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Fabrication of SiV centers inside nanodiamonds using ion implantation

Konosuke Shimazaki, Hideaki Takashima, Fukuda, Atsushi, W Schell Andreas, Toshiyuki Tashima, Abe Hiroshi, Onoda Shinobu, Ohshima Takeshi

Published Dec 17, 2020• 0 citations
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Abstract

Nanodiamonds containing color centers have been attracting attention as a hybrid system with nanophotonic devices to realize photonic quantum information devices such as highly efficient single photon sources. In various color centers, silicon vacancy (SiV) centers are especially interesting because of high photo-stability, high brightness, high Debye-Waller factor (about 70%), and lifetime-limited fluorescence linewidth. The nanodiamonds containing SiV centers have been usually fabricated by milling large nanodiamonds with SiV centers, which are synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). However, this milling method has an issue with the production yield. Here, we report on the fabrication of SiV centers inside nanodiamonds by direct implantation of Si ions, which allows the creation at a high production yield due to no requirement of the milling process. By implanting Si ions into nanodiamonds (median size of 25 nm), we fabricate SiV centers exhibiting a narrow linewidth of about 7 nm at room temperature. This linewidth is more than twice as narrow as previous reports on the implantation of Si ions into nanodiamonds.

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Nanodiamonds containing color centers have been attracting attention as a hybrid system with nanophotonic devices to realize photonic quantum information devices such as highly efficient single photon sources. In various color centers, silicon vacancy (SiV) centers are especially interesting because of high photo-stability, high brightness, high Debye-Waller factor (about 70%), and lifetime-limited fluorescence linewidth. The nanodiamonds containing SiV centers have been usually fabricated by milling large nanodiamonds with SiV centers, which are synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). However, this milling method has an issue with the production yield. Here, we report on the fabrication of SiV centers inside nanodiamonds by direct implantation of Si ions, which allows the creation at a high production yield due to no requirement of the milling process. By implanting Si ions into nanodiamonds (median size of 25 nm), we fabricate SiV centers exhibiting a narrow linewidth of about 7 nm at room temperature. This linewidth is more than twice as narrow as previous reports on the implantation of Si ions into nanodiamonds.
Abstract Diamond color centers have been widely studied in the field of quantum optics. The negatively charged silicon vacancy (SiV − ) center exhibits a narrow emission linewidth at the wavelength of 738 nm, a high Debye–Waller factor, and unique spin properties, making it a promising emitter for quantum information technologies, biological imaging, and sensing. In particular, nanodiamond (ND)‐based SiV − centers can be heterogeneously integrated with plasmonic and photonic nanostructures and serve as in vivo biomarkers and intracellular thermometers. Out of all methods to produce NDs with SiV − centers, ion implantation offers the unique potential to create controllable numbers of color centers in preselected individual NDs. However, the formation of single color centers in NDs with this technique has not been realized. We report the creation of single SiV − centers featuring stable high‐purity single‐photon emission through Si implantation into NDs with an average size of ∼20 nm. We observe room temperature emission, with zero‐phonon line wavelengths in the range of 730–800 nm and linewidths below 10 nm. Our results offer new opportunities for the controlled production of group‐IV diamond color centers with applications in quantum photonics, sensing, and biomedicine.
Abstract Silicon vacancy (SiV) centers in diamonds have attracted much attention because of their stability and narrow emission linewidth, and are promising for applications in quantum information technology. SiV-center-encapsulated nanodiamonds have also attracted much attention because of their potential to be coupled to various photonic devices. One efficient way to fabricate nanodiamonds that contain SiV centers is Si ion implantation into nanodiamonds. However, the evaluation of a single SiV center in a nanodiamond produced by this method at low temperatures has not been performed. In this study, we report on the optical properties of a single SiV center in a nanodiamond produced by ion implantation at cryogenic temperatures. The emission spectrum from a single SiV center ( g 2 ( 0 ) = 0.19 ) was observed with four distinct fine splittings of the zero-phonon line (ZPL) at 4 K. At an excitation power of 50 μ W, the full width at half maximum of the ZPL reached the spectrometer resolution limit (0.09 nm). The temperature dependence of the emission peak is consistent with that of the emission coming from an SiV center under high strain. The results obtained in this work suggest that nanodiamonds containing single SiV centers formed using this method will be an important building block for the realization of quantum information applications.
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.
Nanodiamonds containing single tin-vacancy (SnV) centers have the potential for integration into nanophotonic devices employed in quantum technologies such as quantum sensing, quantum information processing and quantum communication. The present study assessed single SnV centers in nanodiamonds less than 10 nm in size. Such centers were generated by implanting Sn ions into size-selected small nanodiamonds followed by high-temperature annealing. A sharp emission peak with a line width of 2.6 nm was observed at 618.7 nm, corresponding to the zero phonon line of SnV centers in bulk diamond. The Debye–Waller factor for this peak at room temperature was estimated to be 0.38 and so was slightly greater than the value for bulk diamond. A second-order correlation function yielded a g 2 (0) value of 0.04 ± 0.11, indicating single-photon emission. The successful creation of single SnV centers in nanodiamonds is a critical step toward integrating nanophotonic devices for photonic quantum technologies.
The creation of single, negatively charged silicon vacancy (SiV−) centers in well-defined diamond layers close to the host surface is a crucial step for the development of diamond-based quantum optic devices with many applications in nanophotonics, quantum sensing, or quantum information science. Here, we report on the creation of shallow (10 nm below the surface), single SiV− centers in diamond using low energy Si+ ion implantation with subsequent high temperature annealing at 1500 °C. We show transition linewidths down to 99 MHz and narrow inhomogeneous distributions. Furthermore, we achieved a reduction of homogeneous linewidths by a factor of 2 after removing subsurface damage using oxygen plasma processing. These results not only give insights into the formation process of SiV− centers but also indicate a favorable processing method to fabricate shallow single quantum emitters in diamond perfectly suited for coupling to nanostructures on the diamond surface.