Enhanced quantum properties of shallow diamond atomic defects through nitrogen surface termination

TL;DR

This paper introduces a nitrogen plasma surface treatment method that significantly enhances the optical stability and quantum coherence of shallow nitrogen vacancy centers in diamond, improving their suitability for quantum sensing applications.

Contribution

The study presents a novel nitrogen plasma surface termination technique that improves the stability and coherence of near-surface NV centers in diamond, addressing a key challenge in quantum sensing.

Findings

Enhanced optical stability of NV centers

Improved quantum coherence times

Effective nitrogen plasma surface termination

Abstract

Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have emerged in recent years as leading quantum sensors in various modalities. Most applications benefit from shallow NVs, enabling higher sensitivity and resolution. However, near surface NVs ($<$ 20 nm depth) suffer from reduced stability and coherence properties due to additional noise. We demonstrate a novel surface termination technique based on nitrogen plasma under non-damaging conditions, achieving significant improvement in NV optical stability and quantum coherence.