Abstract
Control of local lattice perturbations near optically-active defects in semiconductors is a key step to harnessing the potential of solid-state qubits for quantum information science and nanoscale sensing. We report the development of a stroboscopic scanning X-ray diffraction microscopy approach for real-space imaging of dynamic strain used in correlation with microscopic photoluminescence measurements. We demonstrate this technique in 4H-SiC, which hosts long-lifetime room temperature vacancy spin defects. Using nano-focused X-ray photon pulses synchronized to a surface acoustic wave launcher, we achieve an effective time resolution of ~100 ps at a 25 nm spatial resolution to map micro-radian dynamic lattice curvatures. The acoustically induced lattice distortions near an engineered scattering structure are correlated with enhanced photoluminescence responses of optically-active SiC quantum defects driven by local piezoelectric effects. These results demonstrate a unique route for directly imaging local strain in nanomechanical structures and quantifying dynamic structure-function relationships in materials under realistic operating conditions.
Highlights
Control of local lattice perturbations near optically-active defects in semiconductors is a key step to harnessing the potential of solid-state qubits for quantum information science and nanoscale sensing
Our measurement instead uses a frequency match of continuous radio frequency (RF) surface acoustic wave excitation to the ring time structure, in order to virtually slow or freeze periodic lattice fluctuations generated by a transducer fabricated on the 4 H silicon carbide (SiC) host material without the need for a stimulation pulse
This study demonstrates a local measurement of the lattice perturbations created by a SAW near a fabricated microscale structural defect in SiC, responsible for locally enhancing strain fluctuations around divacancies
Summary
Control of local lattice perturbations near optically-active defects in semiconductors is a key step to harnessing the potential of solid-state qubits for quantum information science and nanoscale sensing. Mechanical systems have the potential to play a transformative role in quantum information transfer, but the degree and nature of strain coupling to local properties, such as defect electronic energy levels are often not well understood[14,15] due to the difficulty of directly measuring local nanoscale strain congruently to optical response Quantifying this coupling is especially important in the time domain, where dynamic sources of strain such as resonant acoustic waves can be used to manipulate spin states or control the transmission of single electron currents between qubits[16,17]. We demonstrate the impact of this approach by correlating the dynamic lattice curvature measurement of driven lattice fluctuations with photoluminescence changes from point defects caused by acoustic driving and piezoelectric effects near an etched microscopic structure
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