Investigation of zero-phonon line characteristics in ensemble nitrogen-vacancy centers at 1.6 K–300 K

Abstract

The ensemble of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers is widely used in quantum information transmission, high-precision magnetic field, and temperature sensing due to their advantages of long-lived state and the ability to be pumped by optical cycling. In this study, we investigate the zero-phonon line behavior of the two charge states of NV centers by measuring the photoluminescence of the NV center at 1.6 K-300 K. The results demonstrate a positional redshift, an increase in line width, and a decrease in fluorescence intensity for the ZPL of NV0 and NV- as the temperature increased. In the range of 10 K to 140 K, the peak shift with high concentrations of NV- revealed an anomaly of bandgap reforming. The peak position undergoes a blueshift and then a redshift as temperature increases. Furthermore, the transformation between NV0 and NV- with temperature changes has been obtained in diamonds with different nitrogen concentrations. This study explored the ZPL characteristics of NV centers in various temperatures, and the findings are significant for the development of high-resolution temperature sensing and high-precision magnetic field sensing in ensemble NV centers.