When we think about a diamond, we often think about a material whose value comes from its perfection. In my research, however, I am interested in something almost opposite: the tiny imperfections inside diamonds. These atomic-scale defects can give diamonds new optical and electronic properties, and some of them can serve as quantum systems. The challenge is learning how to control these defects without disturbing the others.
This problem becomes particularly important for quantum technologies. A nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center, for example, is a defect formed when a nitrogen atom and a neighboring vacancy occur in the diamond lattice. NV centers can be used as quantum bits, or qubits, and as highly sensitive sensors of magnetic and electric fields. But creating or modifying one type of defect can also affect other defects nearby. If we want to build useful devices from diamond, we need ways to control individual defect populations more selectively.
Our work, now published in the journal Diamond and Related Materials, explored whether ultraviolet laser pulses could provide that control.
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