Under cryogenic conditions, color centers in wide-bandgap semiconductors feature a collection of “atomic-like” absorption resonances that can be exploited to examine and control their charge states in novel ways. In the first part of this talk, I will discuss how the local heterogeneity of these resonances can be leveraged to individually manipulate and readout the charge state of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond sharing the same diffraction-limited volume. Transitioning to the limit of dense clusters – where individual optical transitions from different NVs inevitably overlap.

I will also describe results demonstrating rewritable, multiplexed data storage with large areal density. In the second half of the presentation, I will examine how to capitalize on the spectral diffusion of individual NVs in sub-diffraction clusters to establish statistical correlations between the temporal frequency shifts in each of the spectra, which, in turn can be exploited to unveil – and ultimately map out – proximal trapped charge in three dimensions. If time allows, I will also show it is possible to build on the spin-dependent photo-ionization of the NV to preferentially fill or empty proximal traps, hence shedding light on the dynamics of photo-generated carriers. Combined, these results open intriguing opportunities for information processing in the form of devices with enhanced optical storage capacity and for the manipulation of nanoscale spin-qubit clusters connected via electric and/or magnetic couplings. ​

Biography

Carlos was born and raised in Córdoba, Argentina. He obtained his Ph.D in physics at FaMAF – the mathematics, physics and astronomy division of the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba – under the supervision of Prof. A.H. Brunetti. His doctoral studies focused on the use of Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance (NQR) to probe structural and dynamical disorder in organic crystals. After graduating in 2000, he joined the group of Prof. Alexander Pines at the University of California, Berkeley to work on the physics and applications of nuclear magnetic resonance. In 2004, he joined the department of physics at City College as an assistant professor; his research focuses on the combined use of optical microscopy and magnetic resonance methods to investigate the properties of quantum emitters in solid-state hosts for applications in quantum information processing and nanoscale sensing. Carlos has received several distinctions including the NSF-CAREER award (2006), the Wegman Brothers faculty fellowship (2006), and the Cottrell Scholar Award (2007). He is a 2011 Alexander von Humboldt scholar, a 2015 Fellow of the of the American Physical Society, and the 2016 recipient of the Frontiers in Research Excellence and Discovery (FRED) Award by Research Corporation.