A CN complex as an alternative to the T center in Si

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Nangoi, J. K., Turiansky, M. E., Van de Walle, C. G.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Nangoi, J. K.
Turiansky, M. E.
Van de Walle, C. G.
author_facet Nangoi, J. K.
Turiansky, M. E.
Van de Walle, C. G.
contents We present a first-principles study of a carbon-nitrogen (CN) impurity complex in silicon as an isoelectronic alternative to the T center [(CCH)$_\mathrm{Si}$]. The latter has been pursued for applications in quantum information science, yet its sensitivity to the presence of hydrogen is still problematic. Our proposed complex has no hydrogen, thereby eliminating this issue. First, we show that the CN complex is stable against decomposition into substitutional and interstitial defects. Next, we show that due to being isoelectronic to the T center, the CN complex has a similar electronic structure, and therefore could be used in similar applications. We assess several low-energy configurations of the CN complex, finding (CN)$_\mathrm{Si}$ to be stable and have the largest Debye-Waller factor. We predict a zero-phonon line (ZPL) of 828 meV (in the telecom S-band) and a radiative lifetime of 4.2 $μ$s, comparable to the T center. Due to the presence of a bound exciton, choice of the exchange-correlation functional and also supercell-size scaling of the ZPL and transition dipole moment require special scrutiny; we rigorously justify our extrapolation schemes that allow computing values in the dilute limit.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_00754
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A CN complex as an alternative to the T center in Si
Nangoi, J. K.
Turiansky, M. E.
Van de Walle, C. G.
Materials Science
We present a first-principles study of a carbon-nitrogen (CN) impurity complex in silicon as an isoelectronic alternative to the T center [(CCH)$_\mathrm{Si}$]. The latter has been pursued for applications in quantum information science, yet its sensitivity to the presence of hydrogen is still problematic. Our proposed complex has no hydrogen, thereby eliminating this issue. First, we show that the CN complex is stable against decomposition into substitutional and interstitial defects. Next, we show that due to being isoelectronic to the T center, the CN complex has a similar electronic structure, and therefore could be used in similar applications. We assess several low-energy configurations of the CN complex, finding (CN)$_\mathrm{Si}$ to be stable and have the largest Debye-Waller factor. We predict a zero-phonon line (ZPL) of 828 meV (in the telecom S-band) and a radiative lifetime of 4.2 $μ$s, comparable to the T center. Due to the presence of a bound exciton, choice of the exchange-correlation functional and also supercell-size scaling of the ZPL and transition dipole moment require special scrutiny; we rigorously justify our extrapolation schemes that allow computing values in the dilute limit.
title A CN complex as an alternative to the T center in Si
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.00754