Electrical charge state identification and control for the silicon vacancy in 4H-SiC

• Published in: npj quantum information Vol. 5; no. 1; pp. 1 - 9
• Main Authors: Bathen, M. E., Galeckas, A., Müting, J., Ayedh, H. M., Grossner, U., Coutinho, J., Frodason, Y. K., Vines, L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 04-12-2019; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 639/301/119/995; 639/766/119/1000; 639/766/483/3925; Classical and Quantum Gravitation; Information systems; Optical properties; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Quantum Computing; Quantum Field Theories; Quantum Information Technology; Quantum Physics; Relativity Theory; Silicon; Silicon carbide; Spintronics; String Theory
• ISSN: 2056-6387; 2056-6387
• DOI: 10.1038/s41534-019-0227-y

Reliable single-photon emission is crucial for realizing efficient spin-photon entanglement and scalable quantum information systems. The silicon vacancy (
V
Si
) in 4H-SiC is a promising single-photon emitter exhibiting millisecond spin coherence times, but suffers from low photon counts, and only one charge state retains the desired spin and optical properties. Here, we demonstrate that emission from
V
Si
defect ensembles can be enhanced by an order of magnitude via fabrication of Schottky barrier diodes, and sequentially modulated by almost
50
%
via application of external bias. Furthermore, we identify charge state transitions of
V
Si
by correlating optical and electrical measurements, and realize selective population of the bright state. Finally, we reveal a pronounced Stark shift of 55 GHz for the V1′ emission line state of
V
Si
at larger electric fields, providing a means to modify the single-photon emission. The approach presented herein paves the way towards obtaining complete control of, and drastically enhanced emission from,
V
Si
defect ensembles in 4H-SiC highly suitable for quantum applications.