Positron lifetime spectroscopy was used to study native vacancy defects in semi-insulating silicon carbide. The material is shown to contain (i) vacancy clusters consisting of four to five missing atoms and (ii) Si-vacancy-related negatively charged defects. The total open volume bound to the clusters anticorrelates with the electrical resistivity in both as-grown and annealed materials. Our results suggest that Si-vacancy-related complexes electrically compensate the as-grown material, but migrate to increase the size of the clusters during annealing, leading to loss of resistivity. © 2007 The American Physical Society.

Spin defects in silicon carbide have the advantage of exceptional electron spin coherence combined with a near-infrared spin-photon interface, all in a material amenable to modern semiconductor fabrication. Leveraging these advantages, we integrated highly coherent single neutral divacancy spins in commercially available p-i-n structures and fabricated diodes to modulate the local electrical environment of the defects. These devices enable deterministic charge-state control and broad Stark-shift tuning exceeding 850 gigahertz. We show that charge depletion results in a narrowing of the optical linewidths by more than 50-fold, approaching the lifetime limit. These results demonstrate a method for mitigating the ubiquitous problem of spectral diffusion in solid-state emitters by engineering the electrical environment while using classical semiconductor devices to control scalable, spin-based quantum systems.

An outstanding hurdle for defect spin qubits in silicon carbide (SiC) is single-shot readout, a deterministic measurement of the quantum state. Here, we demonstrate single-shot readout of single defects in SiC via spin-to-charge conversion, whereby the defects spin state is mapped onto a long-lived charge state. With this technique, we achieve over 80% readout fidelity without pre- or postselection, resulting in a high signal-to-noise ratio that enables us to measure long spin coherence times. Combined with pulsed dynamical decoupling sequences in an isotopically purified host material, we report single-spin T-2 > 5 seconds, over two orders of magnitude greater than previously reported in this system. The mapping of these coherent spin states onto single charges unlocks both single-shot readout for scalable quantum nodes and opportunities for electrical readout via integration with semiconductor devices.

The geometry and formation energy of substitutional B and Al dopants as well as their complexes with hydrogen have been calculated in 4H-SiC using first-principles methods. Our results show that boron selecting the silicon site and, therefore, getting activated as a shallow acceptor depends on the presence of hydrogen which is promoted into the crystal by boron itself. Without hydrogen, boron would mostly be incorporated at the carbon site. Aluminum does not show this behavior: it always selects the silicon site and is incorporated independently of hydrogen. © 2001 American Institute of Physics.

The diffusion of interstitial atomic hydrogen in 4H-SiC was investigated theoretically, using the local density approximation of density functional theory. We have found that the diffusion barrier in the perfect crystal is ≤0.6 eV. Comparing this value with the calculated zero point vibration energy of interstitial hydrogen indicates that hydrogen diffuses very rapidly in perfect portions of the SiC lattice, until it gets trapped. In p-doped (B, Al) material the dissociation of the hydrogen-acceptor complexes is the limiting step in diffusion, with a calculated dissociation energy of 2.5 and 1.6 eV for B+H and Al+H, respectively. In irradiated material the trapping and detrapping of hydrogen by silicon vacancies determines the effective diffusion barrier, which lies between 4.0 and 5.3 eV depending on the Fermi level in p-type and weakly n-type material.

Hydrogen is a natural contaminant of SiC growth processes, and may influence the doping efficiency. Hydrogen incorporation proportional to that of boron was observed during CVD growth while the amount of hydrogen was two orders of magnitude less than the aluminum concentration. Passivation by complex formation with hydrogen has been proven both for Al and B. The experimentally observed reactivation energy of these complexes differ by 0.9 eV. Our ab initio supercell calculations in 4H-SiC indicate, that in the absence of hydrogen, boron is incorporated as isolated substitutional and prefers the carbon site, while under typical CVD conditions boron is incorporated together with hydrogen (in equal amounts), favoring the silicon site. Therefore, the presence of H is advantageous for the activation of B as a shallow acceptor. In contrast to boron, aluminum is incorporated independently of the presence of hydrogen as isolated substitutional at the silicon site. The calculated difference between the dissociation of the stable dopant plus hydrogen complexes agrees very well with experiments. Vibration frequencies for the dopant complexes have been also calculated.

