Impact of defect dynamics on the formation of quantum emitters in hexagonal boron nitride

Impact of defect dynamics on the formation of quantum emitters in hexagonal boron nitride | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Impact of defect dynamics on the formation of quantum emitters in hexagonal boron nitride BISWANATH CHAKRABORTY, Pragya Joshi, Sakal Singla, Gabriel Morales, and 6 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5579262/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Isolated point defects in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) are promising candidates for single-photon emitters (SPEs) for quantum technologies. Despite extensive experimental and theoretical studies in recent years, determining unambiguously the microscopic nature of such emitters and how they form in hBN has been challenging. In this work, we combine optical and electron spectroscopy to reveal how nanoscale carbon migration leads to SPEs in hBN. We find that focused electron-beam irradiation of hBN introduces tightly confined carbon clusters at the irradiation epicenter. Subsequent thermal annealing drives the migration of carbon from such an epicenter, leading to the systematic formation of SPEs a few microns away. First-principles calculations reveal that this carbon migration can be described as a combined process of substitutional carbon and boron vacancy hopping across atomic sites. Our findings provide new insights on the formation process of quantum emitters in hBN, opening new possibilities for their creation and control. Physical sciences/Physics/Condensed-matter physics/Semiconductors/Two-dimensional materials Physical sciences/Materials science/Nanoscale materials/Two-dimensional materials hBN carbon defect migration single-photon emitters Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupportingInformationImpactofdefectdynamicsontheformationofquantumemittersinhexagonalboronnitride.pdf Impact of defect dynamics on the formation of quantum emitters in hexagonal boron nitride Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5579262","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":399442067,"identity":"58574a7c-5a0b-4f41-adc0-4a25831e82f3","order_by":0,"name":"BISWANATH 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