Computationally Driven Discovery of T Center-like Quantum Defects in Silicon.

Quantum technologies would benefit from the development of high-performance quantum defects acting as single-photon emitters or spin-photon interfaces. Finding such a quantum defect in silicon is especially appealing in view of its favorable spin bath and high processability. While some color centers in silicon have been emerging in quantum applications, there remains a need to search for and develop new high-performance quantum emitters. By searching a high-throughput computational database of more than 22,000 charged complex defects in silicon, we identify a series of defects formed by a group III element combined with carbon ((A-C)Si with A = B, Al, Ga, In, Tl) and substituting on a silicon site. These defects are analogous structurally, electronically, and chemically to the well-known T center in silicon ((C-C-H)Si), and their optical properties are mainly driven by an unpaired electron on the carbon p orbital. They all emit in the telecom, and some of these color centers show improved properties compared to the T center in terms of computed radiative lifetime, emission efficiency, or smaller optical linewidth. The kinetic barrier computations and previous experimental evidence show that these T center-like defects can be formed through the capture of a diffusing carbon by a substitutional group III atom. We also show that the synthesis of hydrogenated T center-like defects followed by a dehydrogenation annealing step could facilitate the formation of these defects. Our work motivates further studies on the synthesis and control of this new family of quantum defects and demonstrates the use of high-throughput computational screening to discover new color center candidates.

Indistinguishable photons from an artificial atom in silicon photonics.

Silicon is the ideal material for building electronic and photonic circuits at scale. Integrated photonic quantum technologies in silicon offer a promising path to scaling by leveraging advanced semiconductor manufacturing and integration capabilities. However, the lack of deterministic quantum light sources and strong photon-photon interactions in silicon poses a challenge to scalability. In this work, we demonstrate an indistinguishable photon source in silicon photonics based on an artificial atom. We show that a G center in a silicon waveguide can generate high-purity telecom-band single photons. We perform high-resolution spectroscopy and time-delayed two-photon interference to demonstrate the indistinguishability of single photons emitted from a G center in a silicon waveguide. Our results show that artificial atoms in silicon photonics can source single photons suitable for photonic quantum networks and processors.

The Defects Genome of Janus Transition Metal Dichalcogenides.

2D Janus Transition Metal Dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted much interest due to their exciting quantum properties arising from their unique two-faced structure, broken-mirror symmetry, and consequent colossal polarization field within the monolayer. While efforts are made to achieve high-quality Janus monolayers, the existing methods rely on highly energetic processes that introduce unwanted grain-boundary and point defects with still unexplored effects on the material's structural and excitonic properties Through high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (HRSTEM), density functional theory (DFT), and optical spectroscopy measurements; this work introduces the most encountered and energetically stable point defects. It establishes their impact on the material's optical properties. HRSTEM studies show that the most energetically stable point defects are single (VS and VSe) and double chalcogen vacancy (VS -VSe), interstitial defects (Mi), and metal impurities (MW) and establish their structural characteristics. DFT further establishes their formation energies and related localized bands within the forbidden band. Cryogenic excitonic studies on h-BN-encapsulated Janus monolayers offer a clear correlation between these structural defects and observed emission features, which closely align with the results of the theory. The overall results introduce the defect genome of Janus TMDs as an essential guideline for assessing their structural quality and device properties.

A substitutional quantum defect in WS2 discovered by high-throughput computational screening and fabricated by site-selective STM manipulation.

Point defects in two-dimensional materials are of key interest for quantum information science. However, the parameter space of possible defects is immense, making the identification of high-performance quantum defects very challenging. Here, we perform high-throughput (HT) first-principles computational screening to search for promising quantum defects within WS2, which present localized levels in the band gap that can lead to bright optical transitions in the visible or telecom regime. Our computed database spans more than 700 charged defects formed through substitution on the tungsten or sulfur site. We found that sulfur substitutions enable the most promising quantum defects. We computationally identify the neutral cobalt substitution to sulfur (Co S 0 ) and fabricate it with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The Co S 0 electronic structure measured by STM agrees with first principles and showcases an attractive quantum defect. Our work shows how HT computational screening and nanoscale synthesis routes can be combined to design promising quantum defects.

High-throughput identification of spin-photon interfaces in silicon.

Color centers in host semiconductors are prime candidates as spin-photon interfaces for quantum applications. Finding an optimal spin-photon interface in silicon would move quantum information technologies toward a mature semiconducting host. However, the space of possible charged defects is vast, making the identification of candidates from experiments alone extremely challenging. Here, we use high-throughput first-principles computational screening to identify spin-photon interfaces among more than 1000 charged defects in silicon. The use of a single-shot hybrid functional approach is critical in enabling the screening of many quantum defects with a reasonable accuracy. We identify three promising spin-photon interfaces as potential bright emitters in the telecom band: [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text]. These candidates are excited through defect-bound excitons, stressing the importance of such defects in silicon for telecom band operations. Our work paves the way to further large-scale computational screening for quantum defects in semiconductors.

Strong electron-phonon coupling driven pseudogap modulation and density-wave fluctuations in a correlated polar metal.

There is tremendous interest in employing collective excitations of the lattice, spin, charge, and orbitals to tune strongly correlated electronic phenomena. We report such an effect in a ruthenate, Ca3Ru2O7, where two phonons with strong electron-phonon coupling modulate the electronic pseudogap as well as mediate charge and spin density wave fluctuations. Combining temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy with density functional theory reveals two phonons, B2P and B2M, that are strongly coupled to electrons and whose scattering intensities respectively dominate in the pseudogap versus the metallic phases. The B2P squeezes the octahedra along the out of plane c-axis, while the B2M elongates it, thus modulating the Ru 4d orbital splitting and the bandwidth of the in-plane electron hopping; Thus, B2P opens the pseudogap, while B2M closes it. Moreover, the B2 phonons mediate incoherent charge and spin density wave fluctuations, as evidenced by changes in the background electronic Raman scattering that exhibit unique symmetry signatures. The polar order breaks inversion symmetry, enabling infrared activity of these phonons, paving the way for coherent light-driven control of electronic transport.

