A low-loss, broadband antenna for efficient photon collection from a coherent spin in diamond

TL;DR

This paper introduces a low-loss, broadband dielectric antenna designed for efficient photon collection from single nitrogen vacancy spins in diamond, enhancing quantum sensing and communication capabilities.

Contribution

The authors present the first solid-state dielectric antenna that maintains high spin coherence and achieves near 10-fold directionality for NV centers in diamond.

Findings

Directionality close to 10 achieved

Preserves high spin coherence (T2 > 100us)

Single photon count rate approaches 1 MHz

Abstract

We report the creation of a low-loss, broadband optical antenna giving highly directed output from a coherent single spin in the solid-state. The device, the first solid-state realization of a dielectric antenna, is engineered for individual nitrogen vacancy (NV) electronic spins in diamond. We demonstrate a directionality close to 10. The photonic structure preserves the high spin coherence of single crystal diamond (T2>100us). The single photon count rate approaches a MHz facilitating efficient spin readout. We thus demonstrate a key enabling technology for quantum applications such as high-sensitivity magnetometry and long-distance spin entanglement.