Charge State Tuning of Spin Defects in Hexagonal Boron Nitride
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Boron vacancies in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) are among the most extensively studied optically active spin defects in van der Waals crystals, due to their promising potential to develop two-dimensional (2D) quantum sensors. In this letter, we demonstrate the tunability of the charge state of boron vacancies in ultrathin hBN layers, revealing a transition from the optically active singly negatively charged state to the optically inactive doubly negatively charged state when sandwiched between graphene electrodes. Notably, there is a photoluminescence quenching of a few percent upon the application of a bias voltage between the electrodes. Our findings emphasize the critical importance of considering the charge state of optically active defects in 2D materials, while also showing that the negatively charged boron vacancy remains robust against external perpendicular electric fields. This stability makes it a promising candidate for integration into various van der Waals heterostructures.
Source: Nano Letters
Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie des Nano-Objets, Université de Toulouse, Université de Montpellier, Laboratoire Charles Coulomb, Centre d’Élaboration de Matériaux et d’Études Structurales, National Institute for Materials Science, Kansas State University
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: U.S. Department of Energy, Equipex, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Région Occitanie Pyrénées-Méditerranée, Office of Nuclear Energy, Idaho Operations Office, U.S. Department of Energy, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Office of Naval Research, Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology
Awards: Two-dimensional magnetic materials, G2442584775, G2659019386, G2842134935, Advanced spintronic materials, G3842968833, G4091144171, G4162329948, G4720003262, G4806815962, G6718509927, G6803667113, G7879866177, Science et Ingénierie à l'Echelle Nano, Atomically-thin quantum sensing foil, G8876996369, G898758523
OpenAlex ID: W4408892482