Fast electrical modulation of strong near-field interactions between erbium emitters and graphene
Daniel Cano, Alban Ferrier, Karuppasamy Soundarapandian, Antoine Reserbat-Plantey, Marion Scarafagio, Alexandre Tallaire, Antoine Seyeux, Philippe Marcus, Hugue… 展开作者
Daniel Cano, Alban Ferrier, Karuppasamy Soundarapandian, Antoine Reserbat-Plantey, Marion Scarafagio, Alexandre Tallaire, Antoine Seyeux, Philippe Marcus, Hugues de Riedmatten, Philippe Goldner, Frank H. L. Koppens, Klaas-Jan Tielrooij
Combining the quantum optical properties of single-photon emitters with the strong near-field interactions available in nanophotonic and plasmonic systems is a powerful way of creating quantum manipulation and metrological functionalities. The ability to actively and dynamically modulate emitter-environment interactions is of particular interest in this regard. While thermal, mechanical and optical modulation have been demonstrated, electrical modulation has remained an outstanding challenge. Here we realize fast, all-electrical modulation of the near-field interactions between a nanolayer of erbium emitters and graphene, by in-situ tuning the Fermi energy of graphene. We demonstrate strong interactions with a >1,000-fold increased decay rate for 25% of the emitters, and electrically modulate these interactions with frequencies up to 300 kHz - orders of magnitude faster than the emitters radiative decay (100 Hz). This constitutes an enabling platform for integrated quantum technologies, opening routes to quantum entanglement generation by collective plasmon emission or photon emission with controlled waveform.
The detection of electron spins associated with single defects in solids is a critical operation for a range of quantum information and measurement applications currently under development. To date, it has only been accomplished for two centres in crystalline solids: phosphorus in silicon using electrical readout based on a single electron transistor (SET) and nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond using optical readout. A spin readout fidelity of about 90% has been demonstrated with both electrical readout and optical readout, however, the thermal limitations of the electrical readout and the po…
Controlling the energy flow processes and the associated energy relaxation rates of a light emitter is of high fundamental interest, and has many applications in the fields of quantum optics, photovoltaics, photodetection, biosensing and light emission. While advanced dielectric and metallic systems have been developed to tailor the interaction between an emitter and its environment, active control of the energy flow has remained challenging. Here, we demonstrate in-situ electrical control of the relaxation pathways of excited erbium ions, which emit light at the technologically relevant telec…
In this paper we use electrically detected optical excitation spectroscopy of individual erbium ions in silicon to determine their optical and paramagnetic properties simultaneously. We demonstrate that this high spectral resolution technique can be exploited to observe interactions typically unresolvable in silicon using conventional spectroscopy techniques due to inhomogeneous broadening. In particular, we resolve the Zeeman splitting of the 4I15/2 ground and 4I13/2 excited state separately and in strong magnetic fields we observe the anti-crossings between Zeeman components of different cry…
Solid state quantum emitters are a mainstay of quantum nanophotonics as integrated single photon sources (SPS) and optical nanoprobes. Integrating such emitters with active nanophotonic elements is desirable in order to attain efficient control of their optical properties but typically degrades the photostability of the emitter itself. Here, we demonstrate a tuneable hybrid device that integrates lifetime-limited single emitters (linewidth : 40 MHz) and 2D materials at sub-wavelength separation without degradation of the emission properties. Our device s nanoscale dimensions enable ultra-broad…
A near-field thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system with a multilayer emitter of alternate tungsten and alumina layer is proposed in this paper. The fluctuational electrodynamics along with the dyadic Green function for a multilayered structure is applied to calculate the spectral heat flux, and the charge transport equations are solved to get the photocurrent generation and electrical power output. The spectral heat flux is much enhanced when plain tungsten emitter is replaced with multilayer emitter. The mechanism of surface plasmon polariton coupling in the tungsten thin film, which is responsible…
Colour centres of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) have been discovered as promising and practical single photon sources due to their high brightness and narrow spectral linewidth at room-temperature. In order to realize h-BN based photonic quantum communications, the ability to electrically activate the single photon fluorescence using an external electric field is crucial. In this work, we show the electrical switching of the photoluminescence from h-BN quantum emitters, enabled by the controllable electron transfer from the nearby charge reservoir. By tuning the Fermi level of graphene next t…
Quantum confinement in atomically-thin TMDCs enables the realization of deterministic single-photon emitters. The position and polarization control of single photons have been achieved via local strain engineering using nanostructures. However, most existing TMDC-based emitters are operated by optical pumping, while the emission sites in electrically pumped emitters are uncontrolled. Here, we demonstrate electrically driven single-photon emitters located at the positions where strains are induced by atomic-force-microscope indentation on a van der Waals heterostructure consisting of graphene, …
