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Modulation of nitrogen vacancy charge state and fluorescence in nanodiamonds using electrochemical potential

MetadataDetails
Publication Date2016-03-24
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
AuthorsSinan Karaveli, Ophir Gaathon, Abraham Wolcott, Reyu Sakakibara, Or A. Shemesh
InstitutionsMassachusetts Institute of Technology, McGovern Institute for Brain Research
Citations106

Significance The nitrogen vacancy center (NV) in diamond is a fluorescent color center that can be in several charge states depending on its local electrostatic environment. Here, we demonstrate the control of the charge state and fluorescence of NVs in nanodiamonds (NDs) by applying a potential difference across NDs in an electrochemical cell. Controlling the charge state can improve spin-based sensing protocols of the NV. Conversely, the NV’s strong fluorescence dependence on electrochemical potential differences also enables a new modality for optical sensing of its environment. With this electrochemical setup, we show that a single NV can reveal a 100-mV potential swing, whereas multiple NVs allow for the detection of potential swings as small as 20 mV.