Mitigating the Transition of SiV$^-$ in Diamond to an Optically Dark State

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a method to reversibly control the charge state of silicon vacancy centers in diamond using resonant laser excitation combined with static electric fields, enhancing their stability for quantum photonic applications.

Contribution

It introduces an electric-field-based stabilization scheme that improves charge state control of SiV$^-$ centers, enabling deterministic manipulation crucial for quantum technologies.

Findings

Steady-state photoluminescence of SiV$^-$ increased by ≥3 times with electric fields.

Electric fields activate dark SiV$^-$ centers near electrodes.

Laser creates free holes converting SiV$^{2-}$ to SiV$^-$ on milliseconds timescale.

Abstract

Negatively charged silicon vacancy centers in diamond (SiV$^-$) are promising for quantum photonic technologies. However, when subject to resonant optical excitation, they can inadvertently transfer into a zero-spin optically dark state. We show that this unwanted change of charge state can be quickly reversed by the resonant laser itself in combination with static electric fields. By defining interdigitated metallic contacts on the diamond surface, we increase the steady-state SiV$^-$ photoluminescence under resonant excitation by a factor $\ge3$ for most emitters, making it practically constant for certain individual emitters. We electrically activate single \sivs near the positively biased electrode, which are entirely dark without applying local electric fields. Using time-resolved 3-color experiments, we show that the resonant laser not only excites the SiV$^-$, but also creates free holes that convert SiV$^{2-}$ to SiV$^-$ on a timescale of milliseconds. Through analysis of several individual emitters, our results show that the degree of electrical charge state controllability differs between individual emitters, indicating that their local environment plays a key role. Our proposed electric-field-based stabilization scheme enhances deterministic charge state control in group-IV color centers and improves its understanding, offering a scalable path toward quantum applications such as entanglement generation and quantum key distribution.