Gottscholl Andreas, Kianinia Mehran, Soltamov Victor, Orlinskii Sergei, Mamin Georgy, Bradac Carlo, Kasper Christian, Krambrock Klaus, Sperlich Andreas, Toth Milos, Aharonovich Igor, Dyakonov Vladimir
Experimental Physics 6 and Würzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence, Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
School of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales, Australia.
Nat Mater. 2020 May;19(5):540-545. doi: 10.1038/s41563-020-0619-6. Epub 2020 Feb 24.
Optically addressable spins in wide-bandgap semiconductors are a promising platform for exploring quantum phenomena. While colour centres in three-dimensional crystals such as diamond and silicon carbide were studied in detail, they were not observed experimentally in two-dimensional (2D) materials. Here, we report spin-dependent processes in the 2D material hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). We identify fluorescence lines associated with a particular defect, the negatively charged boron vacancy ([Formula: see text]), showing a triplet (S = 1) ground state and zero-field splitting of ~3.5 GHz. We establish that this centre exhibits optically detected magnetic resonance at room temperature and demonstrate its spin polarization under optical pumping, which leads to optically induced population inversion of the spin ground state-a prerequisite for coherent spin-manipulation schemes. Our results constitute a step forward in establishing 2D hBN as a prime platform for scalable quantum technologies, with potential for spin-based quantum information and sensing applications.
宽带隙半导体中的光学可寻址自旋是探索量子现象的一个很有前景的平台。虽然对三维晶体（如金刚石和碳化硅）中的色心进行了详细研究，但在二维（2D）材料中尚未通过实验观察到它们。在此，我们报告二维材料六方氮化硼（hBN）中的自旋相关过程。我们识别出与特定缺陷——带负电荷的硼空位（[化学式：见正文]）相关的荧光线，该缺陷显示出三重态（S = 1）基态和约3.5 GHz的零场分裂。我们确定该中心在室温下表现出光探测磁共振，并展示了其在光泵浦下的自旋极化，这导致了自旋基态的光诱导布居数反转——这是相干自旋操纵方案的一个先决条件。我们的结果在将二维hBN确立为可扩展量子技术的主要平台方面向前迈出了一步，具有基于自旋的量子信息和传感应用的潜力。
