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Title: Electrometry by optical charge conversion of deep defects in 4H-SiC

Journal Article · · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. The Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States); Tohoku Univ., Sendai (Japan)
  2. The Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States)
  3. The Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States); Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Optically active point defects in various host materials, such as diamond and silicon carbide (SiC), have shown significant promise as local sensors of magnetic fields, electric fields, strain, and temperature. Modern sensing techniques take advantage of the relaxation and coherence times of the spin state within these defects. Here we show that the defect charge state can also be used to sense the environment, in particular high-frequency (megahertz to gigahertz) electric fields, complementing established spin-based techniques. This is enabled by optical charge conversion of the defects between their photoluminescent and dark charge states, with conversion rate dependent on the electric field (energy density). The technique provides an all-optical high-frequency electrometer which is tested in 4H-SiC for both ensembles of divacancies and silicon vacancies, from cryogenic to room temperature, and with a measured sensitivity of 41±8(V/cm)2/√Hz. In conclusion, due to the piezoelectric character of SiC, we obtain spatial 3D maps of surface acoustic wave modes in a mechanical resonator.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division; National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1466374
Journal Information:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 115, Issue 31; ISSN 0027-8424
Publisher:
National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC (United States)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 35 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (16)

Heterodyne detection of radio-frequency electric fields using point defects in silicon carbide journal July 2019
Spatial mapping of band bending in semiconductor devices using in situ quantum sensors journal September 2018
Electrical and optical control of single spins integrated in scalable semiconductor devices journal December 2019
Correlating dynamic strain and photoluminescence of solid-state defects with stroboscopic x-ray diffraction microscopy journal July 2019
Deterministic placement of ultra-bright near-infrared color centers in arrays of silicon carbide micropillars journal January 2019
Electrical charge state identification and control for the silicon vacancy in 4H-SiC journal December 2019
Energy levels and charge state control of the carbon antisite-vacancy defect in 4H-SiC journal May 2019
Electrical charge state identification and control for the silicon vacancy in 4H-SiC text January 2019
Identifying and mitigating charge instabilities in shallow diamond nitrogen-vacancy centers text January 2018
Heterodyne detection of radio-frequency electric fields using point defects in silicon carbide text January 2019
Correlating dynamic strain and photoluminescence of solid-state defects with stroboscopic x-ray diffraction microscopy journal July 2019
Quantum photonics in triangular-cross-section nanodevices in silicon carbide journal June 2021
Deterministic placement of ultra-bright near-infrared color centers in arrays of silicon carbide micropillars journal January 2019
Robust and accurate electric field sensing with solid state spin ensembles text January 2019
Optimization of the power broadening in optically detected magnetic resonance of defect spins in silicon carbide text January 2019
Relaxation dynamics of spin 3/2 silicon vacancies in 4H-Silicon carbide text January 2019

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