Observation of Binary Spectral Jumps in Color Centers in Diamond

Abstract

Optical “blinking” normally refers to a switching behavior of fluorescence for quantum emissions between “ON” and “OFF” state. For quantum dots, single molecules, and nitrogen‐vacancy centers in diamond, it usually stems from conversions between two different charge states, with one emitting strong and bright fluorescence while the other scattering weak or no fluorescence. Here, a different type of blinking from single emitters in ion implanted diamond is reported, with both blinking states exhibiting detectable photoluminescence under nonresonant excitation. Thanks to the low jumping rates, the dynamics of the emission can be directly monitored. The quadratic power dependence of the conversion rates suggests the possibility of two‐photon ionization process in quantum jumps. This work provides extra insights into the photodynamics of the spectral jumps on defect‐based single‐photon emitters hosted in wide‐bandgap semiconductors.

Spectral Emission Dependence of Tin‐Vacancy Centers in Diamond from Thermal Processing and Chemical Functionalization

“…On the one hand, indeed, blinking is often linked with both charge state conversion and non-resonant energy transfer to surrounding defects. [32,33] On the other hand, count rate blinking (few to tens of seconds time scales) was indeed observed even from several defects exhibiting one spectral line only upon sufficiently high excitation power (>200 μW). Conversely, several diffractionlimited spots exhibiting multiple spectral components showed stable count rates over tens of seconds of observation.…”