Scalable fabrication of single silicon vacancy defect arrays in silicon carbide using focused ion beam

TL;DR

This paper introduces a scalable, maskless focused ion beam method for fabricating single silicon vacancy defects in silicon carbide, enabling potential quantum photonics applications.

Contribution

It presents a novel targeted fabrication technique for VSi defects in SiC using focused ion beam, with insights into defect properties and conversion yields.

Findings

Defects confirmed by PL and ODMR spectra.

Single photon emission demonstrated from VSi defects.

Conversion yield increases with lower ion doses.

Abstract

In this work, we present a method for targeted, maskless, and scalable fabrication of single silicon vacancy (VSi) defect arrays in silicon carbide (SiC) using focused ion beam. The resolution of implanted VSi defects is limited to a few tens of nanometers, defined by the diameter of the ion beam. Firstly, we studied the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum and optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) of the generated defect spin ensemble, confirming that the synthesized centers were in the desired defect state. Then we investigated the fluorescence properties of single VSi defects and our measurements indicate the presence of a photostable single photon source. Finally, we find that the Si++ ion to VSi defect conversion yield increases as the implanted dose decreases. The reliable production of VSi defects in silicon carbide could pave the way for its applications in quantum photonics and quantum information processing.