Coupling of single quantum emitters to plasmons propagating on mechanically etched wires

We demonstrate the coupling of a single nitrogen vacancy center in a nanodiamond to propagating plasmonic modes of mechanically etched silver nanowires. The mechanical etch is performed on single crystalline silver nanoplates by the tip of an atomic force microscope cantilever to produce wires with pre-designed lengths. We show that single plasmon propagation can be obtained in these wires, thus making these structures a platform for quantum information processing.