2025/03/31 by Estaji, Nasrin, Sarsari, Ismaeil Abdolhosseini, Thiering, Gergő +1 · 2 citations
#FOS: Physical sciences #Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) #Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2504.00154
Two-dimensional (2D) materials hosting color centers and spin defects are emerging as key platforms for quantum technologies. However, the impact of reduced dimensionality on the spin-lattice relaxation time (T1) of embedded defect spins -- critical for quantum applications -- remains largely unexplored. In this study, we present a systematic first-principles investigation of the negatively charged boron-vacancy (VB-) defect in monolayer boron nitride (BN), as well as in AA^′-stacked hexagonal BN (hBN) and ABC-stacked rhombohedral BN (rBN). Our results reveal that the T1 times of VB- in monolayer BN and hBN are nearly identical at room temperature. Surprisingly, despite the symmetry reduction in rBN opening additional spin relaxation channels, VB- exhibits a longer T1 compared to hBN. We attribute this effect to the stiffer out-of-plane phonon modes in rBN, which activate spin-phonon relaxation at reduced strength. These findings suggest that VB- in rBN offers enhanced spin coherence properties, making it a promising candidate for quantum technology applications.