Optical Signatures of Quantum Emitters in Suspended Hexagonal Boron Nitride
At a Glance
Section titled âAt a Glanceâ| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2017-03-07 |
| Journal | ACS Nano |
| Authors | Annemarie L. Exarhos, David A. Hopper, Richard R. Grote, Audrius Alkauskas, Lee C. Bassett |
| Institutions | University of Pennsylvania, Kaunas University of Technology |
| Citations | 211 |
Abstract
Section titled âAbstractâHexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is rapidly emerging as an attractive material for solid-state quantum engineering. Analogously to three-dimensional wide-band-gap semiconductors such as diamond, h-BN hosts isolated defects exhibiting visible fluorescence at room temperature, and the ability to position such quantum emitters within a two-dimensional material promises breakthrough advances in quantum sensing, photonics, and other quantum technologies. Critical to such applications is an understanding of the physics underlying h-BNâs quantum emission. We report the creation and characterization of visible single-photon sources in suspended, single-crystal, h-BN films. With substrate interactions eliminated, we study the spectral, temporal, and spatial characteristics of the defectsâ optical emission. Theoretical analysis of the defectsâ spectra reveals similarities in vibronic coupling to h-BN phonon modes despite widely varying fluorescence wavelengths, and a statistical analysis of the polarized emission from many emitters throughout the same single-crystal flake uncovers a weak correlation between the optical dipole orientations of some defects and h-BNâs primitive crystallographic axes, despite a clear misalignment for other dipoles. These measurements constrain possible defect models and, moreover, suggest that several classes of emitters can exist simultaneously throughout free-standing h-BN, whether they be different defects, different charge states of the same defect, or the result of strong local perturbations.