金刚石氮-空位色心的原子自旋声子耦合机理

金刚石氮-空位色心结构因在量子精密测量领域的高灵敏度优势而备受关注.本文引入耦合声子场对氮-空位色心原子自旋进行共振调控,以提高氮-空位色心的自旋跃迁效率.首先,基于波函数和晶格的点阵位移矢量关系,分析了声子与晶格能量交互作用,研究了基于声子共振调控的氮-空位色心的自旋跃迁机理,建立了基于应变诱导的能量转移声子-自旋交互耦合激发模型.其次,基于氮-空位色心晶格振动理论,引入满足布洛赫定理的系数矩阵,建立了不同轴向氮-空位色心第一布里渊区特征区域的声子谱模型.同时,基于德拜模型,考虑热膨胀效应,解析该声子共振系统的声子热平衡性质,并对其比热模型进行研究.最后,基于分子动力学仿真软件CASTEP和密度泛函理论进行第一性原理研究,构建了声子模式下不同轴向氮-空位色心的结构优化模型,并分析了其结构特性、声子特性和热力学特性.研究结果表明,系统声子模式的演化依赖于氮-空位的占位,声子模式强化伴随着热力学熵的降低.含氮-空位色心金刚石的共价键较纯净无缺陷金刚石更弱,热力学性质更不稳定.含氮-空位色心金刚石的声子主共振频段处于THz量级,次共振频率约为[800,1200]MHz.根据次共振频段设计叉指宽度为1.5μm的声表面波共振机构,其中心频率约为930 MHz.在该声子共振调控参数条件下,声子共振调控方法可有效增大氮-空位色心的自旋跃迁概率,实现氮-空位色心原子自旋操控效率的提高.     

Switchable coupling between nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond and charge qubit

We propose a scheme to achieve switchable coupling between nitrogen-vacancy (N-V) center in diamond and superconducting charge qubit by a quantized nanomechanical resonator (NAMR) as a data bus. This procotol can be used to transfer the quantum state from charge qubit to N-V center. Owing to the N-V center has relatively long decoherence time, the information can be stable stored in it. Finally, we discuss the experimental feasibility of our scheme.     

Spin coherence during optical excitation of a single nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond

We examine the quantum spin state of a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond at room temperature as it makes a transition from the orbital ground state (GS) to the orbital excited state (ES) during nonresonant optical excitation. While the fluorescence readout of NV-center spins relies on conservation of the longitudinal spin projection during optical excitation, the question of quantum phase preservation has not been examined. Using Ramsey measurements and quantum process tomography of the optical excitation process, we measure a trace fidelity of F=0.87±0.03, which includes ES spin dephasing during measurement. Extrapolation to the moment of optical excitation yields F≈0.95. This result provides insight into the interaction between spin coherence and nonresonant optical absorption through a vibronic sideband.     

Electrical tuning of single nitrogen-vacancy center optical transitions enhanced by photoinduced fields

We demonstrate precise control over the zero-phonon optical transition energies of individual nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond by applying multiaxis electric fields, via the dc Stark effect. The Stark shifts display surprising asymmetries that we attribute to an enhancement and rectification of the local electric field by photoionized charge traps in the diamond. Using this effect, we tune the excited-state orbitals of strained NV centers to degeneracy and vary the resulting degenerate optical transition frequency by >10 GHz, a scale comparable to the inhomogeneous frequency distribution. This technique will facilitate the integration of NV-center spins within photonic networks.     

金刚石氮空位中心自旋量子调控

量子计算和量子传感近年来受到了广泛的关注.金刚石氮空位中心以其简单稳定的自旋能级结构、高效便捷的光学跃迁规则以及室温下超长的自旋量子态相干时间而成为量子信息科学中引人瞩目的新星.本文从实验研究的角度介绍金刚石氮空位中心自旋量子调控的基础理论、典型技术和代表性结果;重点讨论1)如何通过光磁共振方法在室温大气环境下对单个自旋进行探测和相干操控,2)金刚石中自旋量子比特退相干的主要机制和抑制手段,3)自旋态相干操控技术在量子传感中的应用;最后对氮空位中心在量子计算和量子传感中的发展趋势进行了小结.     

利用金刚石氮-空位色心精确测量弱磁场的探索

基于金刚石氮-空位色心对精确测量微弱静磁场进行了探索.金刚石氮-空位色心电子自旋的退相干时间高度依赖于外磁场,而不同的退相干特征时间对磁场的灵敏度不同.对金刚石氮-空位色心电子自旋在不同强度外磁场下的退相干过程进行模拟,得到不同退相干特征时间与磁场大小的高准确度关系,提出了基于响应度最高的退相干特征时间测量静态弱磁场大小和方向的方法,并分析了该方法测量静态弱磁场的灵敏度,证明该方法的测量灵敏度比一般磁场测量仪器更高.     

