No Arabic 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.
Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a wide bandgap van der Waals material that has recently emerged as promising platform for quantum photonics experiments. In this work we study the formation and localization of narrowband quantum emitters in large flakes (up to tens of microns wide) of hBN. The emitters can be activated in as-grown hBN by electron irradiation or high temperature annealing, and the emitter formation probability can be increased by ion implantation or focused laser irradiation of the as-grown material. Interestingly, we show that the emitters are always localized at edges of the flakes, unlike most luminescent point defects in 3D materials. Our results constitute an important step on the road map of deploying hBN in nanophotonics applications.
Quantum emitters in layered materials are promising candidates for applications in nanophotonics. Here we present a technique based on charge transfer to graphene for measuring the charge transition levels ($rm E_t$) of fluorescent defects in a wide bandgap 2D material, and apply it to quantum emitters in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). Our results will aid in identifying the atomic structures of quantum emitters in hBN, as well as practical applications since $rm E_t$ determines defect charge states and plays a key role in photodynamics.
We propose an electromechanical scheme where the electronic degrees of freedom of boron vacancy color centers hosted by a hexagonal boron nitride nanoribbon are coupled for quantum information processing. The mutual coupling of color centers is provided via their coupling to the mechanical motion of the ribbon, which in turn stems from the local strain. The coupling strengths are computed by performing ab-initio calculations. The density functional theory (DFT) results for boron vacancy centers on boron nitride monolayers reveal a huge strain susceptibility. In our analysis, we take into account the effect of all flexural modes and show that despite the thermal noise introduced through the vibrations one can achieve steady-state entanglement between two and more number of qubits that survives even at room temperature. Moreover, the entanglement is robust against mis-positioning of the color centers. The effective coupling of color centers is engineered by positioning them in the proper positions. Hence, one is able to tailor stationary graph states. Furthermore, we study the quantum simulation of the Dicke-Ising model and show that the phonon superradiance phase transition occurs even for a finite number of color centers. Given the steady-state nature of the proposed scheme and accessibility of the electronic states through optical fields, our work paves the way for the realization of steady-state quantum information processing with color centers in hexagonal boron nitride membranes.
Quantum emitters in layered hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) have recently attracted a great attention as promising single photon sources. In this work, we demonstrate resonant excitation of a single defect center in hBN, one of the most important prerequisites for employment of optical sources in quantum information application. We observe spectral linewidths of hBN emitter narrower than 1 GHz while the emitter experiences spectral diffusion. Temporal photoluminescence measurements reveals an average spectral diffusion time of around 100 ms. On-resonance photon antibunching measurement is also realized. Our results shed light on the potential use of quantum emitters from hBN in nanophotonics and quantum information.
Nanoscale optical thermometry is a promising non-contact route for measuring local temperature with both high sensitivity and spatial resolution. In this work, we present a deterministic optical thermometry technique based on quantum emitters in nanoscale hexagonal boron-nitride. We show that these nanothermometers exhibit better performance than that of homologous, all-optical nanothermometers both in sensitivity and range of working temperature. We demonstrate their effectiveness as nanothermometers by monitoring the local temperature at specific locations in a variety of custom-built micro-circuits. This work opens new avenues for nanoscale temperature measurements and heat flow studies in miniaturized, integrated devices.