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Boron vacancies in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) are among the most extensively studied optically active spin defects in van der Waals crystals, due to their promising potential to develop two-dimensional (2D) quantum sensors. In this letter, we demonstrate the tunability of the charge state of boron vacancies in ultrathin hBN layers, revealing a transition from the optically active singly negatively charged state to the optically inactive doubly negatively charged state when sandwiched between graphene electrodes. Notably, there is a photoluminescence quenching of a few percent upon the application of a bias voltage between the electrodes. Our findings emphasize the critical importance of considering the charge state of optically active defects in 2D materials, while also showing that the negatively charged boron vacancy remains robust against external perpendicular electric fields. This stability makes it a promising candidate for integration into various van der Waals heterostructures.

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• In Copyright
  

  This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Article that appeared in final form in Nano Letters, copyright © 2025 American Chemical Society. To access the final published article, see https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c00654.

Keyword: Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), Boron vacancy, Van der Waals heterostructures

Date published: 2025-04-09

Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)

Journal:

• Nano Letters (ISSN: 15306984) vol. 25 issue. 14 p. 5836-5842

Funding:

• Agence Nationale de la Recherche ANR-17-EURE-0009
• Agence Nationale de la Recherche ANR-21-ESRE-0025
• Agence Nationale de la Recherche ANR-22-EXSP-0007
• Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology JPMJCR24A5
• Office of Naval Research N00014-22-1-2582
• Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 21H05233
• Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 23H02052
• Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Office of Nuclear Energy DE-AC07-051D13417
• Institute for Quantum Technologies in Occitanie
• World Premier International Research Center Initiative

Manuscript type: Author's version (Accepted manuscript)

MDR DOI:

First published URL: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c00654

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Updated at: 2026-06-25 10:52:02 +0900

Published on MDR: 2026-06-25 18:29:52 +0900