Programmable quantum emitter formation in silicon

Area of Science:

• Quantum computing
• Materials science
• Optoelectronics

Background:

• Silicon quantum emitters are promising for scalable qubit integration.
• Defect control is crucial for reliable quantum device fabrication.
• Existing methods lack single-center precision for defect manipulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate local, programmable control over quantum emitter formation in silicon.
• To investigate hydrogen's role in activating and passivating specific defects.
• To enhance the brightness and properties of selected quantum emitters.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing femtosecond laser pulses for localized defect modification.
• Employing hydrogen-based annealing for defect activation and passivation.
• Carbon implantation and thermal annealing to create specific defect centers.
• Density functional theory (DFT) calculations to model defect behavior.

Main Results:

• Achieved selective writing and erasing of light-emitting defects at the single-center level.
• Demonstrated programmable formation of T and C_i centers while passivating G-centers.
• Observed significant brightness enhancement of C_i centers with hydrogen presence via DFT.
• Fs-laser pulses enable local hydrogen control for emitter manipulation.

Conclusions:

• Local hydrogen control via fs-laser pulses offers a pathway for programmable quantum emitter arrays.
• The C_i center, enhanced by hydrogen, is a viable telecom S-band quantum emitter.
• This technique advances silicon-based quantum technologies towards large-scale integration.