Laser activation of single group-IV colour centres in diamond

In this paper* the authors demonstrate how they addressed the challenge of realising the required (and precise) single defect positioning and activation for scalable device fabrication in spin-photon interfaces, for use in quantum networks.

In essence, the authors created a two-step fabrication method for tin vacancy centres.  The resulting ion implementation performed with sub-50m resolution, and a dosage which could be controlled precisely.

As co-author Professor Jason Smith says:

This breakthrough gives us unprecedented control over single tin-vacancy colour centres in diamond - a crucial milestone for scalable quantum devices.  What excites me is that we can watch, in real-time, how the quantum defects are formed".

This breakthrough signals the way towards achieving greater understanding of defect structures and dynamics during the annealing process in implanted colour centres in diamond, and wide-bandgap materials.

*'Laser activation of single group-IV colour centres in diamond'.