Abstract
A device that is able to produce single photons is a fundamental building block for a number of quantum technologies. Significant progress has been made in engineering quantum emission in the solid state, for instance, using semiconductor quantum dots as well as defect sites in bulk and two-dimensional materials. Here we report the discovery of a room-temperature quantum emitter embedded deep within the band gap of aluminum nitride. Using spectral, polarization, and photon-counting time-resolved measurements we demonstrate bright (>105 counts s–1), pure (g(2)(0) < 0.2), and polarized room-temperature quantum light emission from color centers in this commercially important semiconductor.
Highlights
A device that is able to produce single photons is a fundamental building block for a number of quantum technologies
In the past few years, point-like single photon sources have been reported in hexagonal boron nitride,[1] gallium nitride (GaN),[2−4] and, very recently, aluminum nitride (AlN).[5,6]
Quantum emission from the sample is attributed to point-like defects embedded deep within the band gap of AlN
Summary
A device that is able to produce single photons is a fundamental building block for a number of quantum technologies. In the past few years, point-like single photon sources have been reported in hexagonal boron nitride,[1] gallium nitride (GaN),[2−4] and, very recently, aluminum nitride (AlN).[5,6] By virtue of their deep confinement energies, these color centers demonstrate antibunching even at room temperature, adding to a select group of solid state materials that host high-temperature quantum emitters, such as diamond[7−9] and silicon carbide (SiC).[10−12] The commercial applications of the nitrides means there is considerable expertise in processing and the possibility of epitaxial deposition of complex heterostructures, paving the way to cavity enhancement and optoelectronic devices. The emitters we observe here have a narrow distribution in zerophonon line energy and a prominent phonon sideband.This
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