Strain Coupling of a Mechanical Resonator to a Single Quantum Emitter in Diamond

Abstract

In the growing field of quantum information science, nitrogen-vacancy ($N\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}V$) defects in diamond are a leading candidate for hybrid systems that exploit the best features of coupled phonons, spins, and photons. Using the strong coupling of a nanoresonator's vibrational modes to an embedded $N\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}V$ center's orbital degrees of freedom, the authors mechanically control the frequency and polarization of the optical transitions of the center. This could facilitate the development of photonic and phononic quantum networking, quantum computing hardware, and quantum control of mechanical oscillators using two-level systems.