posted on 2024-02-07, 12:34authored byThasneem Aliyar, Hongyang Ma, Radha Krishnan, Gagandeep Singh, Bi Qi Chong, Yitao Wang, Ivan Verzhbitskiy, Calvin Pei Yu Wong, Kuan Eng Johnson Goh, Ze Xiang Shen, Teck Seng Koh, Rajib Rahman, Bent Weber
Spins
confined to point defects in atomically thin semiconductors
constitute well-defined atomic-scale quantum systems that are being
explored as single-photon emitters and spin qubits. Here, we investigate
the in-gap electronic structure of individual sulfur vacancies in
molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) monolayers using resonant tunneling
scanning probe spectroscopy in the Coulomb blockade regime. Spectroscopic
mapping of defect wave functions reveals an interplay of local symmetry
breaking by a charge-state-dependent Jahn–Teller lattice distortion
that, when combined with strong (≃100 meV) spin–orbit
coupling, leads to a locking of an unpaired spin-1/2 magnetic moment
to the lattice at low temperature, susceptible to lattice strain.
Our results provide new insights into the spin and electronic structure
of vacancy-induced in-gap states toward their application as electrically
and optically addressable quantum systems.