Origins of Diamond Surface Noise Probed by Correlating Single-Spin Measurements with Surface Spectroscopy
At a Glance
Section titled āAt a Glanceā| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2019-09-26 |
| Journal | Physical Review X |
| Authors | Sorawis Sangtawesin, Bo L Dwyer, Srikanth Srinivasan, James J. Allred, Lila V.āH. Rodgers |
| Institutions | Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology, University of Melbourne |
| Citations | 168 |
Abstract
Section titled āAbstractāThe nitrogen vacancy (NV) center in diamond exhibits spin-dependent\nfluorescence and long spin coherence times under ambient conditions, enabling\napplications in quantum information processing and sensing. NV centers near the\nsurface can have strong interactions with external materials and spins,\nenabling new forms of nanoscale spectroscopy. However, NV spin coherence\ndegrades within 100 nanometers of the surface, suggesting that diamond surfaces\nare plagued with ubiquitous defects. Prior work on characterizing near-surface\nnoise has primarily relied on using NV centers themselves as probes; while this\nhas the advantage of exquisite sensitivity, it provides only indirect\ninformation about the origin of the noise. Here we demonstrate that surface\nspectroscopy methods and single spin measurements can be used as complementary\ndiagnostics to understand sources of noise. We find that surface morphology is\ncrucial for realizing reproducible chemical termination, and use these insights\nto achieve a highly ordered, oxygen-terminated surface with suppressed noise.\nWe observe NV centers within 10 nm of the surface with coherence times extended\nby an order of magnitude.\n