Optically-active spin defects in few-layer thick hexagonal boron nitride

Abstract

Optically-active spin defects in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) are promising quantum systems for the design of two-dimensional quantum sensing units offering optimal proximity to the sample being probed. In this work, we first demonstrate that the electron spin resonance frequencies of boron vacancy centres (V${}_{\text{B}}^{-}$) can be detected optically in the limit of few-atomic-layer thick hBN flakes despite the nanoscale proximity of the crystal surface that often leads to a degradation of the stability of solid-state spin defects. We then analyze the variations of the electronic spin properties of V${}_{\text{B}}^{-}$ centres with the hBN thickness with a focus on (i) the zero-field splitting parameters, (ii) the optically-induced spin polarization rate and (iii) the longitudinal spin relaxation time. This work provides important insights into the properties of V${}_{\text{B}}^{-}$ centres embedded in ultrathin hBN flakes, which are valuable for future developments of foil-based quantum sensing technologies.

7 pages, 3 figures

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Cited by in corpus (25)

• Multi-species optically addressable spin defects in a van der Waals material
• Isotope engineering for spin defects in van der Waals materials
• Isotopic control of the boron-vacancy spin defect in hexagonal boron nitride
• Sensing Spin Wave Excitations by Spin Defects in Few-Layer Thick Hexagonal Boron Nitride
• Quantum Optics Applications of Hexagonal Boron Nitride Defects
• Nanotube spin defects for omnidirectional magnetic field sensing
• Probing Stress and Magnetism at High Pressures with Two-Dimensional Quantum Sensors
• Temperature dependent spin-phonon coupling of boron-vacancy centers in hexagonal boron nitride
• Creation and Microscopic Origins of Single-Photon Emitters in Transition Metal Dichalcogenides and Hexagonal Boron Nitride
• Optimisation of electron irradiation for creating spin ensembles in hexagonal boron nitride
• Intrinsic high-fidelity spin polarization of charged vacancies in hexagonal boron nitride
• Coherent Spins in van der Waals Semiconductor GeS2 at Ambient Conditions
• Understanding Decoherence of the Boron Vacancy Center in Hexagonal Boron Nitride
• Quantifying the creation of negatively charged boron vacancies in He-ion irradiated hexagonal boron nitride
• Proximity-Induced Exchange Interaction: a New Pathway for Quantum Sensing using Spin Centers in Hexagonal Boron Nitride
• Room-Temperature Electrical Readout of Spin Defects in van der Waals Materials
• A charge transfer mechanism for optically addressable solid-state spin pairs
• Secure Quantum Key Distribution Using a Room-Temperature Quantum Emitter
• Systematic investigation of dynamic nuclear polarization with boron vacancy in hexagonal boron nitride
• Spin-Phonon Relaxation of Boron-Vacancy Centers in Two-Dimensional Boron Nitride Polytypes
• Nuclear Spin-Mediated Relaxation Mechanisms of the V${}_B^{-}$ Center in hBN
• Single photon emitters in hBN: Limitations of atomic resolution imaging and potential sources of error
• Multi-wavelength Spin Dynamics of Defects in Hexagonal Boron Nitride
• All-optical magnetic imaging with spin defects in van der Waals materials at Angstrom-scale
• Intermediate Excited State Relaxation Dynamics of Boron Vacancy Spin Defects in Hexagonal Boron Nitride