Optical and Spin Properties of NV Center Ensembles in Diamond Nano-Pillars
Kseniia Volkova,
Julia Heupel,
Sergei Trofimov,
Fridtjof Betz,
Rémi Colom,
Rowan W. MacQueen,
Sapida Akhundzada,
Meike Reginka,
Arno Ehresmann,
Johann Peter Reithmaier,
Sven Burger,
Cyril Popov,
Boris Naydenov
Affiliations
Kseniia Volkova
Department Spins in Energy Conversion and Quantum Information Science (ASPIN), Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin, Germany
Julia Heupel
Institute of Nanostructure Technologies and Analytics (INA), Center for Interdisciplinary Nanostructure Science and Technology (CINSaT), University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Str. 40, 34132 Kassel, Germany
Sergei Trofimov
Department Spins in Energy Conversion and Quantum Information Science (ASPIN), Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin, Germany
Fridtjof Betz
Zuse Institute Berlin, Takustraße 7, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Rémi Colom
Zuse Institute Berlin, Takustraße 7, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Rowan W. MacQueen
Department Spins in Energy Conversion and Quantum Information Science (ASPIN), Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin, Germany
Sapida Akhundzada
Institute of Physics, Center for Interdisciplinary Nanostructure Science and Technology (CINSaT), University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Str. 40, 34132 Kassel, Germany
Meike Reginka
Institute of Physics, Center for Interdisciplinary Nanostructure Science and Technology (CINSaT), University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Str. 40, 34132 Kassel, Germany
Arno Ehresmann
Institute of Physics, Center for Interdisciplinary Nanostructure Science and Technology (CINSaT), University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Str. 40, 34132 Kassel, Germany
Johann Peter Reithmaier
Institute of Nanostructure Technologies and Analytics (INA), Center for Interdisciplinary Nanostructure Science and Technology (CINSaT), University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Str. 40, 34132 Kassel, Germany
Sven Burger
Zuse Institute Berlin, Takustraße 7, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Cyril Popov
Institute of Nanostructure Technologies and Analytics (INA), Center for Interdisciplinary Nanostructure Science and Technology (CINSaT), University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Str. 40, 34132 Kassel, Germany
Boris Naydenov
Department Spins in Energy Conversion and Quantum Information Science (ASPIN), Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin, Germany
Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond are excellent quantum sensors possessing high sensitivity and nano-scale spatial resolution. Their integration in photonic structures is often desired, since it leads to an increased photon emission and also allows the realization of solid-state quantum technology architectures. Here, we report the fabrication of diamond nano-pillars with diameters up to 1000 nm by electron beam lithography and inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching in nitrogen-rich diamonds (type Ib) with [100] and [111] crystal orientations. The NV centers were created by keV-He ion bombardment and subsequent annealing, and we estimate an average number of NVs per pillar to be 4300 ± 300 and 520 ± 120 for the [100] and [111] samples, respectively. Lifetime measurements of the NVs’ excited state showed two time constants with average values of τ1 ≈ 2 ns and τ2 ≈ 8 ns, which are shorter as compared to a single color center in a bulk crystal (τ ≈ 10 ns). This is probably due to a coupling between the NVs as well as due to interaction with bombardment-induced defects and substitutional nitrogen (P1 centers). Optically detected magnetic resonance measurements revealed a contrast of about 5% and average coherence and relaxation times of T2 [100] = 420 ± 40 ns, T2 [111] = 560 ± 50 ns, and T1 [100] = 162 ± 11 μs, T1 [111] = 174 ± 24 μs. These pillars could find an application for scanning probe magnetic field imaging.
