Stress-controlled zero-field spin splitting in silicon carbide

Abstract

We report the influence of static mechanical deformation on the zero-field spin splitting of silicon vacancies in silicon carbide at room temperature. We use AlN/6H-SiC heterostructures deformed by growth conditions and monitor the stress distribution as a function of distance from the heterointerface with spatially resolved confocal Raman spectroscopy. The zero-field spin splitting of the V1/V3 and V2 centers in 6H-SiC, measured by optically detected magnetic resonance, reveals significant changes at the heterointerface compared to the bulk value. This approach allows unambiguous determination of the spin-deformation interaction constant, which is 0.75 GHz/strain for the V1/V3 centers and 0.5 GHz/strain for the V2 centers. Provided piezoelectricity of AlN, our results offer a strategy to realize fine tuning of spin transition energies in SiC by deformation.