Self-Assembled Telecom Color Centers in Silicon and Their Growth Environment

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marböck, Jacqueline, Navarrete, Enrique Prado, Karaman, Merve, Lang, Oliver E., Fromherz, Thomas, Liedke, Maciej O., Wagner, Andreas, Brehm, Moritz, Aberl, Johannes
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866917391457320960
author Marböck, Jacqueline
Navarrete, Enrique Prado
Karaman, Merve
Lang, Oliver E.
Fromherz, Thomas
Liedke, Maciej O.
Wagner, Andreas
Brehm, Moritz
Aberl, Johannes
author_facet Marböck, Jacqueline
Navarrete, Enrique Prado
Karaman, Merve
Lang, Oliver E.
Fromherz, Thomas
Liedke, Maciej O.
Wagner, Andreas
Brehm, Moritz
Aberl, Johannes
contents Artificial atoms based on color centers in silicon (SiCCs) have recently emerged as promising candidates for highly integrable and scalable key components in photonic quantum technology, including telecom single-photon sources and spin memory devices. A novel all-epitaxial fabrication technique for SiCCs, based on ultra-low-temperature (ULT) molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), addresses limitations of conventional fabrication via ion implantation, such as vertical ion straggle and collateral crystal lattice damage. This method solely relies on self-assembly of SiCCs during kinetically-limited growth of (carbon-doped) Si(:C) at ULTs <~350°C. The latter requires an extraordinary pristine growth environment to prevent unintended defect formation caused by the incorporation of impurities from the background vapor; however, so far, no study has specifically addressed how exactly the vacuum conditions during epitaxy influence SiCC formation, their optical properties, and the quality of the surrounding crystal matrix. Here, we investigate the impact of the growth pressure and the substrate temperature on the self-assembly and photoluminescence (PL) properties of important SiCCs, such as W, G, G', and T centers. Further, we use PL and Doppler broadening variable energy positron annihilation spectroscopy to emphasize the role of the growth pressure in suppressing the luminescence background, which is crucial for advancing quantum photonics applications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_06766
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Self-Assembled Telecom Color Centers in Silicon and Their Growth Environment
Marböck, Jacqueline
Navarrete, Enrique Prado
Karaman, Merve
Lang, Oliver E.
Fromherz, Thomas
Liedke, Maciej O.
Wagner, Andreas
Brehm, Moritz
Aberl, Johannes
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Optics
Artificial atoms based on color centers in silicon (SiCCs) have recently emerged as promising candidates for highly integrable and scalable key components in photonic quantum technology, including telecom single-photon sources and spin memory devices. A novel all-epitaxial fabrication technique for SiCCs, based on ultra-low-temperature (ULT) molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), addresses limitations of conventional fabrication via ion implantation, such as vertical ion straggle and collateral crystal lattice damage. This method solely relies on self-assembly of SiCCs during kinetically-limited growth of (carbon-doped) Si(:C) at ULTs <~350°C. The latter requires an extraordinary pristine growth environment to prevent unintended defect formation caused by the incorporation of impurities from the background vapor; however, so far, no study has specifically addressed how exactly the vacuum conditions during epitaxy influence SiCC formation, their optical properties, and the quality of the surrounding crystal matrix. Here, we investigate the impact of the growth pressure and the substrate temperature on the self-assembly and photoluminescence (PL) properties of important SiCCs, such as W, G, G', and T centers. Further, we use PL and Doppler broadening variable energy positron annihilation spectroscopy to emphasize the role of the growth pressure in suppressing the luminescence background, which is crucial for advancing quantum photonics applications.
title Self-Assembled Telecom Color Centers in Silicon and Their Growth Environment
topic Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.06766