  Normal mode splitting is observed in a cavity QED system, in which nitrogen
vacancy centers in diamond nanocrystals are coupled to whispering gallery modes
in a silica microsphere. The composite nanocrystal-microsphere system takes
advantage of the exceptional spin properties of nitrogen vacancy centers as
well as the ultra high quality factor of silica microspheres. The observation
of the normal mode splitting indicates that the dipole optical interaction
between the relevant nitrogen vacancy center and whispering gallery mode has
reached the strong coupling regime of cavity QED.
