Optical and Electronic Characteristics of the Silicon X-center

Color centers in silicon have emerged as a promising candidate for quantum memory due to their compatibility with existing CMOS processes and transitions in optical telecom bands (1260-1600 nm) or transitions close to optical telecom bands. In addition, some of these color centers are known to have long electron spin lifetimes allowing them to be promising spin-photon interfaces for quantum transduction [1, 2]. However, some color centers in silicon have been underexplored, including the self-interstitial X-center in silicon [3]. In this presentation, we will discuss different properties of the X-center in silicon measured using photoluminescence and electron spin resonance.

References

[1] Bergeron, L. et al. Silicon-integrated telecommunications photon-spin interface. PRX Quantum 1, 020301 (2020).

[2] Higginbottom, D. B. et al. Memory and transduction prospects for silicon T center devices. PRX Quantum 4, 020308 (2023).

[3] C. Fan, et al., "Photo-physics of Silicon X-center Ensembles with Above Bandgap Excitations," in CLEO 2024, Technical Digest Series (Optica Publishing Group, 2024), paper FTu3I.5.

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the use of UC Santa Barbara facilities at the Institute for Terahertz Science and Technology (ITST) and the MRL for EPR spectroscopy

This material is based upon work supportred by the UCSB Quantum Foundry under NSF DMR-190632, as well as the NSF-NRT QISE under Grant No. 2125924, the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No.  2444110,  NSF QuIC-TAQS under Grant No. 2137984 and the DoD SMART Fellowship