Maskless Generation of Single Silicon Vacancy Arrays in Silicon Carbide by a Focused He+ Ion Beam

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a maskless, precise method for creating single silicon vacancy arrays in silicon carbide using a focused helium-ion beam, advancing quantum sensing and photonic applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel maskless technique for targeted silicon vacancy creation in silicon carbide with high spatial precision using a focused He+ ion beam.

Findings

Achieved a 6.95% conversion yield of silicon vacancies.

Realized a 35% generation rate for single silicon vacancies.

Demonstrated precise, maskless defect creation with 60 nm accuracy.

Abstract

Precise generation of spin defects in solid-state systems is essential for nanostructure fluorescence enhancement. We investigated a method for creating single silicon vacancy defect arrays in silicon carbide using a helium-ion microscope. Maskless and targeted generation can be realized by precisely controlling the focused He+ ion beam with an implantation uncertainty of 60 nm. The generated silicon vacancies were identified by measuring the optically detected magnetic resonance spectrum and room temperature photoluminescence spectrum. We systematically studied the effects of the implantation ion dose on the generated silicon vacancies. After optimization, a conversion yield of ~ 6.95 % and a generation rate for a single silicon vacancy of ~ 35 % were realized. This work paves the way for the integration and engineering of color centers to photonic structures and the application of quantum sensing based on spin defects in silicon carbide.