Temperature shift of magnetic-field-dependent photoluminescence features of nitrogen-vacancy ensembles in diamond

TL;DR

This study investigates how temperature variations affect magnetic-field-dependent photoluminescence features of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond, enhancing their application in quantum sensing and thermometry.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of the thermal shifts in PL features and links them to underlying physical mechanisms, aiding the development of diamond-based quantum sensors.

Findings

Identified temperature-dependent and independent PL features.

Attributed some features to cross relaxation of multi-spin systems.

Compared experimental shifts with theoretical predictions.

Abstract

Recently significant attention has been paid to magnetic-field-dependent photoluminescence (PL) features of the negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. These features are used for microwave-free sensing and are indicative of the spin-bath properties in the diamond sample. Examinating the temperature dependence of the PL features allows to identify both temperature dependent and independent features, and to utilize them in diamond-based quantum sensing and dynamic nuclear polarization applications. Here, we study the thermal variability of many different features visible in a wide range of magnetic fields. To this end, we first discuss the origin of the features and tentatively assign the previously unidentified features to cross relaxation of NV center containing multi-spin systems. The experimental results are compared with theoretically predicted temperature shifts deduced from a combination of thermal expansion and electron-phonon interactions. A deeper insight into the thermal behavior of a wide array of the features may come with important consequences for various applications in high-precision NV thermometry, gyroscopes, solid-state clocks, and biomagnetic measurements.