Second-order magnetic field gradient-induced strong coupling between nitrogen-vacancy centers and a mechanical oscillator

We consider a cantilever mechanical oscillator (MO) made of diamond. A nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center lies at the end of the cantilever. Two magnetic tips near the NV center induce a strong second-order magnetic field gradient. Under coherent driving of the MO, we find that the coupling between the MO and the NV center is greatly enhanced. We studied how to generate entanglement between the MO and the NV center and realize quantum state transfer between them. We also propose a scheme to generate two-mode squeezing between different MO modes by coupling them to the same NV center. The decoherence and dissipation effects for both the MO and the NV center are numerically calculated using the present parameter values of the experimental configuration. We have achieved high fidelity for entanglement generation, quantum state transfer, and large two-mode squeezing.     

Remote excitation and remote detection of a single quantum dot using propagating surface plasmons on silver nanowire

Using propagating surface plasmons(SPs) on a silver nanowire(NW), we demonstrate that a focused laser light at the end of the silver NW can excite a single quantum dot(QD) microns away from the excitation spot. The QD–NW interaction allows the excited QD convert part of its energy into propagating SPs, which then can be detected at remote sites.Simultaneous multi-QD remote excitation and remote detection can also be realized. Furthermore, the tight confinement of the propagating SPs around the NW surface enables the selective excitation of QDs very close in space, which cannot be realized under the conventional excitation condition. This remote excitation and remote detection approach may find applications in optical imaging and the sensing of chemical and biological systems.     

Near-field microscopy with a scanning nitrogen-vacancy color center in a diamond nanocrystal: A brief review

We review our recent developments of near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) that uses an active tip made of a single fluorescent nanodiamond (ND) grafted onto the apex of a substrate fiber tip. The ND hosting a limited number of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers, such a tip is a scanning quantum source of light. The method for preparing the ND-based tips and their basic properties are summarized. Then we discuss theoretically the concept of spatial resolution that is achievable in this special NSOM configuration and find it to be only limited by the scan height over the imaged system, in contrast with the standard aperture-tip NSOM whose resolution depends critically on both the scan height and aperture diameter. Finally, we describe a scheme we have introduced recently for high-resolution imaging of nanoplasmonic structures with ND-based tips that is capable of approaching the ultimate resolution anticipated by theory.     

Photoluminescence properties of a single tapered CuO nanowire

Photoluminescence spectroscopy has been employed in order to explore the optical emission properties of a single CuO nanowire, grown on a copper grid in static air by simple thermal oxidation method. As the diameter of the single tapered CuO nanowire decreases, the green emission of the nanowire gradually shifts towards the higher energy side. A steady blue shift of 20 nm of the photoluminescence (PL) peak has been attributed to nanosize effect. Higher surface to volume ratio and enhanced surface defects along the growth direction of the nanowire might be responsible for the observed PL behavior. In addition, crystallization process along the length of the nanowire during growth to form pure CuO structure from the precursor state may also have some role in observed shift in the PL peak.     

Correlation between entanglement and spin density in nitrogen-vacancy center of diamond

Many-body wavefunctions were utilized to calculate von Neumann’s entropy as an entanglement measurement for neutral and negatively charged nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. A generalized Hubbard Hamiltonian which considers e-e interaction terms completely was used to calculate many-electron wavefunctions of the ground and excited states. Correlation between entanglement and spin density distributed on neighboring atoms of NV is presented. The behavior of spin density and entanglement under relaxations of neighboring atoms is the same for all investigated ground and excited states. The results suggest that the spin density may be used to quantify the entanglemnt and vice versa.     

Fano resonance analysis in a pair of semiconductor quantum dots coupling to a metal nanowire

We investigate theoretically a surface plasmon transport in the metal nanowire coupling to a pair of quantum dots. The Fano-type transmission spectrum is analyzed. The phase shift and group velocity delay of the transmitted surface plasmon are explored. The electromagnetically-induced-transparency-type transmission spectrum is also discussed.     

Dark states of single nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond unraveled by single shot NMR

The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond is supposed to be a building block for quantum computing and nanometer-scale metrology at ambient conditions. Therefore, precise knowledge of its quantum states is crucial. Here, we experimentally show that under usual operating conditions the NV exists in an equilibrium of two charge states [70% in the expected negative (NV-) and 30% in the neutral one (NV0)]. Projective quantum nondemolition measurement of the nitrogen nuclear spin enables the detection even of the additional, optically inactive state. The nuclear spin can be coherently driven also in NV0 (T1≈90 ms and T2≈6 μs).     

