Spectral alignment of single-photon emitters in diamond using strain gradient

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a method to spectrally align solid-state single-photon emitters in diamond using a strain gradient, enabling indistinguishable photons for quantum applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel strain gradient technique to tune and align the emission wavelengths of multiple GeV color centers in diamond microcantilevers.

Findings

Successfully tuned two GeV centers to emit at the same wavelength

Achieved simultaneous resonant excitation of spectrally aligned emitters

Demonstrated strain gradient tuning as a scalable method for quantum emitter alignment

Abstract

Solid-state single-photon emitters are attractive for realization of integrated quantum systems due to their experimental convenience and scalability. Unfortunately, however, their complex mesoscopic environments cause photons from different emitters to be spectrally distinguishable. Here we demonstrate spectral alignment of two solid-state single-photon emitters by utilizing the strain gradient. Multiple germanium vacancy (GeV) color centers in diamond are created in fabricated diamond microcantilevers using focused ion beam implantation. The strain response of the electronic energy levels of the GeV is measured by inducing an electrically controlled strain in the device. Leveraging the large strain gradient, we tune two GeVs in the spot to emit at the same optical wavelength. Simultaneous resonant excitation of two spectrally aligned GeVs is demonstrated using a narrow linewidth laser. This strain gradient tuning can be used to realize spectrally identical quantum emitters for on-chip integrated quantum systems.