Controlled Surface Modification to Revive Shallow NV– Centers
At a Glance
Section titled “At a Glance”| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2023-03-16 |
| Journal | Nano Letters |
| Authors | Jeffrey Neethirajan, Toni Hache, Domenico Paone, Dinesh Pinto, Andrej Denisenko |
| Institutions | HUN-REN Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics |
| Citations | 20 |
Abstract
Section titled “Abstract”Near-surface negatively charged nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers hold excellent promise for nanoscale magnetic imaging and quantum sensing. However, they often experience charge-state instabilities, leading to strongly reduced fluorescence and NV coherence time, which negatively impact magnetic imaging sensitivity. This occurs even more severely at 4 K and ultrahigh vacuum (UHV, <i>p</i> = 2 × 10<sup>-10</sup> mbar). We demonstrate that <i>in situ</i> adsorption of H<sub>2</sub>O on the diamond surface allows the partial recovery of the shallow NV sensors. Combining these with band-bending calculations, we conclude that controlled surface treatments are essential for implementing NV-based quantum sensing protocols under cryogenic UHV conditions.