Controllable Generation and Modulation of Antisite Defects in MoS₂and WS₂

It is critical to understand the laws of quantum mechanics in transformative new technologies for computation and quantum information science applications to enable the ongoing second quantum revolution calls. Recently, spin qubits based on point defects have gained great attention since these qubits can be initiated, selectively controlled, and read out with high precision at ambient temperatures. Qubits are important in the quantum field because they improve the security of data stored and allow for faster message delivery and encrypted networks for security-related data. The major challenge in these systems is controllably generating multiqubit systems while also properly coupling the defects. To address this issue, we propose beginning by tackling the engineering challenges these systems present and understanding the fundamentals of defects. With this regard, MoS₂ and WS₂ are superior platforms for realizing controlled creation and manipulation of defects due to its properties of being atomically thin and receptive to external controls.In this research, we identify a technique for generating and controlling the antisite defects to open a new pathway for creating scalable, room temperature spin qubits in 2D materials.. We quantitively discovered that both the density and the nature of defects can be modulated by the proton energy; high defect density was observed with lower proton irradiation energies. Three distinct defect types of vacancies, antisites, and adatoms were observed. In particular, creation and manipulation of antisite defects provide an alternative way to create and pattern spin qubits based on point defects. Our results demonstrate that the formation of defects can be controlled using various particle irradiation energies, leading to new opportunities for tuning the properties of 2D materials and fabricate reliable devices