The electron spins of semiconductor defects can have complex interactions with their host, particularly in polar materials like SiC where electrical and mechanical variables are intertwined. By combining pulsed spin resonance with ab-initio simulations, we show that spin-spin interactions within SiC neutral divacancies give rise to spin states with an enhanced Stark effect, sub-10**-6 strain sensitivity, and highly spin-dependent photoluminescence with intensity contrasts of 15-36%. These results establish SiC color centers as compelling systems for sensing nanoscale fields.
@article{arxiv.1311.6832,
title = {Electrically and mechanically tunable electron spins in silicon carbide color centers},
author = {Abram L. Falk and Paul V. Klimov and Bob B. Buckley and Viktor Ivády and Igor A. Abrikosov and Greg Calusine and William F. Koehl and Ádám Gali and David D. Awschalom},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1311.6832},
year = {2015}
}