Localized chemical switching of the charge state of nitrogen-vacancy luminescence centers in diamond

TL;DR

This paper introduces a localized chemical method using electron beam fluorination to precisely control the charge state of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond, enabling targeted manipulation of their luminescence properties.

Contribution

It demonstrates a novel, highly localized chemical technique to switch the charge state of NV centers in diamond using electron beam irradiation with NF3 vapor.

Findings

Fluorination changes NV centers from neutral to negative charge state.

The process is highly localized, allowing control at the nanoscale.

The technique can modify emission spectra of individual nanodiamonds.

Abstract

We present a beam-directed chemical technique for controlling the charge states of near-surface luminescence centers in semiconductors. Specifically, we fluorinate the surface of H-terminated diamond by electron beam irradiation in the presence of NF3 vapor. The fluorination treatment acts as a local chemical switch that alters the charge state of nitrogen-vacancy luminescence centers from the neutral to the negative state. The electron beam fluorination process is highly localized and can be used to control the emission spectrum of individual nanodiamonds and surface regions scanned by the electron beam