Experimental investigations showed passivation of the p-type dopants B and Al in 4H-SiC by the formation of B+H and Al+H complexes. The dissociation energies of these complexes differed by 0.9 eV. Ab initio supercell calculations have been performed to investigate the interaction of H with B and Al in hexagonal 4H-SiC. The total energy, geometry and electronic structure of the possible complexes have been determined. Site dependencies have also been investigated. The most stable configurations were found with H at a bond center site next to B at the Si site, and with H at the antibonding site of a carbon atom which is first neighbor to Al at a Si site. Both the BSi+HBC and the AlSi+HAB(C) complexes turned out to be electrically inactive. The different structure of the passivated complexes explains the observed difference in their dissociation energy: the calculated difference of the binding energies of these complexes is 0.9 eV, which agrees well with the experimental finding. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

The origin of the "deep boron related acceptor level" in SIC is subject to a lot of controversy. Based on ENDOR investigations, a B-Si+V-C model was suggested, while PL studies indicated the acceptor on the carbon sublattice. Our former ab initio LDA molecular cluster calculation showed that in the B-Si+V-C complex the carbon vacancy acts as the acceptor. Now, ah initio LDA supercell calculations have been carried out for boron-related complexes to calculate the occupation levels in 4H-SiC. It has been found that the 0/- level for the B-Si+V-C complex lies in the upper half of the gap, therefore it can be disregarded as the origin of the "deep boron-related acceptor level". Investigating other feasible boron-related complexes, B-Si+Si-C appears to be the best candidate.

Colour centres are a promising quantum information platform, but coherence degradation after integration in nanostructures has hindered scalability. Here, the authors show that waveguide-integrated V-Si centres in SiC maintain spin-optical coherences, enabling nuclear high-fidelity spin qubit operations. Optically addressable spin defects in silicon carbide (SiC) are an emerging platform for quantum information processing compatible with nanofabrication processes and device control used by the semiconductor industry. System scalability towards large-scale quantum networks demands integration into nanophotonic structures with efficient spin-photon interfaces. However, degradation of the spin-optical coherence after integration in nanophotonic structures has hindered the potential of most colour centre platforms. Here, we demonstrate the implantation of silicon vacancy centres (V-Si) in SiC without deterioration of their intrinsic spin-optical properties. In particular, we show nearly lifetime-limited photon emission and high spin-coherence times for single defects implanted in bulk as well as in nanophotonic waveguides created by reactive ion etching. Furthermore, we take advantage of the high spin-optical coherences of V-Si centres in waveguides to demonstrate controlled operations on nearby nuclear spin qubits, which is a crucial step towards fault-tolerant quantum information distribution based on cavity quantum electrodynamics.

Using medium- and high-resolution multi-spectra fitting of deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS), minority carrier transient spectroscopy (MCTS), optical O-DLTS and optical-electrical (OE)-MCTS measurements, we show that the EH_6∕7 deep level in 4H-SiC is composed of two strongly overlapping, two electron emission processes with thermal activation energies of 1.49 eV and 1.58 eV for EH₆ and 1.48 eV and 1.66 eV for EH₇. The electron emission peaks of EH₇ completely overlap while the emission peaks of EH₆ occur offset at slightly different temperatures in the spectra. OE-MCTS measurements of the hole capture cross section σ_{p 0}(T) in p-type samples reveal a trap-Auger process, whereby hole capture into the defect occupied by two electrons leads to a recombination event and the ejection of the second electron into the conduction band. Values of the hole and electron capture cross sections σ_n(T) and σ_p(T) differ strongly due to the donor like nature of the deep levels and while all σ_n(T) have a negative temperature dependence, the σ_p(T) appear to be temperature independent. Average values at the DLTS measurement temperature (∼600 K) are σ_{n 2}+(T) ≈ 1 × 10⁻¹⁴ cm², σ_n +(T) ≈ 1 × 10⁻¹⁴ cm², and σ_{p 0}(T) ≈ 9 × 10⁻¹⁸ cm² for EH₆ and σ_{n 2}+(T) ≈ 2 × 10⁻¹⁴ cm², σ_n +(T) ≈ 2 × 10⁻¹⁴ cm², σ_{p 0}(T) ≈ 1 × 10⁻²⁰ cm² for EH₇. Since EH₇ has already been identified as a donor transition of the carbon vacancy, we propose that the EH_6∕7 center in total represents the overlapping first and second donor transitions of the carbon vacancy defects on both inequivalent lattice sites.

Color-center defects in silicon carbide promise opto-electronic quantum applications in several fields, such as computing, sensing, and communication. In order to scale down and combine these functionalities with the existing silicon device platforms, it is crucial to consider SiC integrated optics. In recent years, many examples of SiC photonic platforms have been shown, like photonic crystal cavities, film-on-insulator waveguides, and micro-ring resonators. However, all these examples rely on separating thin films of SiC from substrate wafers. This introduces significant surface roughness, strain, and defects in the material, which greatly affects the homogeneity of the optical properties of color centers. Here, we present and test a method for fabricating monolithic single-crystal integrated-photonic devices in SiC: tuning optical properties via charge carrier concentration. We fabricated monolithic SiC n-i-n and p-i-n junctions where the intrinsic layer acts as waveguide core, and demonstrate the waveguide functionality for these samples. The propagation losses are below 14 dB/cm. These waveguide types allow for addressing color centers over a broad wavelength range with low strain-induced inhomogeneity of the optical-transition frequencies. Furthermore, we expect that our findings open the road to fabricating waveguides and devices based on p-i-n junctions, which will allow for integrated electrostatic and radio frequency control together with high-intensity optical control of defects in silicon carbide.

