Dissipation dilution enhances SiV coupling to vdW diamond nanomechanics

Abstract

Solid-state color centers embedded into mechanical resonators, where orbital states mediate interactions between spins and long-lived phonons, are a promising platform for hybrid quantum systems. The negatively charged silicon vacancy center in diamond (SiV-) is particularly favorable for strain-coupling to nanomechanical resonators because of its large spin-strain susceptibility and compatibility with device integration. Tensioned nanomechanical resonators offer an attractive route due to their ultra-long mechanical coherence times enabled by diluting defect-induced dissipation, though it is unclear if the same dilution effect undermines strain-mediated coupling to material defect centers. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a tensioned diamond nanobeam platform that enables enhanced strain coupling to SiV- orbital states. Through monitoring the optical response of the SiVs to the static and dynamical strain of the mechanical resonator, we observe that dynamical strain localizes near the clamps of these resonators under static strain. This allows us to enhance SiV-mechanical coupling and the mechanical coherence simultaneously, and provide a SiV-strain sensitivity with greatly improved accuracy over previous literature values. Thus, our work opens a pathway towards seconds-long coherence hybrid quantum systems utilizing point defects in diamond nanomechanics for quantum information processing.