Low charge-noise nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond created using laser writing with a solid-immersion lens

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates low-charge-noise nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond created using laser writing with a solid-immersion lens, operating in a new regime that produces high-quality NV centers suitable for quantum applications.

Contribution

It introduces a laser writing technique with a solid-immersion lens that creates NV centers close to the surface with low charge noise, operating via tunneling breakdown instead of multiphoton ionization.

Findings

NV centers have narrow optical linewidths (~62-75 MHz)

Laser writing achieves NV creation at low energies (~5.8 nJ)

NV centers exhibit low charge noise suitable for quantum interference

Abstract

We report on pulsed-laser induced generation of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond facilitated by a solid-immersion lens (SIL). The SIL enables laser writing at energies as low as 5.8 nJ per pulse and allows vacancies to be formed close to a diamond surface without inducing surface graphitization. We operate in the previously unexplored regime where lattice vacancies are created following tunneling breakdown rather than multiphoton ionization. We present three samples in which NV-center arrays were laser-written at distances between ~1 $\mu$m and 40 $\mu$m from a diamond surface, all presenting narrow distributions of optical linewidths with means between 62.1 MHz and 74.5 MHz. The linewidths include the effect of long-term spectral diffusion induced by a 532 nm repump laser for charge-state stabilization, thereby emphasizing the particularly low charge-noise environment of the created color centers. Such high-quality NV centers are excellent candidates for practical applications employing two-photon quantum interference with separate NV centers. Finally, we propose a model for disentangling power broadening from inhomogeneous broadening in the NV center optical linewidth.