Coherent population trapping is demonstrated in single nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond under optical excitation. For sufficient excitation power, the fluorescence intensity drops almost to the background level when the laser modulation frequency matches the 2.88 GHz splitting of the ground states. The results are well described theoretically by a four-level model, allowing the relative transition strengths to be determined for individual centers. The results show that all-optical control of single spins is possible in diamond.

Coherent population trapping at zero magnetic field was observed for nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond under optical excitation. This was measured as a reduction in photoluminescence when the detuning between two excitation lasers matched the 2.88 GHz crystal-field splitting of the color center ground states. This behavior is highly sensitive to strain, which modifies the excited states, and was unexpected following recent experiments demonstrating optical readout of single nitrogen-vacancy electron spins based on cycling transitions. These results demonstrate for the first time that three-level Lambda configurations suitable for proposed quantum information applications can be realized simultaneously for all four orientations of nitrogen-vacancy centers at zero magnetic field.

A focused ion beam is used to mill side holes in air–silica structured fibers. By way of example, side holes are introduced in two types of air-structured fiber, (1) a photonic crystal four-ring fiber and (2) a six-hole single-ring step-index structured fiber.

The necessary elements for practical devices exploiting quantum coherence in diamond materials are summarized, and progress towards their realization documented. A brief review of future prospects for diamond-based devices is also provided. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)

We report on the systematic characterization of photoluminescence (PL) lifetimes in NV${}^{$-${}}$ and NV${}^{0}$ centers in 2-MeV H${}^{+}$-implanted type Ib diamond samples by means of a time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) microscopy technique. A dipole-dipole resonant energy transfer model was applied to interpret the experimental results, allowing a quantitative correlation of the concentration of both native (single substitutional nitrogen atoms) and ion-induced (isolated vacancies) PL-quenching defects with the measured PL lifetimes. The TCSPC measurements were carried out in both frontal (i.e., laser beam probing the main sample surface along the same normal direction of the previously implanted ions) and lateral (i.e., laser beam probing the lateral sample surface orthogonally with respect to the same ion implantation direction) geometries. In particular, the latter geometry allowed a direct probing of the centers lifetime along the strongly nonuniform damage profiles of MeV ions in the crystal. The extrapolation of empirical quasiexponential decay parameters allowed the systematic estimation of the mean quantum efficiency of the centers as a function of intrinsic and ion-induced defect concentration, which is of direct relevance for the current studies on the use of diamond color centers for photonic applications.