Abstract
The effects of the solid-state heterostructure environment on the properties of embedded qubits are investigated. An electric dipole emitter in the form of an F center has recently been used as the qubit for quantum information processing and, possibly, quantum computing. Modeled here in terms of an isotropic three-dimensional harmonic oscillator localized in a dielectric, we show that it experiences level shifts due to its proximity to a metallic contact plane. Appropriate parameters are used to model a nitrogen F center localized in diamond within nanometer distances from a metallic surface.