Color centers in wide-bandgap semiconductors are attractive systems for quantum technologies since they can combine long-coherent electronic spin and bright optical properties. Several suitable centers have been identified, most famously the nitrogen-vacancy defect in diamond. However, integration in communication technology is hindered by the fact that their optical transitions lie outside telecom wavelength bands. Several transition-metal impurities in silicon carbide do emit at and near telecom wavelengths, but knowledge about their spin and optical properties is incomplete. We present all-optical identification and coherent control of molybdenum-impurity spins in silicon carbide with transitions at near-infrared wavelengths. Our results identify spin S= 1/2 for both the electronic ground and excited state, with highly anisotropic spin properties that we apply for implementing optical control of ground-state spin coherence. Our results show optical lifetimes of similar to 60 ns and inhomogeneous spin dephasing times of similar to 0.3 mu S, establishing relevance for quantum spin-photon interfacing.

Isotope engineering of silicon carbide leads to control of nuclear spins associated with single divacancy centres and extended electron spin coherence. Nuclear spins in the solid state are both a cause of decoherence and a valuable resource for spin qubits. In this work, we demonstrate control of isolated(29)Si nuclear spins in silicon carbide (SiC) to create an entangled state between an optically active divacancy spin and a strongly coupled nuclear register. We then show how isotopic engineering of SiC unlocks control of single weakly coupled nuclear spins and present an ab initio method to predict the optimal isotopic fraction that maximizes the number of usable nuclear memories. We bolster these results by reporting high-fidelity electron spin control (F = 99.984(1)%), alongside extended coherence times (Hahn-echoT(2) = 2.3 ms, dynamical decouplingT(2)(DD) > 14.5 ms), and a >40-fold increase in Ramsey spin dephasing time (T-2*) from isotopic purification. Overall, this work underlines the importance of controlling the nuclear environment in solid-state systems and links single photon emitters with nuclear registers in an industrially scalable material.

Humidity influences the tribological performance of the head-disk interface in magnetic data storage devices. In this work we compare the uptake of water of amorphous carbon nitride (a-CN_x) films, widely used as protective overcoats in computer disk drive systems, with fullerene-like carbon nitride (FL-CN_x) and amorphous carbon (a-C) films. Films with thickness in the range 10-300 run were deposited on quartz crystal substrates by reactive DC magnetron sputtering. A quartz crystal microbalance placed in a vacuum chamber was used to measure the water adsorption. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) has been used to correlate water adsorption with film microstructure and surface defects (dangling bonds). Measurements indicate that the amount of adsorbed water is highest for the pure a-C films and that the FL-CN_x films adsorbed less than a-CN_x. EPR data correlate the lower water adsorption on FL-CNx films with a possible lack of dangling bonds on the film surface. To provide additional insight into the atomic structure of defects in the FL-CN_x, a-CNx and a-C compounds, we performed first-principles calculations within the framework of Density Functional Theory. Emphasis was put on the energy cost for formation of vacancy defects and dangling bonds in relaxed systems. Cohesive energy comparison reveals that the energy cost formation for dangling bonds in different configurations is considerably higher in FL-CN_x than for the amorphous films. These simulations thus confirm the experimental results showing that dangling bonds are much less likely in FL-CN_x than in a-CNx and a-C films.

Paramagnetic defects and nuclear spins are often the major sources of decoherence and spin relaxation in solid-state qubits realized by optically addressable point defect spins in semiconductors. It is commonly accepted that a high degree of depletion of nuclear spins can enhance the coherence time by reducing magnetic noise. Here we show that the isotope purification beyond a certain optimal level can become contraproductive when both electron and nuclear spins are present in the vicinity of the qubits, particularly for half-spin systems. Using state-of-the-art numerical tools and considering the silicon-vacancy qubit in various spin environments, we demonstrate that the coupling of the spin-3/2 qubit to a spin bath of spin-1/2 point defects in the lattice can be significantly enhanced by isotope purification. The enhanced coupling shortens the spin-relaxation time that in turn may limit the coherence time of spin qubits. Our results can be generalized to triplet point defect qubits, such as the nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond and the divacancy in silicon carbide.

Paramagnetic defects and nuclear spins are the major sources of magnetic-field-dependent spin relaxation in point-defect quantum bits. The detection of related optical signals has led to the development of advanced relaxometry applications with high spatial resolution. The nearly degenerate quartet ground state of the silicon-vacancy qubit in silicon carbide (SiC) is of special interest in this respect, as it gives rise to relaxation-rate extrema at vanishing magnetic field values and emits in the first near-infrared transmission window of biological tissues, providing an opportunity for the development of sensing applications for medicine and biology. However, the relaxation dynamics of the silicon-vacancy center in SiC have not yet been fully explored. In this paper, we present results from a comprehensive theoretical investigation of the dipolar spin relaxation of the quartet spin states in various local spin environments. We discuss the underlying physics and quantify the magnetic field and spin-bath-dependent relaxation time T1. Using these findings, we demonstrate that the silicon-vacancy qubit in SiC can implement microwave-free low-magnetic-field quantum sensors of great potential.

