October 6 – 10, 2025 at IISER Mohali

Overview

Color centers such as vacancies in alkali halide crystals have been extensively studied from

the 30s. These defects can be created by irradiation or doping. The nitrogen-vacancy (NV)

color center in diamond was identified in 1965 as a luminescent point defect with an electron

spin structure in the ground state. It then received a lot of attention after the discovery in

1997 that it can be isolated as an individual quantum system inside the solid-state matrix. Its

remarkably stable photoluminescence even at room luminescence makes this system an

efficient and practicalsingle-photon source. Its electron spin can be addressed and coherently

manipulated using a combination of optical and microwave excitations. The understanding of

the NV center physical properties, in parallel with remarkable progressesin diamond material

fabrication, has now led to a broad range of applications for the development of quantum

technologies.

In this GIAN course, we will explain why a color center can be considered as an artificial atom

embedded in a solid-state matrix and I will highlight the differences with a true atom in

vacuum. I will then describe the properties of two main defects in diamond: the NV center

and the SiV center. I will finally focus on the electronic spin properties of the NV center and

its application to magnetic sensing. We will also demonstrate some of the key measurements

with NV color centers, in particular, its fluorescence and Optical Detection of Magnetic

Resonance in a custom-built setup to provide a unique theory and hands-on-training

experiments.

Objectives

• To expose the participants to new emerging frontier on creation, formalism and applications of color centers in diamond for quantum technologies

• To build a solid foundation of the Physics of color centers in diamond and demonstrate their potential for emerging quantum sensing, magnetometry, and single-photon sources

• To strengthen the theoretical concepts by laboratory demos and hands-on experiments on measurements and sensing with NV centers. This is a very attractive and novel aspect of the course design;

• To give a broad overview of emerging frontiers of quantum technologies with color centers.

Lecture Topics & Hands-On Experiments

Color centers as artificial atoms in a solid-state matrix: structural/electro/optical

properties

• Two color centers in diamond: NV center and the SiC center

• Quantum sensing of magnetic field using NV centers

• Emerging applications and challenges

• Experiment: NV detection, Imaging & ODMR measurement

Registration Link:

 Please E-mail to kpsingh@iisermohali.ac.in

For more details visit https://gian.iith.ac.in/lectures/upcoming

Local Coordinator: Dr. Kamal P. Singh

Attosecond Laser Lab,

Department of Physics,

IISER Mohali

Contact: fslgianiiser@gmail.com