Abstract:

Phonons are envisioned as coherent intermediaries between different types of quantum systems. Engineered nanoscale devices such as optomechanical crystals (OMCs) provide a platform to utilize phonons as quantum information carriers. Here we demonstrate OMCs in diamond designed for strong interactions between phonons and a silicon vacancy (SiV) spin. Using optical measurements at millikelvin temperatures, we measure a linewidth of 13 kHz (Q-factor of ~440,000) for 6 GHz acoustic modes, a record for diamond in the GHz frequency range and within an order of magnitude of state-of-the-art linewidths for OMCs in silicon. We investigate SiV optical and spin properties in these devices and outline a path towards a coherent spin-phonon interface.