Strain engineering for transition-metal defects in SiC

Transition metal (TM) defects in silicon carbide (SiC) are a promising platform for applications in quantum technology as some of these defects, e.g., vanadium (V), allow for optical emission in one of the telecom bands. For other defects, it was shown that straining the crystal can lead to beneficial effects regarding the emission properties. Motivated by this, we theoretically study the main effects of strain on the electronic-level structure and optical electric-dipole transitions of the V defect in SiC. In particular, we show how strain can be used to engineer the g tensor, electronic selection rules, and the hyperfine interaction. Based on these insights, we discuss optical Lambda systems and a path forward to initializing the quantum state of strained TM defects in SiC.