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Better atomic antennas

Atomic optical antennas in solids

Nature Photonics (2024)

Any atomic optical dipole in a solid can in principle act as an optical antenna, but most are negatively affected by environmental factors that reduce its electromagnetic field strength.

In this research, scientists show that germanium vacancy centers in diamond, which are optically stable dipoles, work exceptionally well as antennas. The research team saw an increase in optical intensity in the near field of these centers by up to a million times when they were resonantly excited.

This enhancement makes germanium vacancy centers in diamond useful not only for existing applications of conventional antennas but also for new applications in spectroscopy, sensing, and quantum science.

The paper was authored by Zixi Li, Xinghan Guo, Yu Jin, Francesco Andreoli, Anil Bilgin, David Awschalom, Nazar Delegan, F. Joseph Heremans, Darrick Chang, Giulia Galli, and Alexander High, who conducted their work at Argonne National Laboratory, the University of Chicago, the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, and Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats.

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