title: Fluorescent color centers in laser ablated 4H-SiC nanoparticles.
abstract: Nanostructured and bulk silicon carbide (SiC) has recently emerged as a novel platform for quantum nanophotonics due to its harboring of paramagnetic color centers, having immediate applications as a single photon source and spin optical probes. Here, using ultra-short pulsed laser ablation, we fabricated from electron irradiated bulk 4H-SiC, 40-50 nm diameter SiC nanoparticles, fluorescent at 850-950 nm. This photoluminescence is attributed to the silicon vacancy color centers. We demonstrate that the original silicon vacancy color centers from the target sample were retained in the final nanoparticles solution, exhibiting excellent colloidal stability in water over several months. Our work is relevant for quantum nanophotonics, magnetic sensing, and biomedical imaging applications.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Castelletto
authors.forename: A F M
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Almutairi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Thalassinos
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lohrmann
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Buividas
authors.forename: D W M
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Reineck
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Juodkazis
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohshima
authors.forename: B C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.forename: B C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D017554:Carbon Compounds, Inorganic / Q000737:chemistry*; D003116:Color; D007834:Lasers; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D017655:Silicon Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D017554:Carbon Compounds, Inorganic; D017655:Silicon Compounds; C022088:silicon carbide