Confocal photoluminescence characterization of silicon-vacancy color centers in 4H-SiC fabricated by a femtosecond laser

Abstract Silicon-vacancy (VSi) centers in silicon carbide (SiC) are expected to serve as solid qubits, which can be used in quantum computing and sensing. As a new controllable color center fabrication method, femtosecond (fs) laser writing has been gradually applied in the preparation of VSi in SiC. In this study, 4H-SiC was directly written by an fs laser and characterized at 293 K by atomic force microscopy, confocal photoluminescence (PL), and Raman spectroscopy. PL signals of VSi were found and analyzed using 785 nm laser excitation by means of depth profiling and two-dimensional mapping. The influence of machining parameters on the VSi formation was analyzed, and the three-dimensional distribution of VSi defects in the fs laser writing of 4H-SiC was established.