Optical determination and magnetic manipulation of single nitrogen-vacancy color center in diamond nanocrystal

TL;DR

This paper reviews experiments on the optical and magnetic control of single nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond nanocrystals, highlighting their potential for quantum computing and high-resolution imaging.

Contribution

It presents new experimental techniques for optical pinpointing and magnetic manipulation of individual NV centers, advancing quantum information applications.

Findings

Successful optical localization of single NV centers at sub-? resolution

Demonstration of coherent magnetic manipulation of NV electron spins

Potential for addressing multiple coupled NV centers for quantum computing

Abstract

The controlled and coherent manipulation of individual quantum systems is a fundamental key for the development of quantum information processing. The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color center in diamond is a promising system since its photoluminescence is perfectly stable at room temperature and its electron spin can be optically read-out at the individual level. We review here the experiments currently realized in our laboratory, concerning the use of single NV color center as single photon source and the coherent magnetic manipulation of the electron spin associated to a single NV color center. Furthermore, we demonstrate a nanoscopy experiment based on saturation absorption effect, which allows to optically pin-point single NV color center at a sub-? resolution. This opens a possibility to independently address two or multiple magnetically-coupled single NV color centers, which is a necessary step toward the realization of a diamond-based quantum computer.