Divacancy spins implement qubits with outstanding characteristics and capabilities in an industrial semiconductor host. On the other hand, there are still numerous open questions about the physics of these important defects, for instance, spin relaxation has not been thoroughly studied yet. Here, we carry out a theoretical study on environmental spin-induced spin relaxation processes of divacancy qubits in the 4H polytype of silicon carbide (4H-SiC). We reveal all the relevant magnetic field values where the longitudinal spin relaxation time T-1 drops resonantly due to the coupling to either nuclear spins or electron spins. We quantitatively analyze the dependence of the T-1 time on the concentration of point defect spins and the applied magnetic field and provide an analytical expression. We demonstrate that dipolar spin relaxation plays a significant role both in as-grown and ion-implanted samples and it often limits the coherence time of divacancy qubits in 4H-SiC.

The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) LE5 centers were previously observed in electron-irradiated p-type 4H- and 6H-SiC but have not been identified due to lack of experimental data. In this study, two different Si hyperfine (hf) structures of the LE5 centers have been detected and the corresponding hf tensors have been determined. One structure is due to a very anisotropic hf interaction with one Si atom and the other structure to the hf interaction with two neighboring Si atoms in the basal plane. The obtained g values and Si hf constants are in good agreement with calculated parameters reported for antisite pairs in 4H-SiC. Based on the similarity in the spin-Hamiltonian parameters, the LE5 centers may be the antisite pairs in the positive charge state.

High-purity, semi-insulating 6H-SiC substrates grown by high-temperature chemical vapor deposition were studied by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). The carbon vacancy (VC), the carbon vacancy-antisite pair (VCCSi) and the divacancy (VCVSi) were found to be prominent defects. The (+|0) level of VC in 6H-SiC is estimated by photoexcitation EPR (photo-EPR) to be at ~ 1.47 eV above the valence band. The thermal activation energies as determined from the temperature dependence of the resistivity, Ea~0.6-0.7 eV and ~1.0-1.2 eV, were observed for two sets of samples and were suggested to be related to acceptor levels of VC, VCCSi and VCVSi. The annealing behavior of the intrinsic defects and the stability of the SI properties were studied up to 1600°C.

Photoexcitation electron paramagnetic resonance (photo-EPR) was used to determine deep levels related to the carbon vacancy (VC) in 4H-SiC. High-purity free-standing n-type 4H-SiC epilayers with concentration of intrinsic defects (except the photo-insensitive SI1 center) below the detection limit of EPR were irradiated with low-energy (200 keV) electrons to create mainly VC and defects related to the C sublattice. The simultaneous observation of and signals, their relative intensity changes and the absence of other defects in the sample provide a more straight and reliable interpretation of the photo-EPR results. The study suggests that the (+|0) level of VC is located at ~EC–1.77 eV in agreement with previously reported results and its single and double acceptor levels may be at ~ EC–0.8 eV and ~ EC–1.0 eV, respectively.

We present new results from electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies of the EI4 EPR center in 4H- and 6H-SiC. The EPR signal of the EI4 center was found to be drastically enhanced in electron-irradiated high-purity semi-insulating materials after annealing at 700-750°C. Strong EPR signals of the EI4 center with minimal interferences from other radiation-induced defects in irradiated high-purity semiinsulating materials allowed our more detailed study of the hyperfine (hf) structures. An additional large-splitting 29Si hf structure and 13C hf lines of the EI4 defect were observed. Comparing the data on the defect formation, the hf interactions and the annealing behavior obtained from EPR experiments and from ab initio supercell calculations of different carbon-vacancy related complexes, we suggest a complex between a carbon vacancy-carbon antisite and a carbon vacancy at the third neighbor site of the antisite in the neutral charge state, (VC-CSiVC)0, as a new defect model for the EI4 center.

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) was used to study defects in n-type 3C-SiC films irradiated by 3-MeV electrons at room temperature with a dose of 2x10(18) cm(-2). After electron irradiation, two new EPR spectra with an effective spin S = 1, labeled L5 and L6, were observed. The L5 center has C-3v symmetry with g = 2.004 and a fine-structure parameter D = 436.5 x 10(-4) cm(-1). The L5 spectrum was only detected under light illumination and it could not be detected after annealing at similar to 550 C. The principal z-axis of the D tensor is parallel to the < 111 >-directions, indicating the location of spins along the Si-C bonds. Judging from the symmetry and the fact that the signal was detected under illumination in n-type material, the L5 center may be related to the divacancy in the neutral charge state. The L6 center has a C-2v-symmetry with an isotropic g-value of g=2.003 and the fine structure parameters D=547.7 x 10(-4) cm-1 and E=56.2 x 10(-4) cm(-1). The L6 center disappeared after annealing at a rather low temperature (similar to 200 degrees C), which is substantially lower than the known annealing temperatures for vacancy-related defects in 3C-SiC. This highly mobile defect may be related to carbon interstitials.

