Evidence of light guiding in ion-implanted diamond

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that direct ion implantation can create light-guiding microstructures in diamond, enabling new quantum-optical device designs by modulating the refractive index and confirming waveguiding through interferometric methods.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method for fabricating optical waveguides in diamond using ion implantation, providing direct evidence of waveguiding in such structures.

Findings

Successful fabrication of light-guiding microchannels in diamond

Direct waveguiding confirmed by phase-shift interferometry

Potential for designing quantum-optical devices in diamond

Abstract

We demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating light-waveguiding microstructures in bulk single-crystal diamond by means of direct ion implantation with a scanning microbeam, resulting in the modulation of the refractive index of the ion-beam damaged crystal. Direct evidence of waveguiding through such buried microchannels is obtained with a phase-shift micro-interferometric method allowing the study of the multi-modal structure of the propagating electromagnetic field. The possibility of defining optical and photonic structures by direct ion writing opens a range of new possibilities in the design of quantum-optical devices in bulk single crystal diamond.