Manipulating the Charge State of Spin Defects in Hexagonal Boron Nitride.

Gale, Angus; Scognamiglio, Dominic; Zhigulin, Ivan; Whitefield, Benjamin; Kianinia, Mehran; Aharonovich, Igor; Toth, Milos · Nano Lett · 2023

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Negatively charged boron vacancies (V<sub>B</sub><sup>-</sup>) in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) have recently gained interest as spin defects for quantum information processing and quantum sensing by a layered material. However, the boron vacancy can exist in a number of charge states in the hBN lattice, but only the -1 state has spin-dependent photoluminescence and acts as a spin-photon interface. Here, we investigate the charge state switching of V<sub>B</sub> defects under laser and electron beam excitation. We demonstrate deterministic, reversible switching between the -1 and 0 states (V<sub>B</sub><sup>-</sup> ⇌ V<sub>B</sub><sup>0</sup> + e<sup>-</sup>), occurring at rates controlled by excess electrons or holes injected into hBN by a layered heterostructure device. Our work provides a means to monitor and manipulate the V<sub>B</sub> charge state, and to stabilize the -1 state which is a prerequisite for spin manipulation and optical readout of the defect.