Cathodoluminescence of carbon-related defects in hexagonal boron nitride

Hexagonal boron nitride is a wide band gap semiconductor exhibiting various luminescence bands in visible and near ultraviolet range, which can be used as single photon source. The luminescence band with zero phonon line at 4.1 eV is commonly ascribed to the carbon impurity introduced during crystal growth. In this paper we provide experimental evidence that carbon-related luminescent centers can be introduced in hBN by local electron irradiation in the chamber of scanning electron microscope at room temperature that can be used as a technique for the nanofabrication of single photon source devices with desired pattern.