Identifying carbon as the source of visible single-photon emission from hexagonal boron nitride

Mendelson, Noah; Chugh, Dipankar; Reimers, Jeffrey R.; Cheng, Tin S.; Gottscholl, Andreas; Long, Hu; Mellor, Christopher J.; Zettl, Alex; Dyakonov, Vladimir; Beton, Peter H.; Novikov, Sergei V.; Jagadish, Chennupati; Tan, Hark Hoe; Ford, Michael J.; Toth, Milos; Bradac, Carlo; Aharonovich, Igor

Abstract

Single-photon emitters (SPEs) in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) have garnered increasing attention over the last few years due to their superior optical properties. However, despite the vast range of experimental results and theoretical calculations, the defect structure responsible for the observed emission has remained elusive. Here, by controlling the incorporation of impurities into hBN via various bottom-up synthesis methods and directly through ion implantation, we provide direct evidence that the visible SPEs are carbon related. Room-temperature optically detected magnetic resonance is demonstrated on ensembles of these defects. We perform ion-implantation experiments and confirm that only carbon implantation creates SPEs in the visible spectral range. Computational analysis of the simplest 12 carbon-containing defect species suggest the negatively charged VBCN− defect as a viable candidate and predict that out-of-plane deformations make the defect environmentally sensitive. Our results resolve a long-standing debate about the origin of single emitters at the visible range in hBN and will be key to the deterministic engineering of these defects for quantum photonic devices.

Citation

Mendelson, N., Chugh, D., Reimers, J. R., Cheng, T. S., Gottscholl, A., Long, H., …Aharonovich, I. (2021). Identifying carbon as the source of visible single-photon emission from hexagonal boron nitride. Nature Materials, 20(3), 321-328. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-020-00850-y

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 30, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Nov 2, 2020
• Publication Date: 2021-03
• Deposit Date: Oct 1, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: May 3, 2021
• Journal: Nature Materials
• Print ISSN: 1476-1122
• Electronic ISSN: 1476-4660
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 20
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 321-328
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-020-00850-y
• Keywords: Mechanical Engineering; General Materials Science; Mechanics of Materials; General Chemistry; Condensed Matter Physics
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4935674
• Publisher URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-020-00850-y