Room-Temperature Electrical Readout of Spin Defects in van der Waals Materials

Abstract

Negatively charged boron vacancy ($\mathrm{V_B^-}$) in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is the most extensively studied room-temperature quantum spin system in two-dimensional (2D) materials. Nevertheless, the current effective readout of $\mathrm{V_B^-}$ spin states is carried out by systematically optical methods. This limits their exploitation in compact and miniaturized quantum devices, which would otherwise hold substantial promise to address quantum sensing and quantum information tasks. In this study, we demonstrated a photoelectric spin readout technique for $\mathrm{V_B^-}$ spins in hBN. The observed photocurrent signals stem from the spin-dependent ionization dynamics of boron vacancies, mediated by spin-dependent non-radiative transitions to a metastable state. We further extend this electrical detection technique to enable the readout of dynamical decoupling sequences, including the Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) protocols, and of nuclear spins via electron-nuclear double resonance. These results provide a pathway toward on-chip integration and real-field exploitation of quantum functionalities based on 2D material platforms.