Origin of Bright Quantum Emissions with a High Debye-Waller Factor in Silicon Nitride.

Meher, Shibu; Dey, Manoj; Singh, Abhishek Kumar · Nano Lett · 2026

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Silicon nitride has emerged as a promising photonic platform for integrated single-photon sources, yet the microscopic origin of the recently observed bright quantum emissions remains unclear. Using hybrid density functional theory, we show that the negatively charged N<sub>Si</sub>V<sub>N</sub> center (NV<sup>-</sup>) in the <i>C</i><sub>1<i>h</i></sub> configuration exhibits a linearly polarized zero phonon line (ZPL) at 2.46 eV, with a radiative lifetime of 9.01 ns and a high Debye-Waller (DW) factor of 33%. We further find that the <i>C</i><sub>1<i>h</i></sub> configuration is prone to a pseudo-Jahn-Teller distortion, yielding two symmetrically equivalent defect structures that emit bright, linearly polarized ZPL at 1.80 eV with a lifetime of 10.17 ns and an increased DW factor of 41%. These nitrogen-vacancy-related defects explain the origins of visible quantum emissions, paving the way for deterministic and monolithically integrated silicon nitride quantum photonics.