Individual, luminescent point defects in solids so called color centers are atomic-sized quantum systems enabling sensing and imaging with nanoscale spatial resolution. In this overview, we introduce nanoscale sensing based on individual nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. We discuss two central challenges of the field: First, the creation of highly-coherent, shallow NV centers less than 10 nm below the surface of single-crystal diamond. Second, the fabrication of tip-like photonic nanostructures that enable efficient fluorescence collection and can be used for scanning probe imaging based on color centers with nanoscale resolution.
@article{arxiv.1704.04011,
title = {Nanoscale Sensing Using Point Defects in Single-Crystal Diamond: Recent Progress on Nitrogen Vacancy Center-Based Sensors},
author = {Ettore Bernardi and Richard Nelz and Selda Sonusen and Elke Neu},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1704.04011},
year = {2017}
}
Comments
Overview paper on sensing with defects in diamond, we focus on creation of shallow NV centers and nanostructures, Final Version published in Crystals