Purcell-Enhanced Single-Photon Emission from Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers Coupled to a Tunable Microcavity

Abstract

Optical microcavities are a powerful tool for enhancing the fluorescence of individual quantum emitters. However, the broad emission spectra encountered in the solid state at room temperature limit the influence of a cavity, calling for an ultrasmall mode volume. We demonstrate Purcell-enhanced single-photon emission from nitrogen-vacancy centers in nanodiamonds coupled to a tunable fiber-based microcavity with a mode volume down to 1.0λ3. We record cavity-enhanced fluorescence images and study several single emitters with one cavity. The Purcell effect is evidenced by enhanced fluorescence collection and tunable lifetime modification, and we infer an effective Purcell factor of up to 2. Furthermore, we show an alternative regime for light confinement, where a Fabry-Perot mode is combined with additional mode confinement by the nanocrystal itself. Simulations predict effective Purcell factors of up to 11 for nitrogen-vacancy centers and 63 for silicon-vacancy centers, holding promise for bright single-photon sources and efficient spin readout under ambient conditions.