Correlating dynamic strain and photoluminescence of solid-state defects with stroboscopic x-ray diffraction microscopy

S. J. Whiteley, F. J. Heremans, G. Wolfowicz, D. D. Awschalom and M. V. Holt ()
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S. J. Whiteley: University of Chicago
F. J. Heremans: University of Chicago
G. Wolfowicz: University of Chicago
D. D. Awschalom: University of Chicago
M. V. Holt: Argonne National Laboratory

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract Control of local lattice perturbations near optically-active defects in semiconductors is a key step to harnessing the potential of solid-state qubits for quantum information science and nanoscale sensing. We report the development of a stroboscopic scanning X-ray diffraction microscopy approach for real-space imaging of dynamic strain used in correlation with microscopic photoluminescence measurements. We demonstrate this technique in 4H-SiC, which hosts long-lifetime room temperature vacancy spin defects. Using nano-focused X-ray photon pulses synchronized to a surface acoustic wave launcher, we achieve an effective time resolution of ~100 ps at a 25 nm spatial resolution to map micro-radian dynamic lattice curvatures. The acoustically induced lattice distortions near an engineered scattering structure are correlated with enhanced photoluminescence responses of optically-active SiC quantum defects driven by local piezoelectric effects. These results demonstrate a unique route for directly imaging local strain in nanomechanical structures and quantifying dynamic structure-function relationships in materials under realistic operating conditions.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11365-9

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