One-by-one coupling of single defect centers in nanodiamonds to high-Q modes of an optical microresonator.

In this letter, we present the on-demand coupling of single NV(-) defect centers in nanodiamonds to a polystyrene microspherical resonator. From an ensemble on a coverslip, we select single nanodiamonds containing a single defect proven by a pronounced antibunching dip. With the help of a scanning near-field probe, we can attach these nanodiamonds to a microsphere resonator one-by-one. A clearly modulated fluorescence spectrum demonstrates coupling of the single defect centers to high-Q whispering-gallery modes. Our experiments establish a toolbox to assemble complex systems consisting of single quantum emitters and (coupled) microresonators.