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arXiv · 2203.10075

Correlative nanoscale imaging of strained hBN spin defects

David Curie·Jaron T. Krogel·Lukas Cavar·Abhishek Solanki·Pramey Upadhyaya·Tongcang Li·Yun-Yi Pai·Michael Chilcote·Vasudevan Iyer·Alex Puretzky·Ilia Ivanov·Mao-Hua Du·Fernando Reboredo·Benjamin Lawrie
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Abstract

Spin defects like the negatively charged boron vacancy color center ($V_B^-$) in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) may enable new forms of quantum sensing with near-surface defects in layered van der Waals heterostructures. Here, we reveal the effect of strain associated with creases in hBN flakes on $V_B^-$ and $V_B$ color centers in hBN with correlative cathodoluminescence and photoluminescence microscopies. We observe strong localized enhancement and redshifting of the $V_B^-$ luminescence at creases, consistent with density functional theory calculations showing $V_B^-$ migration toward regions with moderate uniaxial compressive strain. The ability to manipulate these spin defects with highly localized strain offers intriguing possibilities for future 2D quantum sensors.

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David Curie, Jaron T. Krogel, Lukas Cavar, Abhishek Solanki, Pramey Upadhyaya, Tongcang Li, Yun-Yi Pai, Michael Chilcote, Vasudevan Iyer, Alex Puretzky, Ilia Ivanov, Mao-Hua Du, Fernando Reboredo, Benjamin Lawrie. 2022-03-18. Correlative nanoscale imaging of strained hBN spin defects. https://arxiv.org/abs/2203.10075

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