We present the results of our recent electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies of the EI4 EPR centre in electron-irradiated high-purity semi-insulating 6H SiC. Higher signal intensities and better resolution compared with previous studies have enabled a more detailed study of the hyperfine (hf) structure. Based on the observed hf structure due to the interaction with Si and C neighbours, the effective spin S = 1, the C-1h-symmetry and the annealing behaviour, we suggest a carbon vacancy-carbon antisite complex in the neutral charge state, VCVCCSi0, with the vacancies and the antisite in the basal plane, as a new defect model for the centre.

Deep levels introduced by low-energy (200 keV) electron irradiation in n-type 4H-SiC epitaxial layers grown by chemical vapour deposition were studied by deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and photoexcitation electron paramagnetic resonance (photo-EPR). After irradiation, several DLTS levels, EH1, EH3, Z(1/2), EH5 and EH6/7, often reported in irradiated 4H-SiC, were observed. In irradiated freestanding films from the same wafer, the EPR signals of the carbon vacancy in the positive and negative charge states, V-C(+) and V-C(-), respectively, can be observed simultaneously under illumination with light of certain photon energies. Comparing the ionization energies obtained from DLTS and photo-EPR, we suggest that the EH6/7 (at similar to E-C - 1.6 eV) and EH5 (at similar to E-C - 1.0 eV) electron traps may be related to the single donor (+ vertical bar 0) and the double acceptor (1- vertical bar 2-) level of V-C, respectively. Judging from the relative intensity of the DLTS signals, the EH6/7 level may also be contributed to by other unidentified defects.

The elimination of defects from SiC has facilitated its move to the forefront of the optoelectronics and power-electronics industries(1). Nonetheless, because certain SiC defects have electronic states with sharp optical and spin transitions, they are increasingly recognized as a platform for quantum information and nanoscale sensing(2-16). Here, we show that individual electron spins in high-purity monocrystalline 4H-SiC can be isolated and coherently controlled. Bound to neutral divacancy defects(2,3), these states exhibit exceptionally long ensemble Hahn-echo spin coherence times, exceeding 1 ms. Coherent control of single spins in a material amenable to advanced growth and microfabrication techniques is an exciting route towards wafer-scale quantum technologies.

The divacancies in SiC are a family of paramagnetic defects that show promise for quantum communication technologies due to their long-lived electron spin coherence and their optical addressability at near-telecom wavelengths. Nonetheless, a high-fidelity spin-photon interface, which is a crucial prerequisite for such technologies, has not yet been demonstrated. Here, we demonstrate that such an interface exists in isolated divacancies in epitaxial films of 3C-SiC and 4H-SiC. Our data show that divacancies in 4H-SiC have minimal undesirable spin mixing, and that the optical linewidths in our current sample are already similar to those of recent remote entanglement demonstrations in other systems. Moreover, we find that 3C-SiC divacancies have a millisecond Hahn-echo spin coherence time, which is among the longest measured in a naturally isotopic solid. The presence of defects with these properties in a commercial semiconductor that can be heteroepitaxially grown as a thin film on Si shows promise for future quantum networks based on SiC defects.

Spin-active quantum emitters have emerged as a leading platform for quantum technologies. However, one of their major limitations is the large spread in optical emission frequencies, which typically extends over tens of GHz. Here, we investigate single V4+ vanadium centres in 4H-SiC, which feature telecom-wavelength emission and a coherent S = 1/2 spin state. We perform spectroscopy on single emitters and report the observation of spin-dependent optical transitions, a key requirement for spin-photon interfaces. By engineering the isotopic composition of the SiC matrix, we reduce the inhomogeneous spectral distribution of different emitters down to 100 MHz, significantly smaller than any other single quantum emitter. Additionally, we tailor the dopant concentration to stabilise the telecom-wavelength V4+ charge state, thereby extending its lifetime by at least two orders of magnitude. These results bolster the prospects for single V emitters in SiC as material nodes in scalable telecom quantum networks. Several solid-state defect platforms have been proposed for application as a spin-photon interface in quantum communication networks. Here the authors report spin-selective optical transitions and narrow inhomogeneous spectral distribution of V centers in isotopically-enriched SiC emitting in the telecom O-band.

