Spin Polarization, Electron-Phonon Coupling, and Zero-Phonon Line of the NV Center in 3C-SiC

The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in 3C-SiC, the analog of the NV center in diamond, has recently emerged as a solid-state qubit with competitive properties and significant technological advantages. Combining first-principles calculations and magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we provide thorough insight into its magneto-optical properties. By applying resonantly excited electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, we identified the zerophonon absorption line of the (3)A(2) -> E-3 transition at 1289 nm (within the telecom 0-band) and measured its phonon sideband, the analysis of which reveals a Huang-Rhys factor of S = 2.85 and a Debye-Waller factor of 5.8%. The low-temperature spin-lattice relaxation time was found to be exceptionally long (T-1 = 17 s at 4 K). All these properties make NV in 3C-SiC a strong competitor for qubit applications. In addition, the strong variation of the zero- field splitting in the range 4-380 K allows its application for nanoscale thermal sensing.

Automated summary

The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in 3C-SiC, akin to the NV center in diamond, has competitive properties and significant technological advantages for qubit applications. Its strong variation of the zero-field splitting also allows for nanoscale thermal sensing applications.