Effect of intersystem crossing rates and optical illumination on the polarization of nuclear spins close to nitrogen-vacancy centers

Abstract

Several efforts have been made to polarize the nearby nuclear environment of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers for quantum metrology and quantum information applications. Different methods showed different nuclear spin polarization efficiencies and rely on electronic spin polarization associated to the NV center, which in turn crucially depends on the intersystem crossing. Recently, the rates involved in the intersystem crossing have been measured leading to different transition rate models. Here, we consider the effect of these rates on several nuclear polarization methods based on the level anticrossing, and precession of the nuclear population while the electronic spin is in the m(s) = 0 and m(s) = 1 spin states. We show that the nuclear polarization depends on the power of optical excitation used to polarize the electronic spin. The degree of nuclear spin polarization is different for each transition rate model. Therefore, the results presented here are relevant for validating these models and for polarizing nuclear spins. Furthermore, we analyze the performance of each method by considering the nuclear position relative to the symmetry axis of the NV center.