Room-Temperature Electrical Readout of Spin Defects in van der Waals Materials

Area of Science:

• Quantum Information Science
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Negatively charged boron vacancies (V_{B}^{-}) in hexagonal boron nitride are key room-temperature quantum spin systems in 2D materials.
• Current optical readout methods for V_{B}^{-} spin states limit integration into compact quantum devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a photoelectric spin readout technique for V_{B}^{-} spins in hexagonal boron nitride.
• To enable electrical detection of quantum spin states for enhanced device miniaturization.

Main Methods:

• Developed a photoelectric spin readout technique based on spin-dependent ionization dynamics.
• Utilized spin-dependent nonradiative transitions to a metastable state for signal generation.
• Extended electrical detection to dynamical decoupling sequences and nuclear spin readout via electron-nuclear double resonance.

Main Results:

• Successfully demonstrated a photoelectric spin readout for V_{B}^{-} spins.
• Observed photocurrent signals correlating with spin-dependent ionization dynamics.
• Achieved electrical readout of dynamical decoupling protocols and nuclear spins.

Conclusions:

• The photoelectric spin readout offers a pathway for on-chip integration of 2D quantum functionalities.
• This electrical technique overcomes limitations of optical methods for quantum sensing and information tasks.
• Enables real-field exploitation of quantum functionalities in miniaturized hexagonal boron nitride devices.