Nathalie de Leon: Diamond nanophotonics for solid state quantum optics

Nathalie de Leon - Harvard University

Large-scale quantum networks will require efficient interfaces between photons and stationary quantum bits. Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond are a promising candidate for quantum information processing because they are optically addressable, have spin degrees of freedom with long coherence times, and as solid-state entities, can be integrated into nanophotonic devices. An enabling feature of the NV center is its zero-phonon line (ZPL), which acts as an atom-like cycling transition that can be used for coherent optical manipulation and read-out of the spin. However, the ZPL only accounts for 3-5% of the total emission, and previously demonstrated methods of producing high densities of NV centers yield unstable ZPLs.