Abstract
Practical applications of quantum information technologies exploiting the quantum nature of light require efficient and bright true single-photon sources which operate under ambient conditions. Currently, point defects in the crystal lattice of diamond known as color centers have taken the lead in the race for the most promising quantum system for practical non-classical light sources. This work is focused on a different quantum optoelectronic material, namely a color center in silicon carbide, and reveals the physics behind the process of single-photon emission from color centers in SiC under electrical pumping. We show that color centers in silicon carbide can be far superior to any other quantum light emitter under electrical control at room temperature. Using a comprehensive theoretical approach and rigorous numerical simulations, we demonstrate that at room temperature, the photon emission rate from a p–i–n silicon carbide single-photon emitting diode can exceed 5 Gcounts/s, which is higher than what can be achieved with electrically driven color centers in diamond or epitaxial quantum dots. These findings lay the foundation for the development of practical photonic quantum devices which can be produced in a well-developed CMOS compatible process flow.
Highlights
Silicon carbide has been a recognized material for high-power and high-temperature electronics for several decades.[1]
Single-photon emitting diode on silicon carbide We focus on the silicon antisite defect (SiC) in 4H-SiC34 near or inside the stacking faults (SFs)[35]
The radiative transition in the neutrally charged[36] silicon antisite-stacking fault complexes (SiC-SF) defect produces a photon polarized in the basal plane of 4H-SiC,[19] which promotes the collection efficiency and gives the possibility to achieve a high brightness of the single-photon source
Summary
Silicon carbide has been a recognized material for high-power and high-temperature electronics for several decades.[1]. After the first studies of color centers in diamond,[5,6,7] it has become clear that point defects in the crystal lattice of dielectrics and wide-bandgap semiconductors can be efficiently used in quantum information technologies. These defects can be created in diverse solid-state structures. We propose and simulate an optimized p–i–n singlephoton emitting diode This diode can give the possibility to increase the photon emission rate by four orders of magnitude compared to what was observed in the experiments and design a gigahertz single-photon source which does not require cooling and operates under ambient conditions
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