Dynamic stabilization of the optical resonances of single nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond.

We report electrical tuning by the Stark effect of the excited-state structure of single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers located ≲100 nm from the diamond surface. The zero-phonon line (ZPL) emission frequency is controllably varied over a range of 300 GHz. Using high-resolution emission spectroscopy, we observe electrical tuning of the strengths of both cycling and spin-altering transitions. Under resonant excitation, we apply dynamic feedback to stabilize the ZPL frequency. The transition is locked over several minutes and drifts of the peak position on timescales ≳100 ms are reduced to a fraction of the single-scan linewidth, with standard deviation as low as 16 MHz (obtained for an NV in bulk, ultrapure diamond). These techniques should improve the entanglement success probability in quantum communications protocols.

Liquid crystal dynamics in a photonic crystal cavity created by selective microfluidic infiltration.

A microfluidic double heterostructure cavity is created in a silicon planar photonic crystal waveguide by selective infiltration of a liquid crystal. The spectral evolution of the cavity resonances probed by evanescent coupling reveals that the liquid crystal evaporates, even at room temperature, despite its relatively low vapor pressure of 5 × 10(-3) Pa. We explore the infiltration and evaporation dynamics of the liquid crystal within the cavity using a Fabry-Perot model that accounts for the joint effects of liquid volume reduction and cavity length variation due to liquid evaporation. While discussing how the pattern of the infiltrated liquid can be optimized to restrict evaporation, we find that the experimental behavior is consistent with basic microfluidic relations considering the small volumes of liquids and large surface areas present in our structure.

Diamond based photonic crystal microcavities.

Diamond based technologies offer a material platform for the implementation of qubits for quantum computing. The photonic crystal architecture provides the route for a scalable and controllable implementation of high quality factor (Q) nanocavities, operating in the strong coupling regime for cavity quantum electrodynamics. Here we compute the photonic band structures and quality factors of microcavities in photonic crystal slabs in diamond, and compare the results with those of the more commonly-used silicon platform. We find that, in spite of the lower index contrast, diamond based photonic crystal microcavities can exhibit quality factors of Q=3.0x10(4), sufficient for proof of principle demonstrations in the quantum regime.

Long wavelength behavior of the fundamental mode in microstructured optical fibers.

Using a novel computational method, the fundamental mode in index-guided microstructured optical fibers with genuinely infinite cladding is studied. It is shown that this mode has no cut-off, although its area grows rapidly when the wavelength crosses a transition region. The results are compared with those for w-fibers, for which qualitatively similar results are obtained.