Charge State Tuning of Spin Defects in Hexagonal Boron Nitride
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.
Authors
- B. Lassagne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-0659-2163)
- A. Claverie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2211-4618)
- James H. Edgar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0918-5964)
- Takashi Taniguchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1467-3105)
- Stéphane Roux (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4885-6732)
- Kenji Watanabe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3701-8119)
- X. Marie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7772-2517)
- V. Jacques (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5471-6061)
- Adrien Delpoux
- David Lagarde
- J. Grisolia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5726-9703)
- Tristan Clua-Provost
- G. Seine (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8753-2599)
- J. Fraunié (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6785-1940)
- Cédric Robert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3722-3705)
- Zhongfei Mu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6666-1663)
- Thomas Poirier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5258-9160)
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (FR)
- Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées (FR)
- Kansas State University (US)
- Université de Montpellier (FR)
- National Institute for Materials Science (JP)
- Laboratoire Charles Coulomb (FR)
- Centre d’Élaboration de Matériaux et d’Études Structurales (FR)
- Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie des Nano-Objets (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nano Letters
- Published
- 2025-03-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c00654
- Citations
- 9
- Primary Topic
- Graphene research and applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.66
Funders
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- Office of Nuclear Energy
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
- Japan Science and Technology Agency
- Office of Naval Research
- Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology