Identifying carbon as the source of visible single-photon emission from hexagonal boron nitride
Top Cited Papers
- 2 November 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Nature Materials
- Vol. 20 (3), 321-328
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-020-00850-y
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 \({\rm{V}}_{\rm{B}}{\rm{C}}_{\rm{N}}^ -\) 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.
Keywords
Funding Information
- DOE | Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (AC02-05-CH11231)
- Department of Education and Training | Australian Research Council (DP190101058)
This publication has 45 references indexed in Scilit:
- Quantum emission from hexagonal boron nitride monolayersNature Nanotechnology, 2015
- Synthesis of Highly Crystalline sp2-Bonded Boron Nitride AerogelsACS Nano, 2013
- An upper limit on the lateral vacancy diffusion length in diamondDiamond and Related Materials, 2012
- Large area and structured epitaxial graphene produced by confinement controlled sublimation of silicon carbideProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2011
- Assessment of a long-range corrected hybrid functionalThe Journal of Chemical Physics, 2006
- Erratum: “Hybrid functionals based on a screened Coulomb potential” [J. Chem. Phys. 118, 8207 (2003)]The Journal of Chemical Physics, 2006
- A new hybrid exchange–correlation functional using the Coulomb-attenuating method (CAM-B3LYP)Chemical Physics Letters, 2004
- Time-Dependent Density Functional Response Theory for MoleculesRecent Advances in Computational Chemistry, 1995
- A Second Generation Force Field for the Simulation of Proteins, Nucleic Acids, and Organic MoleculesJournal of the American Chemical Society, 1995
- The equation of motion coupled-cluster method. A systematic biorthogonal approach to molecular excitation energies, transition probabilities, and excited state propertiesThe Journal of Chemical Physics, 1993