  Negatively charged boron vacancy (VB-) centers in hexagonal boron nitride
(hBN) are promising spin defects in a van der Waals crystal. Understanding the
spin properties of the excited state (ES) is critical for realizing dynamic
nuclear polarization. Here, we report zero-field splitting in the ES of DES =
2160 MHz and an optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) contrast of 12% at
cryogenic temperature. The ES has a g-factor similar to the ground state. The
ES photodynamics is further elucidated by measuring the level anti-crossing of
the VB- defects under varying external magnetic fields. In contrast to nitrogen
vacancy (NV-) centers in diamond, the emission change caused by excited-state
level anti-crossing (ESLAC) is more prominent at cryo-temperature than at room
temperature. Our results provide important information for utilizing the spin
defects of hBN in quantum technology.
