Coherent control of an ultrabright single spin in hexagonal boron nitride at room temperature

Nai-Jie Guo; Song Li; Wei Liu; Yuan-Ze Yang; Xiao-Dong Zeng; Shang Yu; Yu Meng; Zhi-Peng Li; Zhao-An Wang; Lin-Ke Xie; Rong-Chun Ge; Jun-Feng Wang; Qiang Li; Jin-Shi Xu; Yi-Tao Wang; Jian-Shun Tang; Adam Gali; Chuan-Feng Li; Guang-Can Guo

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-38672-6

Coherent control of an ultrabright single spin in hexagonal boron nitride at room temperature

Nat Commun. 2023 May 20;14(1):2893. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-38672-6.

Authors

Nai-Jie Guo^#^{1

2

3}, Song Li^#⁴, Wei Liu^#^{1

2

3}, Yuan-Ze Yang^#^{1

2

3}, Xiao-Dong Zeng^#^{1

2

3}, Shang Yu^{1

2

3}, Yu Meng^{1

2

3}, Zhi-Peng Li^{1

2

3}, Zhao-An Wang^{1

2

3}, Lin-Ke Xie^{1

2

3}, Rong-Chun Ge⁵, Jun-Feng Wang^{1

2

3

5}, Qiang Li^{1

2

3}, Jin-Shi Xu^{1

2

3}, Yi-Tao Wang^{6

7

8}, Jian-Shun Tang^{9

10

11}, Adam Gali^{12

13}, Chuan-Feng Li^{14

15

16}, Guang-Can Guo^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ CAS Key Laboratory of Quantum Information, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, China.
² CAS Center For Excellence in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, China.
³ Hefei National Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230088, China.
⁴ Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Post Office Box 49, H-1525Budapest, Hungary.
⁵ College of Physics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064, China.
⁶ CAS Key Laboratory of Quantum Information, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, China. yitao@ustc.edu.cn.
⁷ CAS Center For Excellence in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, China. yitao@ustc.edu.cn.
⁸ Hefei National Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230088, China. yitao@ustc.edu.cn.
⁹ CAS Key Laboratory of Quantum Information, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, China. tjs@ustc.edu.cn.
¹⁰ CAS Center For Excellence in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, China. tjs@ustc.edu.cn.
¹¹ Hefei National Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230088, China. tjs@ustc.edu.cn.
¹² Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Post Office Box 49, H-1525Budapest, Hungary. gali.adam@wigner.hu.
¹³ Department of Atomic Physics, Institute of Physics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Muegyetem rakpart 3, H-1111Budapest, Hungary. gali.adam@wigner.hu.
¹⁴ CAS Key Laboratory of Quantum Information, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, China. cfli@ustc.edu.cn.
¹⁵ CAS Center For Excellence in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, China. cfli@ustc.edu.cn.
¹⁶ Hefei National Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230088, China. cfli@ustc.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a remarkable two-dimensional (2D) material that hosts solid-state spins and has great potential to be used in quantum information applications, including quantum networks. However, in this application, both the optical and spin properties are crucial for single spins but have not yet been discovered simultaneously for hBN spins. Here, we realize an efficient method for arraying and isolating the single defects of hBN and use this method to discover a new spin defect with a high probability of 85%. This single defect exhibits outstanding optical properties and an optically controllable spin, as indicated by the observed significant Rabi oscillation and Hahn echo experiments at room temperature. First principles calculations indicate that complexes of carbon and oxygen dopants may be the origin of the single spin defects. This provides a possibility for further addressing spins that can be optically controlled.

Grants and funding

11821404/National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China)