Lab exchange grant: Examining properties of Group 4 quantum emitter in diamond

Kieran Ramaswami, a Postdoctoral Research Associate at The University of Manchester was awarded an M4QN laboratory exchange award to visit Prof. Anthony Bennett at Qlab Cardiff at the University of Cardiff. The visit took place from the 17 – 20 March 2026.

The purpose of the visit

During this visit, Kieran confirmed the validity of key characteristic spectroscopic measurements taken in Manchester of a colour centre fabricated in a nanodiamond. New characteristic features, such as polarisation, were identified in Cardiff. An in-depth assessment of the facilities and capabilities at Cardiff, including cryoPL, ODMR, and high-temperature vacuum-furnace annealing, was conducted, with plans for future samples.

Benefits to the UK materials and quantum community

As a result of the visit, the UK materials and quantum community should benefit from the acceleration of production, characterisation and use of novel single photon sources for quantum uses within a pick and place form factor to take advantage of current Si fabrication technologies.

Visit outcomes

There were 3 main outcomes from this visit. These were the confirmation of the presence of optically emitting colour centres in nanodiamond; the discovery of polarisation dependence in the emission of colour centres for publication; the start of a larger collaboration to the benefit of both groups involved, including future visits from both groups.