White Paper

Making Better Diamond and SiC Quantum Devices

Author

Dr Russ Renzas
Quantum Technologies Market Manager, Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology

Colour centres, also known as solid state defects, and most closely associated with the diamond NV centre, are used for a wide range of quantum applications. Researchers have studied their use for single photon sources, quantum memories, quantum repeaters, and for a variety of quantum sensing applications, including piezometers, electrometers, thermometers, and magnetometers¹.

Colour centres have several advantages as compared to other systems, including relatively long coherence time, operational temperatures up to room temperature, a variety of optical operational frequencies, and all the advantages inherent to any solid-state system, such as compatibility with well-developed tools for lithography, etch, and thin film deposition.

In this whitepaper, we describe:

• The mechanisms by which colour centres can be used as sensors
• Device fabrication requirements and challenges in these systems
• The future of this field, including new material systems and fabrication requirements for the second generation of colour centre-based devices.

1. Zhang, Gang, et al. "Material platforms for defect qubits and single-photon emitters." Applied Physics Reviews 7.3 (2020): 031308.