Charge state dynamics of the nitrogen vacancy center in diamond under 1064 nm laser excitation
Abstract
The photophysics and charge state dynamics of the nitrogen vacancy (NV) center in diamond has been extensively investigated but is still not fully understood. In contrast to previous work, we find that NV0 converts to NV- under excitation with low power near-infrared (1064 nm) light, resulting in increased photoluminescence from the NV- state. We used a combination of spectral and time-resolved photoluminescence experiments and rate-equation modeling to conclude that NV0 converts to NV- via absorption of 1064 nm photons from the valence band of diamond. We report fast quenching and recovery of the photoluminescence from both charge states of the NV center under low power 1064 nm laser excitation, which has not been previously observed. We also find, using optically detected magnetic resonance experiments, that the charge transfer process mediated by the 1064 nm laser is spin-dependent.