Laser-induced spectral diffusion of T centers in silicon nanophotonic devices

Color centers in silicon are emerging as spin-photon interfaces operating at telecommunication wavelengths. The nanophotonic device integration of silicon color centers via ion implantation leads to significant optical linewidth broadening, which makes indistinguishable photon generation challenging. Here, we study the optical spectral diffusion of T centers in a silicon photonic crystal cavity. We investigate the linewidth broadening timescales and origins by measuring the temporal correlations of the resonance frequency under different conditions. Spectral hole burning measurements reveal no spectral broadening at short timescales from 102 ns to 725 ns. We probe broadening at longer timescales using a check pulse to herald the T center frequency and a probe pulse to measure frequency after a wait time. The optical resonance frequency is stable up to 3 ms in the dark. Laser pulses below the silicon band gap applied during the wait time leads to linewidth broadening. Our observations establish laser-induced processes as the dominant spectral diffusion mechanism for T centers in devices, and inform materials and feedback strategies for indistinguishable photon generation.