Vector Magnetometry Using Silicon Vacancies in4H-SiC Under Ambient Conditions

Abstract

Point defects in solids promise precise measurements of various quantities. Especially magnetic field sensing using the spin of point defects has been of great interest recently. When optical readout of spin states is used, point defects achieve optical magnetic imaging with high spatial resolution at ambient conditions. Here, we demonstrate that genuine optical vector magnetometry can be realized using the silicon vacancy in SiC, which has an uncommon S ¼ 3=2 spin. To this end, we develop and experimentally test sensing protocols based on a reference field approach combined with multifrequency spin excitation. Our work suggests that the silicon vacancy in an industry-friendly platform, SiC, has the potential for various magnetometry applications under ambient conditions.

Identification of Si-vacancy related room-temperature qubits in 4H silicon carbide

“…The V2 center in 4H -SiC exhibits an observable ODMR signal even at room temperature and its spin ensemble has been used for magnetometry [17][18][19][20]. Thus, improving the brightness and ODMR contrast of these single emitters is promising for room-temperature nanoscale magnetometry of biological molecules and quantum information processing applications [4,10].…”

“…The V2 line in 4H -SiC [4] and the V2 and V3 lines in 6H -SiC [13] are sufficiently strong to observe their corresponding electron spin via optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) measurements at room temperature. In particular, it has been demonstrated that the V2 color center in 4H -SiC can be used for magnetometer [17][18][19][20] and nanoscale thermometer [21] applications and as a room-temperature maser [14].…”

“…The V2 line in 4H -SiC [4] and the V2 and V3 lines in 6H -SiC [13] are sufficiently strong to observe their corresponding electron spin via optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) measurements at room temperature. In particular, it has been demonstrated that the V2 color center in 4H -SiC can be used for magnetometer [17][18][19][20] and nanoscale thermometer [21] applications and as a room-temperature maser [14].Today, it is widely accepted that V1-V3 PL lines and T V1 -T V3 electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signals in 4H -and 6H -SiC are related to spin-3/2 negatively charged silicon vacancies [22][23][24][25]. On the other hand, the actual microscopic configuration of these vacancy related centers is still debated.…”

Scalable Quantum Photonics with Single Color Centers in Silicon Carbide

“…The side-peaks surrounding the center-frequency originate from a non-zero parasitic magnetic field oriented in an arbitrary direction in the experimental environment, which is typically about 0.2-0.6 Gauss. 19,20 The peak at 40 MHz can often be observed, also in other samples 17 but the further investigation of the origin is not in the scope of this work. The relative intensity of ODMR was calculated as ( − )/ and it varies between 2%-4%, which is in good agreement with previous single spin studies.…”

<strong>Scalable fabrication of single silicon vacancy defect arrays in silicon carbide using focused ion beam</strong>

“…3,5,13 These remarkable properties have been exploited in many applications in quantum photonics, 9,10 and quantum metrological studies such as high sensitivity magnetic sensing 14,15 and temperature sensing. 16 The V Si defect consists of a vacancy on a silicon site which exhibits a C 3v symmetry in 4H-SiC.…”