All-optical nanoscale thermometry with silicon carbide color centers

Abstract

All-optical thermometry plays a crucial role in precision temperature measurement across diverse fields. Quantum defects in solids are one of the most promising sensors due to their excellent sensitivity, stability, and biocompatibility. Yet, it faces limitations, such as the microwave heating effect and the complexity of spectral analysis. Addressing these challenges, we introduce a novel approach to nanoscale optical thermometry using quantum defects in silicon carbide (SiC), a material compatible with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) processes. This method leverages the intensity ratio between anti-Stokes and Stokes emissions from SiC color centers, overcoming the drawbacks of traditional techniques such as optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) and zero-phonon line (ZPL) analysis. Our technique provides a real-time, highly sensitive (1.06% K−1), and diffraction-limited temperature sensing protocol, which potentially helps enhance thermal management in the future miniaturization of electronic components.