Quantum emission from hexagonal boron nitride monolayers.
Artificial atomic systems in solids are widely considered the leading physical system for a variety of quantum technologies, including quantum communications, computing and metrology. To date, however, room-temperature quantum emitters have only been observed in wide-bandgap semiconductors such as diamond and silicon carbide, nanocrystal quantum dots, and most recently in carbon nanotubes. Single-photon emission from two-dimensional materials has been reported, but only at cryogenic temperatures. Here, we demonstrate room-temperature, polarized and ultrabright single-photon emission from a colour centre in two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride. Density functional theory calculations indicate that vacancy-related defects are a probable source of the emission. Our results demonstrate the unprecedented potential of van der Waals crystals for large-scale nanophotonics and quantum information processing.
School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales 2007, Australia.
Toan Trong
TT
Tran
School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales 2007, Australia.
Kerem
K
Bray
School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales 2007, Australia.
Michael J
MJ
Ford
School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales 2007, Australia.
Milos
M
Toth
School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales 2007, Australia.
Igor
I
Aharonovich