High resolution, High contrast optical interface for defect qubits

TL;DR

This paper introduces a microsphere-assisted confocal microscopy technique that significantly enhances the resolution and contrast of optical imaging for defect qubits in crystals, enabling better quantum control.

Contribution

It presents a simple, off-the-shelf micro-optics method that improves spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio for defect imaging without complex fabrication.

Findings

Achieved spatial resolution up to ~λ/5.

Fourfold increase in optical signal-to-noise ratio.

Enabled individual optical addressing of defect spins.

Abstract

Point defects in crystals provide important building blocks for quantum applications. To initialize, control, and read-out their quantum states, an efficient optical interface for addressing defects with photons is required. However, conventional confocal fluorescence microscopy with high refractive index crystals has limited photon collection efficiency and spatial resolution. Here, we demonstrate high resolution, high contrast imaging for defects qubits using microsphere-assisted confocal microscopy. A microsphere provides an excellent optical interface for point defects with a magnified virtual image that improves spatial resolution up to ~${\lambda}$/5 as well as an optical signal-to-noise ratio by four times. These features enable individual optical addressing of single photons and single spins of spatially-unresolved defects in conventional confocal microscopy with improved signal contrast. The combined optical tweezers show the possibility of positioning or scanning the microspheres for deterministic coupling and wide-field imaging of defects. The approach does not require any complicated fabrication and additional optical system but uses simple micro-optics off-the-shelf. From these distinctive advantages of the microspheres, our approach can provide an efficient way for imaging and addressing closely-spaced defects with higher resolution and sensitivity.