Physics

Nanotechnology

Pure mathematics

Realisation

Mathematics

Engineering physics

Vacancy defect

Solid-state

Composite material

Materials science

Diamond

Photonics

Condensed matter physics

Nanophotonics

Quantum mechanics

Field (mathematics)

Optoelectronics

Quantum

Nature Communications

Diamond photonics is an ever-growing field of research driven by the prospects of harnessing diamond and its colour centres as suitable hardware for solid-state quantum applications. The last two decades have seen the field shaped by the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centre with both breakthrough fundamental physics demonstrations and practical realizations. Recently however, an entire suite of other diamond defects has emerged—group IV colour centres—namely the Si-, Ge-, Sn- and Pb-vacancies. In this perspective, we highlight the leading techniques for engineering and characterizing these diamond defects, discuss the current state-of-the-art group IV-based devices and provide an outlook of the future directions the field is taking towards the realisation of solid-state quantum photonics with diamond.

Quantum nanophotonics with group IV defects in diamond