Data-driven analysis of the electronic-structure factors controlling the work functions of perovskite oxides.

Tuning the work functions of materials is of practical interest for maximizing the performance of microelectronic and (photo)electrochemical devices, as the efficiency of these systems depends on the ability to control electronic levels at surfaces and across interfaces. Perovskites are promising compounds to achieve such control. In this work, we examine the work functions of more than 1000 perovskite oxide surfaces (ABO3) using data-driven (machine-learning) analysis and identify the factors that determine their magnitude. While the work functions of the BO2-terminated surfaces are sensitive to the energy of the hybridized oxygen p bands, the work functions of the AO-terminated surfaces exhibit a much less trivial dependence with respect to the filling of the d bands of the B-site atom and of its electronic affinity. This study shows the utility of interpretable data-driven models in analyzing the work functions of cubic perovskites from a limited number of electronic-structure descriptors.

Phase-Selective Solution Synthesis of Perovskite-Related Cesium Cadmium Chloride Nanoparticles.

All-inorganic metal halide perovskite-related phases are semiconducting materials that are of significant interest for a wide range of applications. Nanoparticles of these materials are particularly useful because they permit solution processing while offering unique and tunable properties. Of the many metal halide systems that have been studied extensively, cesium cadmium chlorides remain underexplored, and synthetic routes to access them as nanoscale materials have not been established. Here we demonstrate that a simple solution-phase reaction involving the injection of a cesium oleate solution into a cadmium chloride solution produces three distinct cesium cadmium chlorides: hexagonal CsCdCl3 and the Ruddlesden-Popper layered perovskites Cs2CdCl4 and Cs3Cd2Cl7. The phase-selective synthesis emerges from differences in reagent concentrations, temperature, and injection rates. A key variable is the rate at which the cesium oleate solution is injected into the cadmium chloride solution, which is believed to influence the local Cs:Cd concentration during precipitation, leading to control over the phase that forms. Band structure calculations indicate that hexagonal CsCdCl3 is a direct band gap semiconductor while Cs2CdCl4 and Cs3Cd2Cl7 have indirect band gaps. The experimentally determined band gap values for CsCdCl3, Cs2CdCl4, and Cs3Cd2Cl7 are 5.13, 4.91, and 4.70 eV, respectively, which places them in a rare category of ultrawide-band-gap semiconductors.

Energy-resolved distribution of electron traps for O/S-doped carbon nitrides by reversed double-beam photoacoustic spectroscopy and the photocatalytic reduction of Cr(vi).

We report for the first time to our knowledge the identification of heteroatom-doped and undoped C3N4 with the energy-resolved distribution of electron traps (ERDT) near the conduction band bottom position (CBB) using reversed double-beam photoacoustic spectroscopy. The ERDT/CBB pattern is used to classify the type of elemental doping in C3N4, related to photocatalytic efficiency.

Spectroscopic and first-principles investigations of iodine species incorporation into ettringite: Implications for iodine migration in cement waste forms.

Low-level radioactive wastes are commonly immobilized in cementitious materials, where cement-based material can incorporate radionuclides into their crystal structure. Specifically, ettringite (Ca6Al2(OH)12(SO4)3∙26H2O) is known to stabilize anionic species, which is appealing for waste streams with radioactive iodine (129I) that persists as iodide (I-) and iodate (IO3-) in the cementitious nuclear waste repository. However, the structural information and immobilization mechanisms of iodine species in ettringite remain unclear. The present results suggested minimal I- incorporation into ettringite (0.05 %), whereas IO3- exhibited a high affinity for ettringite via anion substitution for SO42- (96 %). The combined iodine K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra and first-principles calculations using density functional theory (DFT) suggested that IO3- was stabilized in ettringite by hydrogen bonding and electrostatic forces. Substituting IO3- for SO42- was energetically favorable by -0.41 eV, whereas unfavorable substitution energy of 4.21 eV was observed for I- substitution. Moreover, the bonding charge density analysis of the substituted IO3- and I- anions into the ettringite structure revealed the interaction between intercalated ions with the structural water molecules. These results provided valuable insight into the long-term stabilization of anionic iodine species and their migration in cementitious nuclear waste repository or alkaline environments.

Crystal structures, vibrational spectra, and fungicidal activity of 1,5-diaryl-3-oxypyrazoles.

The aryloxypyrazole structure is present in a number of bioactive molecules. Four 1,5-diaryl-3-oxypyrazoles containing benzoyl (I), thiazolidinethione (II and III) or per-O-acetylated glucopyranosyl (IV) moieties were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Compounds I and II crystallize in a triclinic P-1 system, whereas III and IV crystallize in an orthorhombic Pbca and a monoclinic P21 space groups, respectively. The dihedral angles between the two benzene rings of the pyrazole are 61.33° (I), 62.87° (II), 57.09° (III) and 70.25° (IV). The structures were stabilized by classical intra- (C-H···S for II and III, C-H···O for IV) and intermolecular (C-H···O for I and IV) H-bonds, as well as intermolecular C-H···π stacking interactions. The theoretical FTIR results showed good agreement with the experimental data. Compounds IV, II and III showed moderate fungicidal activity against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Gibberella zeae. The structure-activity relationships were discussed.