Formation of Paramagnetic Defects in the Synthesis of Silicon Carbide

Silicon carbide (SiC) is a very promising platform for quantum information processing, as it can host room temperature solid state defect quantum bits. These room temperature quantum bits are realized by paramagnetic silicon vacancy and divacancy defects in SiC that are typically introduced by irradiation techniques. However, irradiation techniques often introduce unwanted defects near the target quantum bit defects that can be detrimental for the operation of quantum bits. Here, we demonstrate that by adding aluminum precursor to the silicon and carbon sources, quantum bit defects are created in the synthesis of SiC without any post treatments. We optimized the synthesis parameters to maximize the paramagnetic defect concentrations—including already established defect quantum bits—monitored by electron spin resonance spectroscopy.