Symmetry Engineering Enables Deterministic Ensemble Polarization Control in Hexagonal Boron Nitride

@misc{ishraq2026symmetry,
  title = {{Symmetry Engineering Enables Deterministic Ensemble Polarization Control in Hexagonal Boron Nitride}},
  author = {Aqiq Ishraq and Eric Herrmann and Pragya Agnihotri and Alexander Hutchinson and Ramiro M. dos Santos and Shahidul Asif and Lottie Murray and Abhijith Puthiya Veettil and Luke Stockl and Muhammad Hassan Shaikh and Collin Maurtua and Kenji Watanabe and Takashi Taniguchi and Matthew Doty and Cyrus E. Dreyer and Anderson Janotti and Xi Wang and Chitraleema Chakraborty},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.03547},
  eprint = {2610.03547},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.03547},
}

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Symmetry Engineering Enables Deterministic Ensemble Polarization Control in Hexagonal Boron Nitride
AU  - Aqiq Ishraq
AU  - Eric Herrmann
AU  - Pragya Agnihotri
AU  - Alexander Hutchinson
AU  - Ramiro M. dos Santos
AU  - Shahidul Asif
AU  - Lottie Murray
AU  - Abhijith Puthiya Veettil
AU  - Luke Stockl
AU  - Muhammad Hassan Shaikh
AU  - Collin Maurtua
AU  - Kenji Watanabe
AU  - Takashi Taniguchi
AU  - Matthew Doty
AU  - Cyrus E. Dreyer
AU  - Anderson Janotti
AU  - Xi Wang
AU  - Chitraleema Chakraborty
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/02
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.03547
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.03547
AB  - Optical polarization is a key degree of freedom in quantum photonic and sensing technologies, enabling efficient light--matter coupling and directional emission. However, in defect ensemble-based quantum systems, orientational averaging across many defects suppresses optical anisotropy and eliminates a deterministic polarization axis. Here, symmetry engineering is introduced as a strategy to restore collective optical anisotropy in negatively charged boron vacancy (V_B^-) ensembles hosted in hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). By imposing anisotropic in-plane tensile strain through lithographically defined nano-ridge arrays, in-plane symmetry is broken and the ensemble emission dipole is aligned with the ridge-defined strain symmetry axis. Polarization-resolved photoluminescence reveals that the polarization visibility scales with the magnitude of strain anisotropy, while the emission orientation rigidly follows the engineered symmetry axis across devices with varying strain direction. This deterministic alignment is independent of crystal orientation, establishing the optical foundation for polarization-defined ensemble spin readout and programmable photonic integration in two-dimensional quantum materials
ER  -