Saturable absorption in NV-doped diamond studied by femtosecond Z-scan

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Talik, Wojciech, Mrózek, Mariusz, Wojciechowski, Adam M., Dzierżęga, Krzysztof
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Talik, Wojciech
Mrózek, Mariusz
Wojciechowski, Adam M.
Dzierżęga, Krzysztof
author_facet Talik, Wojciech
Mrózek, Mariusz
Wojciechowski, Adam M.
Dzierżęga, Krzysztof
contents We investigate nonlinear optical absorption in diamond crystals containing high densities of nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers using open-aperture Z-scan measurements with 230 fs laser pulses at 1032 nm, within the transparency window of diamond. While high-purity electronic-grade diamond exhibits third-order nonlinear absorption, NV-doped samples display pronounced saturable absorption that strengthens with increasing defect concentration. Linear transmission spectroscopy reveals that, in addition to NV centers, the crystals host significant populations of H2 (NVN-) defect complexes whose absorption band partially overlaps the excitation wavelength. By correlating spectroscopic data with nonlinear measurements and modeling the response using an effective two-level system, we show that the observed saturation cannot be attributed solely to NV centers but arises from the combined contribution of NV-related and H2 defects. For the highly doped sample, we determine an effective linear absorption coefficient of alpha0 = 6.52 cm-1 and a saturation intensity of Is = 40.0 GW/cm2. These findings highlight the critical role of the complex defect landscape in governing the nonlinear optical response of NV-doped diamond and underscore the necessity of accounting for ancillary defect species in the design of diamond-based nonlinear and quantum photonic devices.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_12421
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Saturable absorption in NV-doped diamond studied by femtosecond Z-scan
Talik, Wojciech
Mrózek, Mariusz
Wojciechowski, Adam M.
Dzierżęga, Krzysztof
Optics
Atomic Physics
We investigate nonlinear optical absorption in diamond crystals containing high densities of nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers using open-aperture Z-scan measurements with 230 fs laser pulses at 1032 nm, within the transparency window of diamond. While high-purity electronic-grade diamond exhibits third-order nonlinear absorption, NV-doped samples display pronounced saturable absorption that strengthens with increasing defect concentration. Linear transmission spectroscopy reveals that, in addition to NV centers, the crystals host significant populations of H2 (NVN-) defect complexes whose absorption band partially overlaps the excitation wavelength. By correlating spectroscopic data with nonlinear measurements and modeling the response using an effective two-level system, we show that the observed saturation cannot be attributed solely to NV centers but arises from the combined contribution of NV-related and H2 defects. For the highly doped sample, we determine an effective linear absorption coefficient of alpha0 = 6.52 cm-1 and a saturation intensity of Is = 40.0 GW/cm2. These findings highlight the critical role of the complex defect landscape in governing the nonlinear optical response of NV-doped diamond and underscore the necessity of accounting for ancillary defect species in the design of diamond-based nonlinear and quantum photonic devices.
title Saturable absorption in NV-doped diamond studied by femtosecond Z-scan
topic Optics
Atomic Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.12421