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The Germanium Vacancy Centre (GeV) is a recently identified optically active defect in diamond. The GeV is able to behave as a single-photon source and shows potential for quantum- and nanoscience applications due to its narrow zero-phonon line (ZPL) and minimal phononic-sideband (compared to that of the nitrogen vacancy (NV) centre.

= Properties of the GeV =

Crystallographic
The GeV defect has the same D3d point group symmetry as the silicon vacancy centre (SiV) - a Germanium atom situated between two vacant lattice sites along the crystallographic direction in the diamond lattice.

Optical
The GeV displays a ZPL at 602 nm (2.059 eV) at room-temperature, with splitting into two components separated by 0.67 meV at low-temperature (10 K). The excited state lifetime of the GeV is 1.4-5.5 ns which is comparable to the SiV centre.

= Formation = The GeV defect can be created by ion implantation and subsequent annealing at 800°C, or, in diamond growth via chemical vapor deposition (CVD). In the latter case, smaller variation of the ZPL and a narrower line width is evident. GeV defects have also been observed in diamond fabricated using modern high-pressure high temperature (HPHT) techniques.

= References =

Category:Diamond Category:Spintronics Category:Spectroscopy Category:Crystallographic defects Category:Quantum information science