Divacancy in its neutral charge state () in 4H silicon carbide (SiC) is a leading quantum bit (qubit) contender. Owing to the lattice structure of 4H SiC, four different VCVSi configurations can be formed. The ground and the optically accessible excited states of configurations exhibit a high-spin state, and the corresponding optical transition energies are around ≈1.1eV falling in the near-infrared wavelength region. Recently, photoluminescence (PL) quenching has been experimentally observed for all configurations in 4H SiC at cryogenic temperatures. It has been shown that is converted to and it remains in this shelving dark state at cryogenic temperatures until photoexcitation with the threshold energies or above is applied to convert back to . In this study, we demonstrate both in experiments and theory that the threshold energy for reionization is temperature dependent. We carry out density functional theory (DFT) calculations in order to investigate the temperature dependent reionization spectrum, i.e., the spectrum of the process. We find that simultaneous optical reionization and qubit manipulation can be carried out at room temperature with photoexcitation at the typical excitation wavelength used for readout of the divacancy qubits in 4H SiC, in agreement with our experimental data. We also provide the analysis of the PL spectrum of , characteristic for each configuration in 4H SiC, using the Huang-Rhys theory, and find that one configuration in 4H SiC stands out in terms of the strength of coherent emission among the four configurations.

Study and design of magneto-optically active single point defects in semiconductors are rapidly growing fields due to their potential in quantum bit (qubit) and single photon emitter applications. Detailed understanding of the properties of candidate defects is essential for these applications, and requires the identification of the defects microscopic configuration and electronic structure. In multicomponent semiconductors point defects often exhibit several non-equivalent configurations of similar but different characteristics. The most relevant example of such point defect is the divacancy in silicon carbide, where some of the non-equivalent configurations implement room temperature qubits. Here, we identify four different configurations of the divacancy in 4H-SiC via the comparison of experimental measurements and results of first-principle calculations. In order to accomplish this challenging task, we carry out an exhaustive numerical accuracy investigation of zero-phonon line and hyperfine coupling parameter calculations. Based on these results, we discuss the possibility of systematic quantum bit search.

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Point defects in semiconductors are relevant for use in quantum technologies as room temperature qubits and single photon emitters. Among suggested defects for these applications are the negatively charged silicon vacancy and the neutral divacancy in SiC. The possible nonequivalent configurations of these defects have been identified in 4H-SiC, but for 6H-SiC, the work is still in progress. In this paper, we identify the different configurations of the silicon vacancy and the divacancy defects to each of the V1-V3 and the QL1-QL6 color centers in 6H-SiC, respectively. We accomplish this by comparing the results from ab initio calculations with experimental measurements for the zero-phonon line, hyperfine tensor, and zero-field splitting. Published under license by AIP Publishing.

Neutrally charged divacancies in silicon carbide (SiC) are paramagnetic color centers whose long coherence times and near-telecom operating wavelengths make them promising for scalable quantum communication technologies compatible with existing fiber optic networks. However, local strain inhomogeneity can randomly perturb their optical transition frequencies, which degrades the indistinguishability of photons emitted from separate defects and hinders their coupling to optical cavities. Here, we show that electric fields can be used to tune the optical transition frequencies of single neutral divacancy defects in 4H-SiC over a range of several GHz via the DC Stark effect. The same technique can also control the charge state of the defect on microsecond timescales, which we use to stabilize unstable or non-neutral divacancies into their neutral charge state. Using fluorescence-based charge state detection, we show that both 975 nm and 1130 nm excitation can prepare their neutral charge state with near unity efficiency. (C) 2017 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Ab initio calculations (LDA and MCSF) have been carried out for vacancies (V-Si and V-C) and interstitial H, as well as for V+H complexes in 3C SiC. Relative stability of different charge-states/configurations and occupation levels were determined in supercells with plane wave basis sets while vibration frequencies and spin distributions were calculated in clusters with localized basis functions. Both types of vacancies show amphoteric electrical activity. In equilibrium, atomic He is at the AB(C), and H is at the T-Si site, while H-0 does not appear to be stable with respect to them, so H can also act both as a deep donor and an electron trap. Hydrogen can passivate the V-Si acceptor but not the V-C donor. Conditions for the formation of the possible V+H centers and their properties are given and used to discuss experimental information (or the lack of them) about H in SiC.

We show that in the SiC/SiO2 system the interface states in the lower half of the gap are the consequence of the behavior of oxygen in SiC. Investigating the elemental steps of oxidation on a simple model by means of ab initio density functional calculations we find that, in course of the oxidation, carbon-vacancy (V-C) - oxygen complexes constantly arise. The V-C+O complexes have donor states around E-V+0.8 eV. Their presence gives rise to a thin transition layer which is not SiO2 but an oxygen contaminated Si-rich interface layer producing the aforementioned gap states.

