A study was made of the 3E excited-state structure of single negatively charged

nitrogen-vacancy defects in diamond; combining resonant excitation at cryogenic

temperatures with optically detected magnetic resonance. A theoretical model was

developed which exhibited excellent agreement with experimental observations. In

addition, it was shown that the two orbital branches associated with the 3E excited

state were averaged when operating at room temperature. This study led to an

improved physical understanding of the nitrogen-vacancy defect electronic

structure.

Low Temperature Studies of the Excited-State Structure of Negatively Charged

Nitrogen-Vacancy Color Centers in Diamond. A.Batalov, V.Jacques, F.Kaiser,

P.Siyushev, P.Neumann, L.J.Rogers, R.L.McMurtrie, N.B.Manson, F.Jelezko,

J.Wrachtrup: Physical Review Letters, 2009, 102[19], 195506