Colour Centre Formation in Silicon-On-Insulator for On-Chip Photonic Integration

TL;DR

This paper investigates the formation and control of colour centres in silicon-on-insulator for quantum photonic applications, focusing on fabrication processes, stability, and optimal conditions for device integration.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the dynamics of colour centre formation, optimal annealing parameters, and the identification of previously unrecognized stable optical signals in silicon.

Findings

Coupled formation dynamics of different colour centres identified

Optimal annealing parameters for stable quantum emitters determined

Discovery of previously unrecognized stable optical signals in silicon

Abstract

Colour centres in silicon have great potential as single photon sources for quantum technologies. Some of them - like the T centre - also possess optically-active spins that enable spin-photon interfaces for generating entangled photons and multi-spin registers. This paper explores the generation of several types of colour centres in silicon for mass-manufacturable silicon-on-insulator quantum devices. We investigate how different processes in the device development affect the presence of the quantum emitters, including thermal annealing and fabrication steps for optical nanostructures. The study reveals coupled formation dynamics between different colour centres, identifies optimal parameters for annealing processes, and reports on the sensitivity to annealing duration and nanofabrication procedures for photonic integrated circuits. Furthermore, we discern stable optical signals from colour centres in silicon which have not been identified before.