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We uncover the fine structure of a silicon vacancy in isotopically purified silicon carbide (4H-\(^{28}\)SiC) and reveal not yet considered terms in the spin Hamiltonian, originated from the trigonal pyramidal symmetry of this spin-3/2 color center. These terms give rise to additional spin transitions, which would be otherwise forbidden, and lead to a level anticrossing in an external magnetic field. We observe a sharp variation of the photoluminescence intensity in the vicinity of this level anticrossing, which can be used for a purely all-optical sensing of the magnetic field. We achieve dc magnetic field sensitivity better than 100 nT/√Hz within a volume of 3×10\(^{−7}\)mm\(^3\) at room temperature and demonstrate that this contactless method is robust at high temperatures up to at least 500 K. As our approach does not require application of radio-frequency fields, it is scalable to much larger volumes. For an optimized light-trapping waveguide of 3 mm\(^3\), the projection noise limit is below 100 fT/√Hz.
We report a giant thermal shift of 2.1 MHz/K related to the excited-state zero-field splitting in the silicon vacancy centers in 4H silicon carbide. It is obtained from the indirect observation of the optically detected magnetic resonance in the excited state using the ground state as an ancilla. Alternatively, relative variations of the zero-field splitting for small temperature differences can be detected without application of radiofrequency fields, by simply monitoring the photoluminescence intensity in the vicinity of the level anticrossing. This effect results in an all-optical thermometry technique with temperature sensitivity of 100 mK/Hz\(^{1/2}\) for a detection volume of approximately 10\(^{−6}\) mm\(^3\). In contrast, the zero-field splitting in the ground state does not reveal detectable temperature shift. Using these properties, an integrated magnetic field and temperature sensor can be implemented on the same center.
Silicon carbide light-emitting diode as a prospective room temperature source for single photons
(2013)
Generation of single photons has been demonstrated in several systems. However, none of them satisfies all the conditions, e.g. room temperature functionality, telecom wavelength operation, high efficiency, as required for practical applications. Here, we report the fabrication of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on intrinsic defects in silicon carbide (SiC). To fabricate our devices we used a standard semiconductor manufacturing technology in combination with high-energy electron irradiation. The room temperature electroluminescence (EL) of our LEDs reveals two strong emission bands in the visible and near infrared (NIR) spectral ranges, associated with two different intrinsic defects. As these defects can potentially be generated at a low or even single defect level, our approach can be used to realize electrically driven single photon source for quantum telecommunication and information processing.
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.
Quantum systems can provide outstanding performance in various sensing applications, ranging from bioscience to nanotechnology. Atomic-scale defects in silicon carbide are very attractive in this respect because of the technological advantages of this material and favorable optical and radio frequency spectral ranges to control these defects. We identified several, separately addressable spin-3/2 centers in the same silicon carbide crystal, which are immune to nonaxial strain fluctuations. Some of them are characterized by nearly temperature independent axial crystal fields, making these centers very attractive for vector magnetometry. Contrarily, the zero-field splitting of another center exhibits a giant thermal shift of −1.1 MHz/K at room temperature, which can be used for thermometry applications. We also discuss a synchronized composite clock exploiting spin centers with different thermal response.
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.