Spin properties of very shallow nitrogen vacancy defects in diamond

• Main Authors: Ofori-Okai, Benjamin Kwasi (Contributor), Tao, Ye, Ph. D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Contributor), Pezzagna, S. (Author), Chang, K. (Author), Loretz, M. (Author), Schirhagl, R. (Author), Moores, B. A. (Author), Groot-Berning, K. (Author), Meijer, J. (Author), Degen, Christian (Author)
• Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemistry (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Physical Society, 2012-10-30T16:15:16Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

We investigate spin and optical properties of individual nitrogen vacancy centers located within 1-10 nm from the diamond surface. We observe stable defects with a characteristic optically detected magnetic-resonance spectrum down to the lowest depth. We also find a small but systematic spectral broadening for defects shallower than about 2 nm. This broadening is consistent with the presence of a surface paramagnetic impurity layer [ Tisler et al. ACS Nano 3 1959 (2009)] largely decoupled by motional averaging. The observation of stable and well-behaved defects very close to the surface is critical for single-spin sensors and devices requiring nanometer proximity to the target.