Isotopically varying spectral features of silicon vacancy in diamond

TL;DR

This paper shows that the zero phonon line position of silicon-vacancy centers in diamond can identify silicon isotopes, with implications for quantum information, and reveals a local vibrational mode linked to isotopic shifts.

Contribution

It introduces a method to identify silicon isotopes in diamond centers via spectral features and links isotopic shifts to a local vibrational mode.

Findings

Zero phonon line position identifies silicon isotope in a single center.

The 64 meV line is a local vibrational mode of silicon.

Isotopic shift is likely due to a local vibrational mode.

Abstract

The silicon-vacancy centre (SiV) in diamond has interesting vibronic features. We demonstrate that the zero phonon line position can be used to reliably identify the silicon isotope present in a single centre. This is of interest for quantum information applications since only the silicon 29 isotope has nuclear spin. In addition, we demonstrate that the 64 meV line is due to a local vibrational mode of the silicon atom. The presence of a local mode suggests a plausible origin of the isotopic shift of the zero phonon line.