Neutral Silicon Vacancy Centers in Diamond via Photoactivated Itinerant Carriers

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a method to stabilize neutral silicon vacancy centers in diamond using photoactivated carriers, enabling their use in quantum technologies through stable optical and magnetic properties.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel approach to stabilize SiV0 centers via photoactivated itinerant carriers, facilitating their on-demand generation for quantum applications.

Findings

SiV0 centers can be stabilized using photoactivated carriers.

Stable SiV0 centers allow resonant optical excitation.

The method enables on-demand generation of quantum defects.

Abstract

Neutral silicon vacancy (SiV0) centers in diamond are promising candidates for quantum network applications because of their exceptional optical properties and spin coherence. However, the stabilization of SiV0 centers requires careful Fermi level engineering of the diamond host material, making further technological development challenging. Here, we show that SiV0 centers can be efficiently stabilized by photoactivated itinerant carriers. Even in this nonequilibrium configuration, the resulting SiV0 centers are stable enough to allow for resonant optical excitation and optically detected magnetic resonance. Our results pave the way for on-demand generation of SiV0 centers as well as other emerging quantum defects in diamond.