Creation of NV centers in diamond under 155 MeV electron irradiation

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Losero, Elena, Goblot, Valentin, Zhu, Yuchun, Babashah, Hossein, Boureau, Victor, Burkart, Florian, Galland, Christophe
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Losero, Elena
Goblot, Valentin
Zhu, Yuchun
Babashah, Hossein
Boureau, Victor
Burkart, Florian
Galland, Christophe
author_facet Losero, Elena
Goblot, Valentin
Zhu, Yuchun
Babashah, Hossein
Boureau, Victor
Burkart, Florian
Galland, Christophe
contents Single-crystal diamond substrates presenting a high concentration of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy centers (NV-) are on high demand for the development of optically pumped solid-state sensors such as magnetometers, thermometers or electrometers. While nitrogen impurities can be easily incorporated during crystal growth, the creation of vacancies requires further treatment. Electron irradiation and annealing is often chosen in this context, offering advantages with respect to irradiation by heavier particles that negatively affect the crystal lattice structure and consequently the NV- optical and spin properties. A thorough investigation of electron irradiation possibilities is needed to optimize the process and improve the sensitivity of NV-based sensors. In this work we examine the effect of electron irradiation in a previously unexplored regime: extremely high energy electrons, at 155 MeV. We develop a simulation model to estimate the concentration of created vacancies and experimentally demonstrate an increase of NV- concentration by more than 3 orders of magnitude following irradiation of a nitrogen-rich HPHT diamond over a very large sample volume, which translates into an important gain in sensitivity. Moreover, we discuss the impact of electron irradiation in this peculiar regime on other figures of merits relevant for NV sensing, i.e. charge state conversion efficiency and spin relaxation time. Finally, the effect of extremely high energy irradiation is compared with the more conventional low energy irradiation process, employing 200 keV electrons from a transmission electron microscope, for different substrates and irradiation fluences, evidencing sixty-fold higher yield of vacancy creation per electron at 155 MeV.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2305_15009
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Creation of NV centers in diamond under 155 MeV electron irradiation
Losero, Elena
Goblot, Valentin
Zhu, Yuchun
Babashah, Hossein
Boureau, Victor
Burkart, Florian
Galland, Christophe
Quantum Physics
Applied Physics
Single-crystal diamond substrates presenting a high concentration of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy centers (NV-) are on high demand for the development of optically pumped solid-state sensors such as magnetometers, thermometers or electrometers. While nitrogen impurities can be easily incorporated during crystal growth, the creation of vacancies requires further treatment. Electron irradiation and annealing is often chosen in this context, offering advantages with respect to irradiation by heavier particles that negatively affect the crystal lattice structure and consequently the NV- optical and spin properties. A thorough investigation of electron irradiation possibilities is needed to optimize the process and improve the sensitivity of NV-based sensors. In this work we examine the effect of electron irradiation in a previously unexplored regime: extremely high energy electrons, at 155 MeV. We develop a simulation model to estimate the concentration of created vacancies and experimentally demonstrate an increase of NV- concentration by more than 3 orders of magnitude following irradiation of a nitrogen-rich HPHT diamond over a very large sample volume, which translates into an important gain in sensitivity. Moreover, we discuss the impact of electron irradiation in this peculiar regime on other figures of merits relevant for NV sensing, i.e. charge state conversion efficiency and spin relaxation time. Finally, the effect of extremely high energy irradiation is compared with the more conventional low energy irradiation process, employing 200 keV electrons from a transmission electron microscope, for different substrates and irradiation fluences, evidencing sixty-fold higher yield of vacancy creation per electron at 155 MeV.
title Creation of NV centers in diamond under 155 MeV electron irradiation
topic Quantum Physics
Applied Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.15009