Abstract
We report the enhancement of the optical emission between 850 and 1400 nm of an ensemble of silicon mono-vacancies (VSi), silicon and carbon divacancies (VCVSi), and nitrogen vacancies (NCVSi) in an n-type 4H-SiC array of micropillars. The micropillars have a length of ca. 4.5 μm and a diameter of ca. 740 nm, and were implanted with H+ ions to produce an ensemble of color centers at a depth of approximately 2 μm. The samples were in part annealed at different temperatures (750 and 900 °C) to selectively produce distinct color centers. For all these color centers we saw an enhancement of the photostable fluorescence emission of at least a factor of 6 using micro-photoluminescence systems. Using custom confocal microscopy setups, we characterized the emission of VSi measuring an enhancement by up to a factor of 20, and of NCVSi with an enhancement up to a factor of 7. The experimental results are supported by finite element method simulations. Our study provides the pathway for device design and fabrication with an integrated ultra-bright ensemble of VSi and NCVSi for in vivo imaging and sensing in the infrared.
Highlights
Silicon carbide (SiC) is an established material for many electronic devices and has been considered for photonics applications recently
Typical confocal images of micropillars in the different samples are shown in Figure 5 when excited at 730 nm, with a focal spot diameter of ca. 429 nm
The confocal microscope can perform up to 200 × 200 μm2 image scans, while in Figure 5 we show images of ca. 20 × 20 micropillars corresponding to about 100 × 100 μm
Summary
Silicon carbide (SiC) is an established material for many electronic devices and has been considered for photonics applications recently. As most of the emitters with spin properties in SiC are in the near-infrared, there is a need to improve the spontaneous emission rate for room-temperature applications such as magnetic sensing and SPSs. For all the above applications, the fluorescence emission enhancement of the color centers is a crucial issue for room-temperature applications, for the VSi and the nitrogen vacancy (NCVSi) [36].
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