Origin of Bright Quantum Emissions with a High Debye–Waller Factor in Silicon Nitride

Silicon nitride has emerged as a promising photonic platform for integrated single-photon sources, yet the microscopic origin of the recently observed bright quantum emissions remains unclear. Using hybrid density functional theory, we show that the negatively charged N Si V N center (NV – ) in the C 1 h configuration exhibits a linearly polarized zero phonon line (ZPL) at 2.46 eV, with a radiative lifetime of 9.01 ns and a high Debye–Waller (DW) factor of 33%. We further find that the C 1 h configuration is prone to a pseudo-Jahn–Teller distortion, yielding two symmetrically equivalent defect structures that emit bright, linearly polarized ZPL at 1.80 eV with a lifetime of 10.17 ns and an increased DW factor of 41%. These nitrogen-vacancy-related defects explain the origins of visible quantum emissions, paving the way for deterministic and monolithically integrated silicon nitride quantum photonics.