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Communications Engineering

Recent progress in hybrid diamond photonics for quantum information processing and sensing

Ryota Katsumi, Kosuke Takada, Fedor Jelezko, Takashi Yatsui

Published May 8, 2025• 63 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Point defects in diamond, particularly nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers, have emerged as powerful tools for a broad range of quantum technologies. These defects are promising candidates for quantum information science, serving as deterministic single-photon sources and solid-state quantum memories. They have also been employed as nanoscale quantum sensors to detect various physical quantities, including magnetic fields, electric fields, and temperature, owing to their long spin coherence time at room temperature. Development of these diamond-based quantum technologies has been rapidly boosted by a recent quantum leap in nanofabrication technologies for high-quality single-crystal diamond. Incorporating these color centers into diamond nanostructures with mature integrated photonics provides a promising route to build scalable and practical systems for quantum applications. This review discusses recent progress and challenges in the hybrid integration of diamond color centers on cutting-edge photonic platforms. Nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond have emerged as powerful tools for a broad range of quantum technologies. This review discusses recent progress and challenges in the hybrid integration of diamond color centers on cutting-edge photonic platforms.

DOI
10.1038/s44172-025-00398-2

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Point defects in diamond, particularly nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers, have emerged as powerful tools for a broad range of quantum technologies. These defects are promising candidates for quantum information science, serving as deterministic single-photon sources and solid-state quantum memories. They have also been employed as nanoscale quantum sensors to detect various physical quantities, including magnetic fields, electric fields, and temperature, owing to their long spin coherence time at room temperature. Development of these diamond-based quantum technologies has been rapidly boosted by a recent quantum leap in nanofabrication technologies for high-quality single-crystal diamond. Incorporating these color centers into diamond nanostructures with mature integrated photonics provides a promising route to build scalable and practical systems for quantum applications. This review discusses recent progress and challenges in the hybrid integration of diamond color centers on cutting-edge photonic platforms. Nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond have emerged as powerful tools for a broad range of quantum technologies. This review discusses recent progress and challenges in the hybrid integration of diamond color centers on cutting-edge photonic platforms.
Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have recently emerged as a unique platform for fundamental studies in quantum information and nanoscience. The special properties of these impurity centers allow robust, room-temperature operation of solid-state qubits and have enabled several remarkable demonstrations in quantum information processing and precision nanoscale sensing. This article reviews the recent advances in magnetic and optical manipulation of the NV center’s quantum spin and their importance for prospective applications. We discuss how quantum control of individual centers can be harnessed for the protection of NV-center spin coherence, for multiqubit quantum operations in the presence of decoherence, and for high-fidelity initialization and readout. We also discuss the progress in resonant optical control, which has led to interfaces between spin and photonic qubits and may lead to spin networks based on diamond photonics. Many of these recently developed diamond-based technologies constitute critical components for the future leap toward practical multiqubit devices.
Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond have emerged as a focal point in quantum technology research due to their exceptional optical and electronic spin properties. This discovery not only expands our understanding of the material properties of diamond but also paves the way for practical applications in quantum technology. As a solid-state spin quantum system characterized by long electron spin coherence times and stable performance, NV color centers offer distinct advantages in quantum information processing. Recent advancements have enabled the fabrication of high-quality NV color centers with controllable concentration and spatial positioning through techniques such as in situ doping, ion implantation, and hybrid approaches. These technological breakthroughs have significantly enhanced the efficiency of NV center fabrication, thereby establishing a robust foundation for their widespread application in quantum sensing and quantum information technologies. This review provides a compre­hensive introduction to the structure and fundamental properties of NV color centers in diamond, an in-depth analysis of recent progress in their fabrication techniques, and a critical discussion of their current applications in quantum science and technology. Additionally, the challenges, open questions, and future research directions in NV color center studies are addressed.
Individual, luminescent point defects in solids, so-called color centers, are atomic-sized quantum systems enabling sensing and imaging with nanoscale spatial resolution. In this overview, we introduce nanoscale sensing based on individual nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. We discuss two central challenges of the field: first, the creation of highly-coherent, shallow NV centers less than 10 nm below the surface of a single-crystal diamond; second, the fabrication of tip-like photonic nanostructures that enable efficient fluorescence collection and can be used for scanning probe imaging based on color centers with nanoscale resolution.
Abstract Powered by the mutual developments in instrumentation, materials and theoretical descriptions, sensing and imaging capabilities of quantum emitters in solids have significantly increased in the past two decades. Quantum emitters in solids, whose properties resemble those of atoms and ions, provide alternative ways to probing natural and artificial nanoscopic systems with minimum disturbance and ultimate spatial resolution. Among those emerging quantum emitters, the nitrogen vacancy (NV) color center in diamond is an outstanding example due to its intrinsic properties at room temperature (highly-luminescent, photo-stable, biocompatible, highly-coherent spin states). This review article summarizes recent advances and achievements in using NV centers within nano- and single crystal diamonds in sensing and imaging. We also highlight prevalent challenges and material aspects for different types of diamond and outline the main parameters to consider when using color centers as sensors. As a novel sensing resource, we highlight the properties of NV centers as light emitting electrical dipoles and their coupling to other nanoscale dipoles e.g. graphene.
Diamond quantum technologies based on color centers have rapidly emerged in the most recent years. The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color center has attracted a particular interest, thanks to its outstanding spin properties and optical addressability. The NV center has been used to realize innovative multimode quantum-enhanced sensors that offer an unprecedented combination of high sensitivity and spatial resolution at room temperature. The technological progress and the widening of potential sensing applications have induced an increasing demand for performance advances of NV quantum sensors. Quantum control plays a key role in responding to this demand. This short review affords an overview on recent advances in quantum control-assisted quantum sensing and spectroscopy of magnetic fields.
Advances in material processing are rapidly improving the quality and scalability of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) and group-IV vacancy (G4V) color centers in diamond—key building blocks for quantum sensing and photonic networks. Central challenges remain: precise control of defect-formation pathways and the mitigation of nearby charge traps and parasitic states, which is especially problematic for near-surface emitters. Recent progress in sample preparation and in-situ thermal treatments (before, during and after growth, and during implantation) have reduced nonradiative dark defects and suppressed interface doping. Optimizing thermal strategies have illustrated an increased conversion yield for NV and G4V centers, while limiting unwanted photoluminescence. Similarly, surface treatments play an imperative role in stabilizing near-surface charge states for sensing applications. Complementary ex-situ protocols, such as high-temperature vacuum anneals, and hybrid incorporation methods that combine shallow implantation with epitaxial overgrowth continue to improve yields and coherence for shallow NV and G4V centers. Together, these integrated strategies are enabling deterministic, high-fidelity quantum emitters embedded in scalable diamond nanostructures.