Wavelength dependence of nitrogen-vacancy center charge cycling

Abstract: Optically-active spin qubits in wide-bandgap semiconductors exist in several charge states, though typically only specific charge states exhibit desirable spin or photonic properties. An understanding of how interconversion between different charge states occurs is important for most applications seeking to employ such defects in quantum sensing and information processing, and additionally serves as a means of testing and verifying models of the defect electronic structure. Here, we use charge-sensitive confocal imaging to study the wavelength dependence of optical carrier generation in diamonds hosting nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers, silicon vacancy (SiV) centers and substitutional nitrogen (N). We study the generation of distinctive charge-capture patterns formed when photogenerated charge carriers are captured by photoluminescent defects, using light spanning 405-633\,nm (1.96-3.06\,eV). We observe distinct regimes where one- or two-photon ionization or recombination processes dominate, and a third regime where anti-Stokes mediated recombination drives weak NV charge cycling with red light. We then compare red-induced charge cycling to fast charge carrier transport between isolated single NV centers driven with green and blue light. This work reports new optically-mediated charge cycling processes of the NV centers, and has consequences for schemes using charge transfer to identify non-luminescent defects and photoelectric detection, where ambiguity exists as to the source of photocurrent.