Decay rate enhancement of diamond NV-centers on diamond thin films

TL;DR

This paper experimentally demonstrates that the decay rate of NV$^0$ centers in diamond can be significantly enhanced by substrate interactions and film thickness, offering insights for quantum emitter applications.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental evidence of decay rate enhancement of NV centers on diamond/Si substrates and links it to substrate mode excitation and film thickness effects.

Findings

Two-fold decay rate enhancement on diamond/Si substrates

Decay rate varies up to 90% with diamond film thickness

Decay enhancement linked to substrate mode excitation and non-radiative channels

Abstract

We demonstrate experimentally two-fold enhancement of the decay rate of NV$^0$ centers on diamond/Si substrate as opposed to a bare Si substrate. We link the decay enhancement to the interplay between the excitation of substrate modes and the presence of non-radiative decay channels. We show that the radiative decay rate can vary by up to 90% depending on the thickness of the diamond film.