Excited-state spin-resonance spectroscopy of V<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <msubsup> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> </mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mi mathvariant="normal">B</mi> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mo>−</mo> </mrow> </msubsup> </math> defect centers in hexagonal boron nitride.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35680866.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-30772-z and PMC identifier 9184587.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
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Abstract
The recently discovered spin-active boron vacancy (V<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <msubsup> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> </mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mi mathvariant="normal">B</mi> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mo>−</mo> </mrow> </msubsup> </math>) defect center in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) has high contrast optically-detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) at room-temperature, with a spin-triplet ground-state that shows promise as a quantum sensor. Here we report temperature-dependent ODMR spectroscopy to probe spin within the orbital excited-state. Our experiments determine the excited-state spin Hamiltonian, including a room-temperature zero-field splitting of 2.1 GHz and a g-factor similar to that of the ground-state. We confirm that the resonance is associated with spin rotation in the excited-state using pulsed ODMR measurements, and we observe Zeeman-mediated level anti-crossings in both the orbital ground- and excited-state. Our observation of a single set of excited-state spin-triplet resonance from 10 to 300 K is suggestive of symmetry-lowering of the defect system from D<sub>3h</sub> to C<sub>2v</sub>. Additionally, the excited-state ODMR has strong temperature dependence of both contrast and transverse anisotropy splitting, enabling promising avenues for quantum sensing.