Optomagnetic plasmonic nanocircuits

Abstract

The coupling between solid-state quantum emitters and nanoplasmonic waveguides is essential for the realization of integrated circuits for various quantum information processing protocols, communication, and sensing. Such applications benefit from a feasible, scalable and low loss fabrication method as well as efficient coupling to nanoscale waveguides. Here, we demonstrate optomagnetic plasmonic nanocircuitry for guiding, routing and processing the readout of electron spins of nitrogen vacancy centres. This optimized method for the realization of highly efficient and ultracompact plasmonic circuitry is based on enhancing the plasmon propagation length and improving the coupling efficiency. Our results show 5 times enhancement in the plasmon propagation length using (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane (MPTMS) and 5.2 times improvement in the coupling efficiency by introducing a grating coupler, and these enable the design of more complicated nanoplasmonic circuitries for quantum information processing. The integration of efficient plasmonic circuitry with the excellent spin properties of nitrogen vacancy centres can potentially be utilized to extend the applications of nanodiamonds and yield a great platform for the realization of on-chip quantum information networks.