Fluorescence enhancement of single V2 centers in a 4H-SiC cavity antenna

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a cavity antenna structure that significantly enhances photon collection from single V2 centers in 4H-SiC, advancing solid-state quantum emitter applications.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel silver-coated 4H-SiC membrane cavity antenna that boosts photon collection efficiency from V2 centers at room and cryogenic temperatures.

Findings

Photon collection enhancement factor of up to 15 for single V2 centers.

Identification of over 20 single V2 centers at room temperature.

Observation of narrow absorption linewidths below 80MHz at cryogenic temperatures.

Abstract

Solid state quantum emitters are a prime candidate in distributed quantum technologies since they inherently provide a spin-photon interface. An ongoing challenge in the field, however, is the low photon extraction due to the high refractive index of typical host materials. This challenge can be overcome using photonic structures. Here, we report the integration of V2 centers in a cavity-based optical antenna. The structure consists of a silver-coated, 135 nm thin 4H-SiC membrane functioning as a planar cavity with a broadband resonance yielding a theoretical photon collection enhancement factor of 34. The planar geometry allows us to identify over 20 single V2 centers at room temperature with a mean (maximum) count rate enhancement factor of 9 (15). Moreover, we observe 10 V2 centers with a mean absorption linewidth below 80MHz at cryogenic temperatures. These results demonstrate a photon collection enhancement that is robust to the lateral emitter position.