Laser writing of spin defects in nanophotonic cavities

High-yield engineering and characterization of cavity–emitter coupling is an outstanding challenge in developing scalable quantum network nodes. Ex situ defect formation systems prevent real-time analysis, and previous in situ methods are limited to bulk substrates or require further processing to improve the emitter properties1–6. Here we demonstrate the direct laser writing of cavity-integrated spin defects using a nanosecond pulsed above-bandgap laser. Photonic crystal cavities in 4H-silicon carbide serve as a nanoscope monitoring silicon-monovacancy defect formation within the approximately 200 nm3 cavity-mode volume. We observe spin resonance, cavity-integrated photoluminescence and excited-state lifetimes consistent with conventional defect formation methods, without the need for post-irradiation thermal annealing. We further find an exponential reduction in excited-state lifetime at fluences approaching the cavity amorphization threshold and show the single-shot annealing of intrinsic background defects at silicon-monovacancy formation sites. This real-time in situ method of localized defect formation, paired with cavity-integrated defect spins, is necessary towards engineering cavity–emitter coupling for quantum networking.