Amplification by stimulated emission of nitrogen-vacancy centres in a diamond-loaded fibre cavity

Laser threshold magnetometry using the negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV^-) centre in diamond as a gain medium has been proposed as a technique to dramatically enhance the sensitivity of room-temperature magnetometry. We experimentally explore a diamond-loaded open tunable fibre-cavity system as a potential contender for the realisation of lasing with NV^- centres. We observe amplification of the transmission of a cavity-resonant seed laser at 721 nm when the cavity is pumped at 532 nm and attribute this to stimulated emission. Changes in the intensity of spontaneously emitted photons accompany the amplification, and a qualitative model including stimulated emission and ionisation dynamics of the NV^- centre captures the dynamics in the experiment very well. These results highlight important considerations in the realisation of an NV^- laser in diamond.