Hidden Silicon-Vacancy Centers in Diamond
Christopher L. Smallwood, Ronald Ulbricht, Matthew W. Day, Tim Schröder, Kelsey M. Bates, Travis M. Autry, Geoffrey Diederich, Edward S. Bielejec, Mark E. Siemens, Steven T. Cundiff
Abstract
We characterize a high-density sample of negatively charged silicon-vacancy (SiV^{-}) centers in diamond using collinear optical multidimensional coherent spectroscopy. By comparing the results of complementary signal detection schemes, we identify a hidden population of SiV^{-} centers that is not typically observed in photoluminescence and which exhibits significant spectral inhomogeneity and extended electronic T_{2} times. The phenomenon is likely caused by strain, indicating a potential mechanism for controlling electric coherence in color-center-based quantum devices.