Neutral Silicon-Vacancy Centers in Diamond via Photoactivated Itinerant Carriers

Neutral silicon-vacancy (Si-V0) centers in diamond are promising candidates for quantum network applications because of their exceptional optical properties and spin coherence. However, the stabilization of Si-V0 centers requires careful Fermi-level engineering of the diamond host material, making further technological development challenging. Here, we show that Si-V0 centers can be efficiently stabilized by photoactivated itinerant carriers. Even in this nonequilibrium configuration, the resulting Si-V0 centers are stable enough to allow for resonant optical excitation and optically detected magnetic resonance. Our results pave the way for on-demand generation of Si-V0 centers as well as other emerging quantum defects in diamond.