Team

Axis PPANAM : IPS (Interaction Plasma/Surface)

Scientifc activity

PPANAM (Plasma Processes, Nanostructures and Thin Films), IPS (Plasma/Surface Interaction)-µplasmas research operation

For several years now, we have been developing a microplasma deposition process for hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), which enables us to obtain layers on large surfaces (substrates 5 cm in diameter) at lower temperatures than conventional deposition processes. h-BN is an ideal van der Waals crystal that can accommodate a priori a multitude of optically active defects. The unique electrical and optical properties of h-BN, coupled with its excellent thermal and chemical stability, as well as the possibility of manipulating the electronic spin of the defect, make it a prime object of study. The advantage of h-BN over diamond lies in its atomic thickness, which ensures ultimate confinement. Its perfectly flat surface, free of dangling bonds and with strong intraplanar bonds, are major advantages. Additional advantages are that, as a 2D material, the integration and extraction of light from h-BN is more favored than in the case of a bulk material. In addition, thanks to the strong hyperfine coupling between the electron spin and nearby nuclear spins in samples with boron vacancies, nuclear spin manipulation could be easier than with NV centers, the most advanced solid-state quantum sensing platform today.