262 research outputs found
Creating diamond color centers for quantum optical applications
Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have distinct promise as solid-state
qubits. This is because of their large dipole moment, convenient level
structure and very long room-temperature coherence times. In general, a
combination of ion irradiation and subsequent annealing is used to create the
centers, however for the rigorous demands of quantum computing all processes
need to be optimized, and decoherence due to the residual damage caused by the
implantation process itself must be mitigated. To that end we have studied
photoluminescence (PL) from NV, NV and GR1 centers formed by ion
implantation of 2MeV He ions over a wide range of fluences. The sample was
annealed at C to minimize residual vacancy diffusion, allowing for
the concurrent analysis of PL from NV centers and irradiation induced vacancies
(GR1). We find non-monotic PL intensities with increasing ion fluence,
monotonic increasing PL in NV/NV and GR1/(NV + NV) ratios, and
increasing inhomogeneous broadening of the zero-phonon lines with increasing
ion fluence. All these results shed important light on the optimal formation
conditions for NV qubits. We apply our findings to an off-resonant photonic
quantum memory scheme using vibronic sidebands
Why non-superconducting metallic elements become superconducting under high pressure
We predict that simple metals and early transition metals that become
superconducting under high pressures will show a change in sign of their Hall
coefficient from negative to positive under pressure. If verified, this will
strongly suggest that hole carriers play a fundamental role in `conventional'
superconductivity, as predicted by the theory of hole superconductivity.Comment: Submitted to M2S-IX Tokyo 200
Photo induced ionization dynamics of the nitrogen vacancy defect in diamond investigated by single shot charge state detection
The nitrogen-vacancy centre (NV) has drawn much attention for over a decade,
yet detailed knowledge of the photophysics needs to be established. Under
typical conditions, the NV can have two stable charge states, negative (NV-) or
neutral (NV0), with photo induced interconversion of these two states. Here, we
present detailed studies of the ionization dynamics of single NV centres in
bulk diamond at room temperature during illumination in dependence of the
excitation wavelength and power. We apply a recent method which allows us to
directly measure the charge state of a single NV centre, and observe its
temporal evolution. Results of this work are the steady state NV- population,
which was found to be always < 75% for 450 to 610 nm excitation wavelength, the
relative absorption cross-section of NV- for 540 to 610 nm, and the energy of
the NV- ground state of 2.6 eV below the conduction band. These results will
help to further understand the photo-physics of the NV centre.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure
Single photon emitters based on Ni/Si related defects in single crystalline diamond
We present investigations on single Ni/Si related color centers produced via
ion implantation into single crystalline type IIa CVD diamond. Testing
different ion dose combinations we show that there is an upper limit for both
the Ni and the Si dose 10^12/cm^2 and 10^10/cm^2 resp.) due to creation of
excess fluorescent background. We demonstrate creation of Ni/Si related centers
showing emission in the spectral range between 767nm and 775nm and narrow
line-widths of 2nm FWHM at room temperature. Measurements of the intensity
auto-correlation functions prove single-photon emission. The investigated color
centers can be coarsely divided into two groups: Drawing from photon statistics
and the degree of polarization in excitation and emission we find that some
color centers behave as two-level, single-dipole systems whereas other centers
exhibit three levels and contributions from two orthogonal dipoles. In
addition, some color centers feature stable and bright emission with saturation
count rates up to 78kcounts/s whereas others show fluctuating count rates and
three-level blinking.Comment: 7 pages, submitted to Applied Physics B, revised versio
Photophysics of single silicon vacancy centers in diamond: implications for single photon emission
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.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, version 2 accepted for publication in Optics
Expres
Photoluminescence of single colour defects in 50 nm diamond nanocrystals
We used optical confocal microscopy to study optical properties of diamond 50
nm nanocrystals first irradiated with an electron beam, then dispersed as a
colloidal solution and finally deposited on a silica slide. At room
temperature, under CW laser excitation at a wavelength of 514.5 nm we observed
perfectly photostable single Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) colour defects embedded in
the nanocrystals. From the zero-phonon line around 575 nm in the spectrum of
emitted light, we infer a neutral NV0 type of defect. Such nanoparticle with
intrinsic fluorescence are highly promising for applications in biology where
long-term emitting fluorescent bio-compatible nanoprobes are still missing.Comment: proceedings of ICDS 23 conference (23rd International Conference on
Defects in Semiconductors, July 24 - July 29, 2005, Awaji Island, Hyogo,
Japan); to appear in "Physica B
Confirmation of the Electrostatic Self-Assembly of Nanodiamonds
A reliable explanation for the underlying mechanism responsible for the
persistent aggregation and self-assembly of colloidal 5 nm diamond
nanoparticles is critical to the development of nanodiamond-based technologies.
Although a number of mechanisms have been proposed, validation has been
hindered by the inherent difficulty associated with the identification and
characterisation of the inter-particle interfaces. In this paper we present
results of high resolution aberration corrected electron microscopy and
complementary computer simulations to explicate the features involved, and
confirm the electrostatic interaction mechanism as the most probable cause for
the formation of agglutinates and agglomerates of primary particles.Comment: 9 pages (including Supplementary Information), accepted for
publication by Nanoscal
Is manganese-doped diamond a ferromagnetic semiconductor?
We use density-functional theoretical methods to examine the recent
prediction, based on a mean-field solution of the Zener model, that diamond
doped by Mn (with spin S=5/2) would be a dilute magnetic semiconductor that
remains ferromagnetic well above room temperature. Our findings suggest this to
be unlikely, for four reasons: (1) substitutional Mn in diamond has a low-spin
S=1/2 ground state; (2) the substitutional site is energetically unfavorable
relative to the much larger "divacancy" site; 3) Mn in the divacancy site is an
acceptor, but with only hyperdeep levels, and hence the holes are likely to
remain localized; (4) the calculated Heisenberg couplings between Mn in nearby
divacancy sites are two orders of magnitude smaller than for substitutional Mn
in germanium.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Spectroscopic study of impurities and associated defects in nanodiamonds from Efremovka (CV3) and Orgueil (CI) meteorites
The results of spectroscopic and structural studies of phase composition and
of defects in nanodiamonds from Efremovka (CV3) and Orgueil (CI) chondrites
indicate that nitrogen atomic environment in meteoritic nanodiamonds (MND) is
similar to that observed in synthetic counterparts produced by detonation and
by the Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD)-process. Most of the nitrogen in MND
appears to be confined to lattice imperfections, such as crystallite/twin
boundaries and other extended defects, while the concentration of nitrogen in
the MND lattice is low. It is suggested that the N-rich sub-population of MND
grains may have been formed with high growth rates in environments rich in
accessible N (i.e., N in atomic form or as weakly bonded compounds). For the
first time the silicon-vacancy complex (the "silicon" defect) is observed in
MND by photoluminescence spectroscopy.Comment: 33 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Geochimica et Cosmochimica Act
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