Strongly anisotropic spin relaxation in the neutral silicon vacancy center in diamond

B. C. Rose, G. Thiering, A. M. Tyryshkin, A. M. Edmonds, M. L. Markham, A. Gali, S. A. Lyon, N. P. De Leon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

Color centers in diamond are a promising platform for quantum technologies, and understanding their interactions with the environment is crucial for these applications. We report a study of spin-lattice relaxation (T1) of the neutral charge state of the silicon vacancy center in diamond. Above 20 K, T1 decreases rapidly with a temperature-dependence characteristic of an Orbach process and is strongly anisotropic with respect to magnetic-field orientation. As the angle of the magnetic field is rotated relative to the symmetry axis of the defect, T1 is reduced by over three orders of magnitude. The electron spin coherence time (T2) follows the same temperature dependence but is drastically shorter than T1. We propose that these observations result from phonon-mediated transitions to a low-lying excited state that are spin conserving when the magnetic field is aligned with the defect axis, and we discuss likely candidates for this excited state.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number235140
JournalPhysical Review B
Volume98
Issue number23
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 20 2018

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Condensed Matter Physics

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