Correlative nanoscale imaging of strained hBN spin defects

Abstract

Spin defects like the negatively charged boron vacancy color center (V B -) in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) may enable new forms of quantum sensing with near-surface defects in layered van der Waals heterostructures. Here, we reveal the effect of strain associated with creases in hBN flakes on V B and V B 0 color centers in hBN with correlative cathodoluminescence and photoluminescence microscopies. We observe strong localized enhancement and redshifting of the V B luminescence at creases, consistent with 0 This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan).

Coupling spin defects in hexagonal boron nitride to titanium dioxide ring resonators

“…11 Spin coherence of V B − has been exploited for high temporal and spatial resolution quantum sensing of temperature, strain, electric and magnetic fields. [16][17][18][19][20] However, the photoluminescence emission from V B − spans in the NIR has no clear indication of zero phonon line (ZPL) even at cryogenic temperature, and the exact electronic level structure and emission dipole of V B − are yet to be understood. Just recently, coupling of the defects into high-quality cavities suggests the ZPL spectral location to be around 770 nm 21 and excited state spectroscopy of the defects revealed the spin states in the excited state.…”