Strain Engineering of Quantum Emitters in Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Abstract

Quantum emitters in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) are promising building blocks for the realization of integrated quantum photonic systems. However, their spectral inhomogeneity currently limits their potential applications. Here, we apply tensile strain to quantum emitters embedded in few-layer hBN films and realize both red and blue spectral shifts with tuning magnitudes up to 65 meV, a record for any two-dimensional quantum source. We demonstrate reversible tuning of the emission and related photophysical properties. We also observe rotation of the optical dipole in response to strain, suggesting the presence of a second excited state. We derive a theoretical model to describe strain-based tuning in hBN, and the rotation of the optical dipole. Our work demonstrates the immense potential for strain tuning of quantum emitters in layered materials to enable their employment in scalable quantum photonic networks.

References in corpus (4)

• Single-Photon Switching and Entanglement of Solid-State Qubits in an Integrated Nanophotonic System
• A strain tunable single-layer MoS2 photodetector
• Wide-field spectral super-resolution mapping of optically active defects in hBN
• Origin of nonclassical light emission from defects in multi-layer hexagonal boron nitride

Cited by in corpus (2)

• Polarization and localization of single-photon emitters in hexagonal boron nitride wrinkles
• Theoretical prediction of superconductivity in monolayer h-BN doped with alkaline-earth metals (Ca, Sr, Ba)