An in-situ single photon source detection platform for deterministic nanometer resolution ion implantation

Single photon sources (SPS) are of critical interest for a wide range of use from metrology to the basis of quantum communication, computation and sensing. SPS based on color centers in silicon carbide and other wide band gap semiconductors such as hBN, diamond, etc. require the control over both the spatial position as well as the number of optically active color centers. We developed a platform for focused ion beam (FIB) implantation that allows control of positioning to <50 nm and implantation down to single impurity atoms using counted ion implantation. However, the typically low conversion efficiency from implanted atom to optically active color center can range from <3% to >80% depending on the material and the implantation energy. For these low efficiency processes an in-situ technique to identify the creation of SPS is required. To this end we have built an in-situ photoluminescence (PL) setup integrated into the FIB allowing detection of single photon emission during ion implantation. Using this PL setup in conjunction with a Hanbury Brown Twiss interferometer allows us to deterministically create and measure SPS in a range of materials systems with nanometer resolution.