Bulk GaN grown by halide vapor phase epitaxy and irradiated by 2 MeV electrons at a fluence of 5×10¹⁶ cm^-2 were studied by deep level transient spectroscopy. After irradiation, two new peaks labelled D0 (E_C – 0.18 eV) and D1 (E_C – 0.13 eV) are observed. From isochronal annealing studies in the temperature range of 350 - 600 K, it is observed that peak D0 is completely annealed out already at 550 K while the broad peak D1 has a more complex annealing behavior. The concentration of D1 is decreasing during annealing and its peak position is shifted to higher temperatures, until a relatively stable peak labelled D2 (E_C – 0.24 eV) is formed. From an isothermal annealing study of D2, it is concluded that the annealing process can be described by a first order annealing process with an activation energy and prefactor of 1.2 eV and 6.6 × 10⁵ s^-1, respectively. From the large pre-factor it is concluded that the annihilation of D2 is governed by a long-range migration process. From its annealing behavior, it is suggested that trap D2 may be related to the VGa.

By minority carrier transient spectroscopy on as-grown n-type bulk GaN produced by halide vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) one hole trap labelled H1 (EV + 0.34 eV) has been detected. After 2 MeV-energy electron irradiation, the concentration of H1 increases and at fluences higher than 5×10¹⁴ cm^-2, a second hole trap labelled H2 is observed. Simultaneously, the concentration of two electron traps, labelled T1 (E_C - 0.12 eV) and T2 (E_C - 0.23 eV) increases. By studying the increase of the concentration versus electron irradiation fluences, the introduction rate of T1 and T2 using 2 MeV-energy electrons was determined to 7X10^-3 cm^-1 and 0.9 cm^-1, respectively. Due to the low introduction rate of T1 and the low threading dislocation density in the HVPE bulk GaN material, it is suggested that the defect is associated with a primary defect decorating extended structural defects. The high introduction rate of the trap H1 suggests that the H1 defect is associated with a primary intrinsic defect or a complex.

Using deep level transient spectroscopy, deep levels and capture cross sections of defects introduced by high-fluence electron irradiation of thick halide vapour phase epitaxy grown GaN has been studied. After irradiation with 2 MeV electrons to a high-fluence of 5×10¹⁶ cm-2, four deep trap levels, labelled T1 (EC – 0.13 eV), T2 (EC – 0.18 eV), T3 (EC – 0.26 eV) T4 and a broad band of peaks consisting of at least two levels could be observed. These defects, except T1 and T3, were annealed out after annealing at 650 K for 2 hours. The capture cross section is found to be temperature independent for T2 and T3, while T1 shows an decresing capture cross section with increasing temperature, suggesting that electron capturing to this deep level is governed by a cascade capturing process.

Electron-irradiation-induced defects in GaN grown by halide vapor phase epitaxy is studied by deep level transient spectroscopy in which the capture cross section and its temperature dependence of the deep levels was determined by the filling pulse method. Before irradiation, one trap level, labelled ET4 (EC – 0.244 eV), was observed. After performing electron irradiation with an energy of 2 MeV at a fluence of 5 × 1016 cm-2, four deep trap levels, labelled ET1 (EC – 0.178 eV), ET2 (EC – 0.181 eV), ET3 (EC – 0.256 eV) and ET5 appeared. After annealing at 650K for 2 hours, only two irradiation induced deep levels, ET1 and ET3, were observed. By varying the rate windows, the temperature dependence of the capture cross section of the two deep levels ET1 and ET2 and ET3 was studied. The temperature behavior of ET2 and ET3 capture cross section is independent on temperature whereas the capture cross section of the deep level ET1 depends strongly on the temperature. It is suggested that electron capturing is govern by a multiphonon process to the level ET1.

Defects induced by electron irradiation in thick free-standing GaN layers grown by halide vapor phase epitaxy were studied by deep level transient spectroscopy. In as-grown materials, six electron traps, labeled D2 (E-C-0.24 eV), D3 (E-C-0.60 eV), D4 (E-C-0.69 eV), D5 (E-C-0.96 eV), D7 (E-C-1.19 eV), and D8, were observed. After 2MeV electron irradiation at a fluence of 1 x 10(14) cm(-2), three deep electron traps, labeled D1 (E-C-0.12 eV), D5I (E-C-0.89 eV), and D6 (E-C-1.14 eV), were detected. The trap D1 has previously been reported and considered as being related to the nitrogen vacancy. From the annealing behavior and a high introduction rate, the D5I and D6 centers are suggested to be related to primary intrinsic defects.

