark Shift Measurements

Sarvagya Sharma, Chris Hovde, BECK Douglas howard +1 more

We report measurements of optically detected magnetic resonance spectra of ensembles of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamonds in the presence of strain and DC external electric fields. The Stark shift of the spectral lines is stronger when the axial magnetic field along the NV centers quantization axis is minimized. The shift is also enhanced at avoided crossings between the hyperfine levels at an axial field of 77 uT. Since the intrinsic strain in the diamond also induces a Stark shift, we are able to calculate the magnitude and direction of the strain within the crystal. We also use the Stark effect to map the electric field in the diamond volume between patterned electrodes.

arXiv:1802.08767•Feb 23, 2018•1 citation

Electroluminescence of NV by impact excitation and Stark shift in a MIM diamond structure

Yuhang Guo, Wei Zhu, Jiaxin Zhao +4 more

Electrically driven emission of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond has recently emerged as a viable candidate for quantum photonics. However, it is challenging to efficiently excite NV centers by an electric field because of the low density of free carriers in doped diamond. Here, we report efficient electroluminescence of neutrally charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV0) color centers under a high electric field (105 V/cm) and study its Stark effect in a MIM (Metal–Insulator–Metal) diamond device. The MIM device was fabricated by electron beam evaporating molybdenum electrodes and microwave plasma chemical vapor depositing a nitrogen-doped diamond epilayer successively on a single-crystal diamond substrate. We demonstrate the field dependence of the electrically driven emission and extract the NV0 ground state electric field susceptibility of 15.83 ± 0.86 GHzmMV−1 from the Stark effect at 5.5 K. Our findings provide a perspective toward electrically exciting color centers in diamond and help one to understand the inherent features of NV0.

Applied Physics Letters•Dec 20, 2021•5 citations

Investigation of the Stark Effect on a Centrosymmetric Quantum Emitter in Diamond

Lorenzo De Santis, Matthew E. Trusheim, Kevin C. Chen +1 more

Quantum emitters in diamond are leading optically accessible solid-state qubits. Among these, Group IV-vacancy defect centers have attracted great interest as coherent and stable optical interfaces to long-lived spin states. Theory indicates that their inversion symmetry provides first-order insensitivity to stray electric fields, a common limitation for optical coherence in any host material. Here we experimentally quantify this electric field dependence via an external electric field applied to individual tin-vacancy (SnV) centers in diamond. These measurements reveal that the permanent electric dipole moment and polarizability are at least 4 orders of magnitude smaller than for the diamond nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers, representing the first direct measurement of the inversion symmetry protection of a Group IV defect in diamond. Moreover, we show that by modulating the electric-field-induced dipole we can use the SnV as a nanoscale probe of local electric field noise, and we employ this technique to highlight the effect of spectral diffusion on the SnV.

arXiv:2102.01322•Physical Review Letters•Sep 28, 2021•55 citations

Low-Temperature Photophysics of Single Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers in Diamond

Jodok Happacher, David A. Broadway, Juanita Bocquel +10 more

We investigate the magnetic field dependent photophysics of individual nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond under cryogenic conditions. At distinct magnetic fields, we observe significant reductions in the NV photoluminescence rate, which indicate a marked decrease in the optical readout efficiency of the NV's ground state spin. We assign these dips to excited state level anticrossings, which occur at magnetic fields that strongly depend on the effective, local strain environment of the NV center. Our results offer new insights into the structure of the NVs' excited states and a new tool for their effective characterization. Using this tool, we observe strong indications for strain-dependent variations of the NV's orbital g factor, obtain new insights into NV charge state dynamics, and draw important conclusions regarding the applicability of NV centers for low-temperature quantum sensing.

arXiv:2105.08075•Physical Review Letters•Apr 29, 2022•26 citations

Hands-On Quantum Sensing with NV− Centers in Diamonds

J. L. Sánchez Toural, Victor Marzoa, Ramón Bernardo Gavito +2 more

The physical properties of diamond crystals, such as color or electrical conductivity, can be controlled via impurities. In particular, when doped with nitrogen, optically active nitrogen-vacancy centers (NV), can be induced. The center is an outstanding quantum spin system that enables, under ambient conditions, optical initialization, readout, and coherent microwave control with applications in sensing and quantum information. Under optical and radio frequency excitation, the Zeeman splitting of the degenerate states allows the quantitative measurement of external magnetic fields with high sensitivity. This study provides a pedagogical introduction to the properties of the NV centers as well as a step-by-step process to develop and test a simple magnetic quantum sensor based on color centers with significant potential for the development of highly compact multisensor systems.

