Super-resolved reconstruction of single-photon emitter locations from $g^{(2)}(0)$ maps

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel raster-scanned $g^{(2)}(0)$ mapping technique combined with an inversion algorithm to reconstruct the spatial distribution of single-photon emitters like NV centers with sub-diffraction resolution, improving efficiency and accuracy.

Contribution

The authors introduce a new $g^{(2)}(0)$ mapping and inversion-based reconstruction method that surpasses diffraction limits for locating single-photon sources efficiently.

Findings

Robust reconstruction of NV-center distributions confirmed by simulations.

Method reduces time and effort compared to conventional intensity scanning.

Provides a practical diagnostic tool for nanophotonic device fabrication.

Abstract

Single-photon sources are vital for emerging quantum technologies. In particular, Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond are promising due to their room-temperature stability, long spin coherence, and compatibility with nanophotonic structures. A key challenge, however, is the reliable identification of isolated NV centers, since conventional confocal microscopy is diffraction-limited and cannot resolve emitter distributions within a focal spot. Besides, the associated intensity scanning is a time-expensive procedure. Here, we introduce a raster-scanned $g^{(2)}(0)$ mapping technique combined with an inversion-based reconstruction algorithm. By directly measuring local photon antibunching across the field of view, we extract the effective emitter number within each focal spot and reconstruct occupancy maps on a sub-focal-spot grid. This enables recovery of the number and spatial distribution of emitters within regions smaller than the confocal focal spot, thereby offering possibilities of going beyond the diffraction limit. Our simulations confirm robust reconstruction of NV-center distributions. The method provides a practical diagnostic tool for locating single-photon sources in an efficient and accurate manner, at much lesser time and effort compared to conventional intensity scanning. It offers valuable feedback for nanophotonic device fabrication, supporting more precise and scalable integration of NV-based quantum photonic technologies.