Abstract
The chemical and structural nature of defects responsible for quantum emission in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) remain unknown. Optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) measured from these defects was reported in two recent papers. In one case, the ODMR was tentatively attributed to the negatively charged boron vacancy, V_{mathrm{B}}^ -. Here we show how the key optical and magnetic properties vary with location within the bulk and along edges of h-BN sheets for this and the negatively charged nitrogen vacancy, V_{mathrm{N}}^ -. Sign changes of the axial zero-field interaction parameter D are predicted, as well interchange of singlet and triplet ground states. Based on the latest experimental information, we assign the observed ODMR signal to bulk V_{mathrm{B}}^ -. The other observed ODMR has some features reminiscent of our calculations for V_{mathrm{N}}^ - edge defects.
Highlights
The chemical and structural nature of defects responsible for quantum emission in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) remain unknown
The discovery[1,2,3,4] in 2016 of single-photon emission (SPE) from defects in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has inspired significant experimental and theoretical research in an effort to understand the chemical origin of this emission
Periodic sheets in either 1 or 2 dimensions are used in these investigations, the 1-dimensional structures presenting infinite straight h-BN edges
Summary
The chemical and structural nature of defects responsible for quantum emission in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) remain unknown. Recent advances, reported in two preliminary publications[16,17], depict the observation of room-temperature optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) from h-BN, a phenomenon involving both measurement of ground-state magnetic properties and photoluminescence (PL) on the same defect. This makes it much easier to identify the chemical nature of a colour centre, and suggests possible future applications in quantum information and other technologies. This yielded another of our principle results, that the sign of
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