Influence of (N,H)-terminated surfaces on stability, hyperfine structure, and zero-field splitting of NV centers in diamond

We present a density functional theory analysis of the negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV$^-$) defect complex in diamond located in the vicinity of (111)- or (100)-oriented surfaces with mixed (N,H)-terminations. We assess the stability and electronic properties of the NV$^-$ center and study their dependence on the H:N ratio of the surface termination. The formation energy, the electronic density of states, the hyperfine structure and zero-field splitting parameters of an NV$^-$ center are analyzed as function of its distance and orientation to the surface. We find stable NV$^-$ centers with bulk-like properties at distances of at least $\sim8$ Angstroem from the surface provided that the surface termination consists of at least 25\% substitutional nitrogen atoms. Our results indicate that axial NV centers near a flat 100\% N-terminated (111) surface are the optimal choice for NV-based quantum sensing applications as they are the least influenced by the proximity of the surface.

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