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Optimizing the spin of nitrogen vacancy centers

Guiding diamond spin qubit growth with computational methods

Physical Review Materials (2024)

The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond, a type of qubit, is useful for quantum sensing and communication. The NV center itself has many desirable properties, and the surrounding nuclear and electronic spins within the diamond can also be used for quantum information processing. However, current methods for creating NV centers in diamond result in their being randomly positioned, limiting the technology’s potential for integration with other systems.

In this paper, researchers used theoretical calculations to optimize the creation of the spins surrounding the NV center. By analyzing coherence data, they identified trends in how different growth variables affect the properties of NV centers. They also developed a method to estimate the characteristics of a sample based on measurements of the NV center’s coherence time.

The group’s methods can be applied not only to NV centers but also to other qubit platforms.

The paper authors are Jonathan Marcks, Mykyta Onizhuk, Nazar Delegan, Yu-Xin Wang, Masaya Fukami, Maya Watts, Aashish Clerk, F. Joseph Heremans, Giulia Galli and David Awschalom, who did their research at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory.

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