Spin dynamics in the optical cycle of single nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond

We investigate spin-dependent decay and intersystem crossing (ISC) in the optical cycle of single negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres in diamond. We use spin control and pulsed optical excitation to extract both the spin-resolved lifetimes of the excited states and the degree of optically induced spin polarization. By optically exciting the centre with a series of picosecond pulses, we determine the spin-flip probabilities per optical cycle, as well as the spin-dependent probability for ISC. This information, together with the independently measured decay rate of singlet population, provides a full description of spin dynamics in the optical cycle of NV centres. The temperature dependence of the singlet population decay rate provides information about the number of singlet states involved in the optical cycle.

[1]  Jacob M. Taylor,et al.  Nanoscale magnetic sensing with an individual electronic spin in diamond , 2008, Nature.

[2]  Jacob M. Taylor,et al.  High-sensitivity diamond magnetometer with nanoscale resolution , 2008, 0805.1367.

[3]  Fedor Jelezko,et al.  Read-out of single spins by optical spectroscopy , 2004 .

[4]  D. Budker,et al.  Optical properties of the nitrogen-vacancy singlet levels in diamond , 2010, 1009.0032.

[5]  L. Jiang,et al.  Quantum Register Based on Individual Electronic and Nuclear Spin Qubits in Diamond , 2007, Science.

[6]  D. D. Awschalom,et al.  Gigahertz Dynamics of a Strongly Driven Single Quantum Spin , 2009, Science.

[7]  Matthew Sellars,et al.  Optical spin polarisation of the N-V centre in diamond , 2004 .

[8]  J. Rarity,et al.  Strongly enhanced photon collection from diamond defect centers under microfabricated integrated solid immersion lenses , 2010, 1006.2093.

[9]  A. T. Collins,et al.  Luminescence decay time of the 1.945 eV centre in type Ib diamond , 1983 .

[10]  M. Rohlfing,et al.  Excited states of the negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy color center in diamond , 2010 .

[11]  F. Jelezko,et al.  Observation of coherent oscillation of a single nuclear spin and realization of a two-qubit conditional quantum gate. , 2004, Physical review letters.

[12]  F. Jelezko,et al.  NV centers in diamond: spin-selective photokinetics, optical ground-state spin alignment and hole burning , 2003 .

[13]  J. Wrachtrup,et al.  Multipartite Entanglement Among Single Spins in Diamond , 2008, Science.

[14]  Alfred Leitenstorfer,et al.  Nanoscale imaging magnetometry with diamond spins under ambient conditions , 2008, Nature.

[15]  L. Childress,et al.  Supporting Online Material for , 2006 .

[16]  C. Degen,et al.  Scanning magnetic field microscope with a diamond single-spin sensor , 2008, 0805.1215.

[17]  R. Hanson,et al.  Single-spin magnetometry with multipulse sensing sequences. , 2010, Physical review letters.

[18]  M. Markham,et al.  Ultralong spin coherence time in isotopically engineered diamond. , 2009, Nature materials.

[19]  Dirk Englund,et al.  Deterministic coupling of a single nitrogen vacancy center to a photonic crystal cavity. , 2010, Nano letters.

[20]  S. Armstrong,et al.  Infrared emission of the NV centre in diamond: Zeeman and uniaxial stress studies , 2008, 0806.0895.

[21]  Matthias Steiner,et al.  Single-Shot Readout of a Single Nuclear Spin , 2010, Science.

[22]  P. Hemmer,et al.  Temporal coherence of photons emitted by single nitrogen-vacancy defect centers in diamond using optical Rabi-oscillations. , 2008, Physical review letters.

[23]  Matthew Sellars,et al.  Measurement of the optically induced spin polarisation of N-V centres in diamond , 2006 .

[24]  I. Gerhardt,et al.  Monolithic diamond optics for single photon detection. , 2010, Applied physics letters.

[25]  R. Hanson,et al.  Excited-state spectroscopy using single spin manipulation in diamond. , 2008, Physical review letters.

[26]  R Hanson,et al.  Universal Dynamical Decoupling of a Single Solid-State Spin from a Spin Bath , 2010, Science.

[27]  G. Balasubramanian,et al.  Excited-state spectroscopy of single NV defects in diamond using optically detected magnetic resonance , 2008, 0807.2379.

[28]  P. Hemmer,et al.  A diamond nanowire single-photon source. , 2009, Nature nanotechnology.

[29]  D. Awschalom,et al.  Excited-state spin coherence of a single nitrogen–vacancy centre in diamond , 2010 .

[30]  Matthew Sellars,et al.  Nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond: Model of the electronic structure and associated dynamics , 2006 .

[31]  S. Ya. Kilin,et al.  A quantum computer based on NV centers in diamond: Optically detected nutations of single electron and nuclear spins , 2005 .

[32]  C. Santori,et al.  Coupling of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond to a GaP waveguide , 2008, 0811.0328.

[33]  W. Pfaff,et al.  Deterministic nanoassembly of a coupled quantum emitter–photonic crystal cavity system , 2010, 1008.4097.