Abstract

Defect characterization in wide-band-gap materials is becoming increasingly important as electronic and optical applications of these materials are being realized. The nitrogen-vacancy (N-V) center in diamond, formed by irradiation and annealing processes in nitrogen-containing crystals, has been studied extensively by optical and magnetic-resonance techniques in the past, yet little is known about its excited-state spin and electronic structure. Previous work on the excited-state structure has relied on indirect methods, such as hole burning¹ and optical-microwave double-resonance experiments.²

© 1993 Optical Society of America