Physical Review Letters· 2026Q1
Nonlinear optical charge-state switching and pumping to dark state of a diamond nitrogen-vacancy center
- 2citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers' dark state, responsible for photoluminescence quenching, is accessed via two-photon pumping into the $^4A_2$ quartet state of the neutrally charged NV (NV$^0$), with its energy constrained to <0.58 eV relative to the NV$^0$ ground state.
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Key points
- The dark state limiting NV center photoluminescence is accessed by two-photon pumping into the $^4A_2$ quartet state of NV$^0$.
- The energy of the $^4A_2$ state is constrained to <0.58 eV relative to the NV$^0$ ground state ($^2E$).
- The recombination energy threshold to the NV$^-$ ground state ($^3A_2$) is estimated to be $\leq2.33$ eV.
- The intrinsic lifetime of the $^4A_2$ state is estimated to be 1.78-6.06 $\mu$s.
- Accessing the $^4A_2$ state enables sensing of local infrared fields.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
The photodynamics of diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers limits their performance in many quantum technologies. Quenching of photoluminescence, which degrades NV readout, is commonly ascribed to a dark state that is not fully understood. Using a nanoscale cavity to generate intense infrared fields that quench NV emission nonlinearly with field intensity, we show that the dark state is accessed by two-photon pumping into the $^4\!A_2$ quartet state of the neutrally charged NV (NV$^0$). We constrain this state's energy relative to the NV$^0$ ground-state ($^2\!E$) to ${<}0.58$\,eV and the recombination energy threshold to the NV$^-$ ground state ($^3\!A_2$) to $\leq2.33\,\text{eV}$. Furthermore, we estimate the intrinsic lifetime of $^4\!A_2$ state to be $1.78-6.06\,μ\text{s}$ and show that accessing this state allows sensing of local infrared fields. This new understanding will allow predictions of the limits of NV technologies reliant upon intense fields, including levitated systems, spin--optomechanical devices, and absorption--based magnetometers.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Physical Review Letters, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Materials Chemistry
Materials ChemistryMaterials Science