C – Journal of Carbon Research•Jan 29, 2023•15 citations
The negatively charged nitrogen vacancy (NV\ensuremath−{}^{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath−) center in diamond is a well-known color center with interesting applications in nanoscale sensing and quantum metrology, due to its high sensitivity to minute local electric, magnetic, and strain fields. Motivated by these applications of the this center, the authors employ here first-principles calculations based on quantum embedding to derive a many-body description of its excited-state dipole couplings and strain susceptibilities, which underlie the electric field and strain induced Stark effects.
Quantum embedding study of strain and charge induced Stark effects on the NV−^{-}− center in diamond
The NV−^{-}− color center in diamond has been demonstrated as a powerful nanosensor for quantum metrology due to the sensitivity of its optical and spin properties to external electric, magnetic, and strain fields. In view of these applications, we use quantum embedding to derive a many-body description of strain and charge induced Stark effects on the NV−^{-}− center. We quantify how strain longitudinal to the axis of NV−^{-}− shifts the excited states in energy, while strain with a component transverse to the NV−^{-}− axis splits the degeneracies of the 3E^{3}E3E and 1E^{1}E1E states. The largest effects are for the optically relevant 3E^{3}E3E manifold, which splits into ExE_{x}Ex​ and EyE_{y}Ey​ with transverse strain. From these responses we extract strain susceptibilities for the Ex/yE_{x/y}Ex/y​ states within the quasi-linear regime. Additionally, we study the many-body dipole matrix elements of the NV−^{-}− and find a permanent dipole 1.64 D at zero strain, which is somewhat smaller than that obtained from recent density functional theory calculations. We also determine the transition dipole between the ExE_{x}Ex​ and EyE_{y}Ey​ and how it evolves with strain.
We report measurements of optically detected magnetic resonance spectra of ensembles of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamonds in the presence of strain and DC external electric fields. The Stark shift of the spectral lines is stronger when the axial magnetic field along the NV centers quantization axis is minimized. The shift is also enhanced at avoided crossings between the hyperfine levels at an axial field of 77 uT. Since the intrinsic strain in the diamond also induces a Stark shift, we are able to calculate the magnitude and direction of the strain within the crystal. We also use the Stark effect to map the electric field in the diamond volume between patterned electrodes.
Electrically driven emission of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond has recently emerged as a viable candidate for quantum photonics. However, it is challenging to efficiently excite NV centers by an electric field because of the low density of free carriers in doped diamond. Here, we report efficient electroluminescence of neutrally charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV0) color centers under a high electric field (105 V/cm) and study its Stark effect in a MIM (Metal–Insulator–Metal) diamond device. The MIM device was fabricated by electron beam evaporating molybdenum electrodes and microwave plasma chemical vapor depositing a nitrogen-doped diamond epilayer successively on a single-crystal diamond substrate. We demonstrate the field dependence of the electrically driven emission and extract the NV0 ground state electric field susceptibility of 15.83 ± 0.86 GHzmMV−1 from the Stark effect at 5.5 K. Our findings provide a perspective toward electrically exciting color centers in diamond and help one to understand the inherent features of NV0.
Quantum emitters in diamond are leading optically accessible solid-state qubits. Among these, Group IV-vacancy defect centers have attracted great interest as coherent and stable optical interfaces to long-lived spin states. Theory indicates that their inversion symmetry provides first-order insensitivity to stray electric fields, a common limitation for optical coherence in any host material. Here we experimentally quantify this electric field dependence via an external electric field applied to individual tin-vacancy (SnV) centers in diamond. These measurements reveal that the permanent electric dipole moment and polarizability are at least 4 orders of magnitude smaller than for the diamond nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers, representing the first direct measurement of the inversion symmetry protection of a Group IV defect in diamond. Moreover, we show that by modulating the electric-field-induced dipole we can use the SnV as a nanoscale probe of local electric field noise, and we employ this technique to highlight the effect of spectral diffusion on the SnV.
We investigate the magnetic field dependent photophysics of individual nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond under cryogenic conditions. At distinct magnetic fields, we observe significant reductions in the NV photoluminescence rate, which indicate a marked decrease in the optical readout efficiency of the NV's ground state spin. We assign these dips to excited state level anticrossings, which occur at magnetic fields that strongly depend on the effective, local strain environment of the NV center. Our results offer new insights into the structure of the NVs' excited states and a new tool for their effective characterization. Using this tool, we observe strong indications for strain-dependent variations of the NV's orbital g factor, obtain new insights into NV charge state dynamics, and draw important conclusions regarding the applicability of NV centers for low-temperature quantum sensing.
The physical properties of diamond crystals, such as color or electrical conductivity, can be controlled via impurities. In particular, when doped with nitrogen, optically active nitrogen-vacancy centers (NV), can be induced. The center is an outstanding quantum spin system that enables, under ambient conditions, optical initialization, readout, and coherent microwave control with applications in sensing and quantum information. Under optical and radio frequency excitation, the Zeeman splitting of the degenerate states allows the quantitative measurement of external magnetic fields with high sensitivity. This study provides a pedagogical introduction to the properties of the NV centers as well as a step-by-step process to develop and test a simple magnetic quantum sensor based on color centers with significant potential for the development of highly compact multisensor systems.