Quantum information technologies require networks of interacting defect bits. Color centers,
especially the nitrogen vacancy (NV-) center in diamond, represent one promising avenue, toward
the realisation of such devices. The most successful technique for creating NV- in diamond is ion
implantation followed by annealing. Previous experiments have shown that shallow nitrogen
implantation (<10 keV) results in NV- centers with a yield of 0.01%–0.1%. We investigate the
influence of channeling effects during shallow implantation and statistical diffusion of vacancies
using molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulation techniques. Energy barriers for the
diffusion process were calculated using density functional theory. Our simulations show that 25%
of the implanted nitrogens form a NV center, which is in good agreement with our experimental
findings
