Chlorine vacancy in 4H-SiC: An NV-like defect with telecom-wavelength emission

The diamond nitrogen vacancy (NV) center remains an ever-increasing topic of interest. At present, it is considered an ideal example of a solid-state qubit applicable in quantum communication, computing, and sensing alike. With its success, the search for defects that share or improve upon its advantageous features is an ongoing endeavor. By performing large-scale high-throughput screening of 52 600 defects in 4H silicon carbide (SiC), we identify a collection of NV-like color centers of particular interest. From this list, the single most promising candidate consists of a silicon vacancy and chlorine substituted on the carbon site, and is given the name of chlorine vacancy (ClV) center. Through high-accuracy first-principle calculations, we confirm that the ClV center is similar to the NV center in diamond in its local structure and shares many qualitative and quantitative features in the electronic structure and spin properties. In contrast to the NV center, however, the ClV center in SiC exhibits emission in the telecom range near the C band.