Near-unity collection efficiency from quantum emitters in bulk diamond using chirped circular dielectric gratings

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel chirped circular dielectric grating design that significantly enhances the optical collection efficiency of NV centers in bulk diamond, reaching near-unity levels for quantum sensing and information applications.

Contribution

The authors introduce a chirped dielectric grating approach fabricated on bulk diamond, achieving near-unity collection efficiency for NV centers, surpassing traditional methods.

Findings

Achieves 98.9% collection efficiency for NV zero-phonon line

Broadband efficiency of 82.2% across 600-800 nm spectrum

Applicable to other solid-state quantum emitters in high-index materials

Abstract

Efficient collection of fluorescence from nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond underlies the spin-dependent optical read-out that is necessary for quantum information processing and enhanced sensing applications. The optical collection efficiency from NVs within diamond substrates is limited primarily due to the high refractive index of diamond and the non-directional dipole emission. Here we introduce a light collection strategy based on chirped, circular dielectric gratings that can be fabricated on a bulk diamond substrate to redirect an emitter's far-field radiation pattern. Using a genetic optimization algorithm, these grating designs achieve 98.9% collection efficiency for the NV zero-phonon emission line, collected from the back surface of the diamond with an objective of aperture 0.9. Across the broadband emission spectrum of the NV (600-800 nm), the chirped grating achieves 82.2% collection efficiency into a numerical aperture of 1.42, corresponding to an oil immersion objective again on the back side of the diamond. Our proposed bulk-dielectric grating structures are applicable to other optically active solid state quantum emitters in high index host materials.