Enhancement of concentration of XeV and GeV centers in nanocrystalline diamond through He+ irradiation

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that He+ ion irradiation can significantly increase the concentration of GeV and XeV defect centers in nanocrystalline diamond, which are important for quantum technologies.

Contribution

The study introduces a method to enhance defect center concentrations in nanocrystalline diamond using He+ irradiation, improving control over defect engineering.

Findings

He+ irradiation increases GeV and XeV center concentrations.

Photoluminescence confirms enhanced defect signatures.

Controlled growth and implantation of NCDs achieved.

Abstract

Atomic defect centers in diamond have been widely exploited in numerous quantum applications like quantum information, sensing, quantum photonics and so on. In this context, there is always a requirement to improve and optimize the preparation procedure to generate the defect centers in controlled fashion, and to explore new defect centers which can have the potential to overcome the current technological challenges. Through this letter we report enhancing the concentration of Ge and Xe vacancy centers in nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) by means of He+ irradiation. We have demonstrated controlled growth of NCD by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and implantation of Ge and Xe ions into the CVD-grown samples. NCDs were irradiated with He+ ions and characterized through optical spectroscopy measurements. Recorded photoluminescence results revealed a clear signature of enhancement of the Xe-related and Ge vacancies in NCDs.