Structural attributes and photo-dynamics of visible spectrum quantum emitters in hexagonal boron nitride

Abstract

Newly discovered van der Waals materials like MoS${}_2$, WSe${}_2$, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), and recently ${\mathrm{C}}_2\mathrm{N}$ have sparked intensive research to unveil the quantum behavior associated with their 2D structure. Of great interest are 2D materials that host single quantum emitters. h-BN, with a band gap of 5.95 eV, has been shown to host single quantum emitters which are stable at room temperature in the UV and visible spectral range. In this paper we investigate correlations between h-BN structural features and emitter location from bulk down to the monolayer at room temperature. We demonstrate that chemical etching and ion irradiation can generate emitters in h-BN. We analyze the emitters' spectral features and show that they are dominated by the interaction of their electronic transition with a single Raman active mode of h-BN. Photodynamics analysis reveals diverse rates between the electronic states of the emitter. The emitters show excellent photo stability even under ambient conditions and in monolayers. Comparing the excitation polarization between different emitters unveils a connection between defect orientation and the h-BN hexagonal structure. The sharp spectral features, color diversity, room-temperature stability, long-lived metastable states, ease of fabrication, proximity of the emitters to the environment, outstanding chemical stability, and biocompatibility of h-BN provide a completely new class of systems that can be used for sensing and quantum photonics applications.

In Nano Letters, ACS, 2016. Title change. Revision according to peer-review report. SI can be downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b03268/suppl_file/nl6b03268_si_001.pdf

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• Single Photon Emitters in Boron Nitride: More Than a Supplementary Material
• Polarization and localization of single-photon emitters in hexagonal boron nitride wrinkles
• Origin of nonclassical light emission from defects in multi-layer hexagonal boron nitride
• Boron films produced by high energy Pulsed Laser Deposition
• Luminescent defects in a few-layer h-BN film grown by molecular beam epitaxy
• Observation and Spectral Assignment of a Family of Hexagonal Boron Nitride Lattice Defects
• Criteria for deterministic single-photon emission in two-dimensional atomic crystals
• Nanoassembly of quantum emitters in hexagonal boron nitride and gold nanospheres
• Single Photon Emission from Plasma Treated 2D Hexagonal Boron Nitride
• Robust Solid State Quantum System Operating at 800 K