Two independent studies published recently suggest that Silicon Carbide (SiC) is a promising material for atomic-scale spintronics. Both reported their results in Nature Materials.
The first study (by researchers from the University of Chicago, the University of California, Linkoping University, and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency) shows that individual electron spins in high-purity monocrystalline 4H-SiC can be isolated and coherently controlled. These states exhibit exceptionally long ensemble Hahn-echo spin coherence times, exceeding 1ms.
The second study (performed by scientists from the University of Stuttgart, Linkoping University, Beijing Computational Science Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics) reported the characterisation of photoluminescence and optical spin polarisation from single silicon vacancies in SiC. The researchers demonstrate that single spins can be addressed at room temperature, and they report finding long spin coherence times under ambient conditions.