Active and fast charge-state switching of single NV centres in diamond by in-plane Al-Schottky junctions

Abstract

In this paper, we demonstrate an active and fast control of the charge state and hence of the optical and electronic properties of single and near-surface nitrogen-vacancy centres (NV centres) in diamond. This active manipulation is achieved by using a two-dimensional Schottky-diode structure from diamond, i.e., by using aluminium as Schottky contact on a hydrogen terminated diamond surface. By changing the applied potential on the Schottky contact, we are able to actively switch single NV centres between all three charge states NV+, NV0 and NV− on a timescale of 10 to 100 ns, corresponding to a switching frequency of 10–100 MHz. This switching frequency is much higher than the hyperfine interaction frequency between an electron spin (of NV−) and a nuclear spin (of 15N or 13C for example) of 2.66 kHz. This high-frequency charge state switching with a planar diode structure would open the door for many quantum optical applications such as a quantum computer with single NVs for quantum information processing as well as single 13C atoms for long-lifetime storage of quantum information. Furthermore, a control of spectral emission properties of single NVs as a single photon emitters – embedded in photonic structures for example – can be realized which would be vital for quantum communication and cryptography.

Tailoring of Typical Color Centers in Diamond for Photonics

“…[ 65 ] Although the population is not as high as the increase of the NV center in n‐type diamond, the corresponding advantage is that the environment around the NV center is not changed, thereby protecting the spin characteristics. [ 110 ]…”

“…c,d) Reproduced under the terms of the CC‐BY Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). [ 110 ] Copyright 2016, The Authors, published by Beilstein‐Institut. e) PL spectra of NV centers located in the diamond region and gold‐on‐diamond region.…”

“…When a spin state read‐out is needed, the stored information can be read out optically by converting NV + to NV − . The transition from NV + to NV − has been shown in Figure 13c; [ 110 ] however, in practical applications, the fine interaction between electrons and nuclear spins needs to be considered. A conversion time of 10–100 ns [ 110 ] is significantly faster than the interaction rate of 2.66 kHz, [ 111 ] with a similar structure in Figure 13a.…”

“…The transition from NV + to NV − has been shown in Figure 13c; [ 110 ] however, in practical applications, the fine interaction between electrons and nuclear spins needs to be considered. A conversion time of 10–100 ns [ 110 ] is significantly faster than the interaction rate of 2.66 kHz, [ 111 ] with a similar structure in Figure 13a. A continuous conversion from NV + to NV 0 to NV − was observed in Figure 13d, which again verified the theory that the relative positions of the energy level and the Fermi level determine the charge state of the color center.…”

Study of ion-implanted nitrogen related defects in diamond Schottky barrier diode by transient photocapacitance and photoluminescence spectroscopy

“…For the applications, the charge state control of the NV centers is crucial [8][9][10] , because the realization of individually addressable spins of the NV centers is only possible in a negative charge state 1,3) . And a fast switching between different charge states is also very important 11) . One problem is that surface terminations and defects affect the near-surface NV centers 12,13) .…”