Version 2 2023-11-06, 20:09Version 2 2023-11-06, 20:09
Version 1 2023-11-06, 14:00Version 1 2023-11-06, 14:00
journal contribution
posted on 2023-11-06, 20:09authored bySoumya Sarkar, Yue Xu, Sinu Mathew, Manohar Lal, Jing-Yang Chung, Hae Yeon Lee, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Thirumalai Venkatesan, Silvija Gradečak
The defect emission from h-BN at 1.55 eV is interesting
as it enables
optical readout of spins. It is necessary to identify the nature of
the relevant point defects for its controlled introduction. However,
it is challenging to engineer point defects in h-BN without changing
the local atomic structure. Here, we controllably introduce boron
vacancies in h-BN using an ultrahigh spatial resolution and low-energy
He+ ion beam. By optimizing the He+ ion irradiation
conditions, we control the quantity and location of defects spatially
and along the depth of h-BN to achieve a robust photoluminescence
emission at 1.55 eV from 10 K to room temperature. We show that as-generated
defects activate an additional Raman mode at 1295 cm–1. Electron energy loss spectroscopy confirms introduction of boron
vacancies without modification of the local h-BN crystal structure.
Our results provide a deterministic strategy to create scalable boron
vacancy emitters in h-BN for quantum photonics.