@article{FuchsStenderTrupkeetal.2015, author = {Fuchs, F. and Stender, B. and Trupke, M. and Simin, D. and Pflaum, J. and Dyakonov, V. and Astakhov, G.V.}, title = {Engineering near-infrared single-photon emitters with optically active spins in ultrapure silicon carbide}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {6}, journal = {Nature Communications}, number = {7578}, doi = {10.1038/ncomms8578}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-148502}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Vacancy-related centres in silicon carbide are attracting growing attention because of their appealing optical and spin properties. These atomic-scale defects can be created using electron or neutron irradiation; however, their precise engineering has not been demonstrated yet. Here, silicon vacancies are generated in a nuclear reactor and their density is controlled over eight orders of magnitude within an accuracy down to a single vacancy level. An isolated silicon vacancy serves as a near-infrared photostable single-photon emitter, operating even at room temperature. The vacancy spins can be manipulated using an optically detected magnetic resonance technique, and we determine the transition rates and absorption cross-section, describing the intensity-dependent photophysics of these emitters. The on-demand engineering of optically active spins in technologically friendly materials is a crucial step toward implementation of both maser amplifiers, requiring high-density spin ensembles, and qubits based on single spins.}, language = {en} } @article{DziomShuvaevPimenovetal.2017, author = {Dziom, V. and Shuvaev, A. and Pimenov, A. and Astakhov, G.V. and Ames, C. and Bendias, K. and B{\"o}ttcher, J. and Tkachov, G. and Hankiewicz, E.M. and Br{\"u}ne, C. and Buhmann, H. and Molenkamp, L.W.}, title = {Observation of the universal magnetoelectric effect in a 3D topological insulator}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {8}, journal = {Nature Communications}, number = {15197}, doi = {10.1038/ncomms15197}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-170875}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The electrodynamics of topological insulators (TIs) is described by modified Maxwell's equations, which contain additional terms that couple an electric field to a magnetization and a magnetic field to a polarization of the medium, such that the coupling coefficient is quantized in odd multiples of α/4π per surface. Here we report on the observation of this so-called topological magnetoelectric effect. We use monochromatic terahertz (THz) spectroscopy of TI structures equipped with a semitransparent gate to selectively address surface states. In high external magnetic fields, we observe a universal Faraday rotation angle equal to the fine structure constant α=e\(^{2}\)/2E\(_{0}\)hc (in SI units) when a linearly polarized THz radiation of a certain frequency passes through the two surfaces of a strained HgTe 3D TI. These experiments give insight into axion electrodynamics of TIs and may potentially be used for a metrological definition of the three basic physical constants.}, language = {en} }