Tunable hot-electron transfer within a single core-shell nanowire

We report the hot photoexcited electron transfer across the coaxial interface of a cylindrical core-shell nanowire. Modulation of the transfer rates, manifested as a large tunability of the voltage onset of negative differential resistance and of voltage-current phase, is achieved using three different modes. The coupling of electrostatic gating, incident photon energy, and the incident photon intensity to transfer rates is facilitated by the combined influences of geometric confinement and heterojunction shape on hot-electron transfer, and by electron-electron scattering rates that can be altered by varying the incident photon flux, with evidence of weak electron-phonon scattering. Dynamic manipulation of this transfer rate permits the introduction and control of a continuously adjustable phase delay of up to ～130° within a single nanometer-scale device element.     

Contact barriers in a single ZnO nanowire device

The contact potential between a single ZnO nanowire and Ti/Au contacts was estimated to be ∼30 meV by considering the Arrhenious plot of the two-probe resistance, the thermionic emission conduction, and the Fowler–Nordheim tunneling model. The net voltages applied to the contacts were calculated by subtracting the four-probe voltages from the two-probe voltages at the same currents. The activation energy of the four-probe resistance was about 2.4 mV which was 1/11th of that of the two-probe resistance. The Fowler–Nordheim plot clearly showed the crossover of the conduction mechanism from thermionic emission to tunneling regime as lowering the temperatures below T<100 K.     

Transparent chromatic electrode using the mixture of silver nanowire and silver nanoprism

In this research, we studied a chromatic transparent silver nanowire (Ag NW) electrode using a silver nanoprism (Ag NP). Ag NW and Ag NP were produced using a chemical synthesis method (polyol method) and deposited on substrate via spray method.The Ag NW electrode showed a more than 80% transmittance and no or low conductivity without high temperature annealing process. In the case of applying an annealing process, a 13 Ω/□ sheet resistance was measured.The electrode, which consisted of a mixture of Ag NW and Ag NP, showed a reduced transmittance of about 70%. However, by applying Ag NPs to a conventional bare Ag NW electrode, we were able to add a chromatic characteristic to the transparent electrode; this addition was induced by the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and the low sheet resistance, even though no annealing process was applied.     

Improvement on the manipulation of a single nitrogen-vacancy spin and microwave photon at single-quantum level

It remains a great challenge to realize direct manipulation of a nitrogen-vacancy(NV) spin at the single-quantum level with a microwave(MW) cavity. As an alternative, a hybrid system with the spin–phonon–photon triple interactions mediated by a squeezed cantilever-type harmonic resonator is proposed. According to the general mechanical parametric amplification of this in-between phonon mode, the direct spin–phonon and photon–phonon couplings are both exponentially enhanced, which can even further improve the coherent manipulation of a single NV spin and MW photon with a higher efficiency. In view of this triple system with enhanced couplings and the additional sideband adjustable designs, this scheme may provide a more efficient phonon-mediated platform to bridge or manipulate the MW quantum and a single electron spin coherently. It is also hoped to evoke wider applications in the areas of quantum state transfer and preparation,ultrasensitive detection and quantum nondestructive measurement, etc.     

Transport spectroscopy of a single dopant in a gated silicon nanowire

We report on spectroscopy of a single dopant atom in silicon by resonant tunneling between source and drain of a gated nanowire etched from silicon on insulator. The electronic states of this dopant isolated in the channel appear as resonances in the low temperature conductance at energies below the conduction band edge. We observe the two possible charge states successively occupied by spin-up and spin-down electrons under magnetic field. The first resonance is consistent with the binding energy of the neutral D0 state of an arsenic donor. The second resonance shows a reduced charging energy due to the electrostatic coupling of the charged D- state with electrodes. Excited states and Zeeman splitting under magnetic field present large energies potentially useful to build atomic scale devices.     

Quantum interference of single photons from remote nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond

We demonstrate quantum interference between indistinguishable photons emitted by two nitrogen-vacancy centers in distinct diamond samples separated by two meters. Macroscopic solid immersion lenses are used to enhance photon collection efficiency. Quantum interference is verified by measuring a value of the second-order cross-correlation function g((2))(0)=0.35±0.04<0.5. In addition, optical transition frequencies of two separated nitrogen-vacancy centers are tuned into resonance with each other by applying external electric fields. An extension of the present approach to generate entanglement of remote solid-state qubits is discussed.     

Surface plasmon polariton coupling between a metal nanowire and a metal helix

The transmittance and steady-state electrical field distribution of a silver nanowire–helix system are investigated using the finite-difference time-domain method. In the nanowire–helix system, surface plasmon polaritons are coupled into the helix or squeezed into the space between the nanowire and helix. The transmittance strongly depends on the topologic shapes of the helix, especially the pitch height. Thus, the nanowire–helix system enables the detection of the displacement associated with helical deformation.