Magnetic-field-dependent quantum emission in hexagonal boron nitride at room temperature

Annemarie L. Exarhos, David A. Hopper, Raj N. Patel, Marcus W. Doherty, Lee C. Bassett*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    146 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Optically addressable spins associated with defects in wide-bandgap semiconductors are versatile platforms for quantum information processing and nanoscale sensing, where spin-dependent inter-system crossing transitions facilitate optical spin initialization and readout. Recently, the van der Waals material hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has emerged as a robust host for quantum emitters, promising efficient photon extraction and atom-scale engineering, but observations of spin-related effects have remained thus far elusive. Here, we report room-temperature observations of strongly anisotropic photoluminescence patterns as a function of applied magnetic field for select quantum emitters in h-BN. Field-dependent variations in the steady-state photoluminescence and photon emission statistics are consistent with an electronic model featuring a spin-dependent inter-system crossing between triplet and singlet manifolds, indicating that optically-addressable spin defects are present in h-BN.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number222
    JournalNature Communications
    Volume10
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2019

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Magnetic-field-dependent quantum emission in hexagonal boron nitride at room temperature'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this