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basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35896526.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-31743-0 and PMC identifier 9329290.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Spin defects in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) are promising quantum systems for the design of flexible two-dimensional quantum sensing platforms. Here we rely on hBN crystals isotopically enriched with either <sup>10</sup>B or <sup>11</sup>B to investigate the isotope-dependent properties of a spin defect featuring a broadband photoluminescence signal in the near infrared. By analyzing the hyperfine structure of the spin defect while changing the boron isotope, we first confirm that it corresponds to the negatively charged boron-vacancy center (<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <msubsup> <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">V</mi> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </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>). We then show that its spin coherence properties are slightly improved in <sup>10</sup>B-enriched samples. This is supported by numerical simulations employing cluster correlation expansion methods, which reveal the importance of the hyperfine Fermi contact term for calculating the coherence time of point defects in hBN. Using cross-relaxation spectroscopy, we finally identify dark electron spin impurities as an additional source of decoherence. This work provides new insights into the properties of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <msubsup> <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">V</mi> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </mrow> </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> spin defects, which are valuable for the future development of hBN-based quantum sensing foils.