Wide-bandgap semiconductors such as SiC, III-V nitrides and related compounds are attracting rapidly increasing attention due to their other, very interesting, physical properties which are often superior in many ways to those of conventional semiconductors. Steady improvements in crystal quality, and improved knowledge concerning their physical properties, are leading to rapid developments in high-power, high-temperature, high-frequency electronics and blue-light emitters. This book comprises the proceedings of the fourth European Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials, held on the 1 to 5 September 2002 in Link3œping, Sweden. This conference series continued its tradition of being the main forum for presenting results, and discussing progress, among university and industry researchers who are active in the fields of SiC and related materials. These proceedings therefore document the latest experimental and theoretical understanding of the growth of bulk and epitaxial layers, the properties of the resultant material, the development of suitable processes and of electronic devices that can exploit and benefit best from the outstanding physical properties offered by wide-bandgap materials

The low residual doping of HTCVD grown semi-insulating SiC crystals enables the use of decreased concentrations of compensating deep levels, thereby providing new material solutions for microwave devices. Depending on the growth conditions, high resistivity crystals with either a dominating Si-vacancy absorption or with an EPR signature of intrinsic defects such as the C-vacancy and the Si-antisite are obtained. The electrical properties of substrates with resistivities above 10(11) Omega-cm are shown to be stable upon annealing during SiC epitaxy conditions. Micropipe closing at the initial growth stage enables the demonstration of low defect density off- and on-axis 2 2-inch semi-insulating 4H SiC substrates with micropipe densities down to 1.2 cm(-2).

The epitaxial growth of SiC is investigated in a CVD process based on a vertical hot-wall, or "chimney", reactor geometry. Carried out at increased temperatures (1650 to 1850 degreesC) and concentrations of reactants, the growth process enables epitaxial rates ranging from 10 to 50 mum/h. The growth rate is shown to be influenced by two competing processes: the supply of growth species in the presence of homogeneous gas-phase nucleation, and, the etching effect of the hydrogen carrier gas. The quality of thick (20 to 100 mum) low-doped 4H-SiC epitaxial layers grown at rates ranging between 10 and 25 mum/h are discussed in terms of thickness uniformity, surface morphology and purity. The feasibility of high voltage Schottky rectifiers (V-BR from 2 to similar to3.8 kV) on as-grown chimney CVD epilayers is reported. In a second part, recent developments of the High Temperature Chemical Vapor Deposition (HTCVD) technique for SiC crystal growth are described. Using pure gases (SiH4 and C2H4) as source material and growth temperatures of 2100-2300 degreesC, this technique enables at present growth rates ranging from 0.4 to 0.8 mm/h. 6H and 4H-SiC crystals of thickness up to 7 mm and diameters up to 40 mm have been grown. We report micropipe densities of similar to 80 cm(-2) over areas of 0.5 cm(2) in 35 mm diameter 4H-SiC wafers sliced from HTCVD grown crystals. Undoped wafer demonstrators exhibit semi-insulating behavior with a bulk resistivity higher than 7.10(9) Omega cm at room temperature.

Exciton recombination bands in homoepitaxial AIN layers are strongly dependent on the presence of hydrogen. By thermal treatment under hydrogen-free and hydrogen-rich ambient, respectively, several sharp bound exciton lines are modulated in intensity reversibly. In contrast, the exciton bound at the neutral donor silicon remains unaffected. The mechanism causing these effects is most probably hydrogen in-and out-diffusion into the AIN sample. The main factor determining hydrogenation of AIN layers is found to be molecular H-2 in contrast to NH3. We find hints that carbon incorporation into AIN may be closely related with that of hydrogen. Besides photoluminescence spectra of exciton bands, our model is supported by theoretical reports and comparison to the case of hydrogen in GaN.

Calculations predict the carbon antisite to be the most abundant intrinsic defect in silicon carbide in a wide range of doping. The isolated carbon antisite is, however, optically and electronically inactive, therefore, difficult to observe by usual experimental techniques. However, CSi can trap mobile impurities forming electrically active complexes. We will show by ab initio supercell calculations that the hydrogen interstitial is trapped by the carbon antisite forming an electrically active defect which might be detectable by different spectroscopic techniques. The key to activate C Si by hydrogen is to introduce sufficient amount of hydrogen in the SiC samples and to avoid formation of vacancies or boron-hydrogen complexes. We have found that the concentration of CSi+H complex is above 10 13 cm-3 in highly doped p-type chemical vapor deposited (CVD) layers as well as in highly doped p-type and n-type SiC samples annealed in high temperature high pressure (HTHP) H2 gas. The concentration of CSi+H complex can be enhanced in Al-doped CVD and HTHP SiC samples by applying the appropriate post-annealing temperature. The CSi+H complex might be also detected in Al-doped SiC samples irradiated at room temperature by low energy H2+ ions. ©2005 The American Physical Society.

Ab initio supercell calculations have been carried out to investigate the complexes of boron acceptors with carbon self-interstitials in cubic silicon carbide. Based on the calculated binding energies, the complex formation of carbon interstitials with shallow boron acceptor and boron interstitial is energetically favored in silicon carbide. These bistable boron defects possess deep, negative- U occupation levels in the band gap. The theoretical results can explain the observed activation rates in carbon-boron coimplantation experiments. © 2005 American Institute of Physics.