High-yield engineering of modified divacancies in 4H-SiC via oxygen-ion implantation

Modified divacancies in the 4H polytype of silicon carbide (SiC) exhibit enhanced charge stability and spin addressability at room temperature, making them highly attractive for quantum applications. However, their low formation yield, both at the single-defect and ensemble levels, has limited further progress. Here, we demonstrate a controllable and efficient method for generating modified divacancy color centers in 4H-SiC via oxygen-ion implantation. Based on their distinct optical signatures and spin-resonance characteristics, we experimentally resolve four types of modified divacancies. Remarkably, single modified divacancies constitute above 90% of the total defect population and exhibit superior optical properties and spin coherence compared with defects created through conventional carbon- or nitrogen-ion implantation. We characterize the zero-phonon lines of these modified divacancies and reveal a distinct temperature-dependent behavior in the spin-readout contrast. By systematically optimizing the implantation dose and annealing temperature, we further achieve high-density ensembles and observe clear Rabi-oscillation beating patterns associated with different orientations of basal-type defects. These results establish oxygen-ion implantation as a powerful and versatile approach to engineering high-quality spin-active defects in SiC, representing a significant advance toward scalable solid-state quantum technologies. Furthermore, our findings provide key insights into the atomic configurations of modified divacancies in 4H-SiC.