A unified framework for determining transition dipole polarization in solid-state spin defects
Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Department of Quantum Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology（代尔夫特理工大学量子纳米科学系卡弗里纳米科学研究所）；Hefei National Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China（中国科学技术大学合肥国家实验室）；Department of Applied Physics, University of Geneva（日内瓦大学应用物理系）；Constructor University Bremen（不来梅建构大学）
Quantum dots inserted in semiconducting nanowires are a promising platform for the fabrication of single photon devices. However, it is difficult to fully comprehend the electro-optical behaviour of such quantum objects without correlated studies of the structural and optical properties on the same nanowire. In this work, we study the spectral tunability of the emission of a single quantum dot in a GaN nanowire by applying external bias. The nanowires are dispersed and contacted on electron beam transparent Si3N4 membranes, so that transmission electron microscopy observations, photocurrent an…
Two-level emitters constitute main building blocks of photonic quantum systems and are model systems for the exploration of quantum optics in the solid state. Most interesting is the strict-resonant excitation of such emitters to generate close to ideal quantum light and to control their occupation coherently. Up till now related experiments have been performed exclusively using bulky lasers which hinders the application of resonantly driven two-level emitters in photonic quantum systems. Here we perform quantum-optical spectroscopy of a two-level system using a compact high-$β$ microlaser as …
Solid-state single-photon emitters are attractive for realization of integrated quantum systems due to their experimental convenience and scalability. Unfortunately, however, their complex mesoscopic environments cause photons from different emitters to be spectrally distinguishable. Here we demonstrate spectral alignment of two solid-state single-photon emitters by utilizing the strain gradient. Multiple germanium vacancy (GeV) color centers in diamond are created in fabricated diamond microcantilevers using focused ion beam implantation. The strain response of the electronic energy levels of…
Optical quantum emitters are a key component of quantum devices for metrology and information processing. In particular, atomic defects in 2D materials can operate as optical quantum emitters that overcome current limitations of conventional bulk emitters, such as yielding a high single-photon generation rate and offering surface accessibility for excitation and photon extraction. Here we demonstrate electrically stimulated photon emission from individual point defects in a 2D material. Specifically, by bringing a metallic tip into close proximity to a discrete defect state in the band gap of …
Local control of the generation and interaction of indistinguishable single photons is a key requirement for photonic quantum networks. Waveguide-based architectures, in which embedded quantum emitters act as both highly coherent single photon sources and as nonlinear elements to mediate photon-photon interactions, offer a scalable route to such networks. However, local electrical control of a quantum optical nonlinearity has yet to be demonstrated in a waveguide geometry. Here, we demonstrate local electrical tuning and switching of single photon generation and nonlinear interaction by embedd…
The heteroepitaxy of III-V semiconductors on silicon is a promising approach for making silicon a photonic platform for on-chip optical interconnects and quantum optical applications. Monolithic integration of both material systems is a long-time challenge, since different material properties lead to high defect densities in the epitaxial layers. In recent years, nanostructures however have shown to be suitable for successfully realising light emitters on silicon, taking advantage of their geometry. Facet edges and sidewalls can minimise or eliminate the formation of dislocations, and due to t…
Engineering the coupling between fundamental quantum excitations is at the heart of quantum science and technologies. A significant case is the creation of quantum light sources in which coupling between single photons and phonons can be controlled and harnessed to enable quantum information transduction. Here, we report the deterministic creation of quantum emitters featuring highly tunable coupling between excitons and phonons. The quantum emitters are formed in strain-induced quantum dots created in homobilayer semiconductor WSe2. The colocalization of quantum confined interlayer excitons a…
Establishing a highly efficient photon-emitter interface where the intrinsic linewidth broadening is limited solely by spontaneous emission is a key step in quantum optics. It opens a pathway to coherent light-matter interaction for, e.g., the generation of highly indistinguishable photons, few-photon optical nonlinearities, and photon-emitter quantum gates. However, residual broadening mechanisms are ubiquitous and need to be combated. For solid-state emitters charge and nuclear spin noise is of importance and the influence of photonic nanostructures on the broadening has not been clarified. …
The recently demonstrated electroluminescence of color centers in diamond makes them one of the best candidates for room temperature single-photon sources. However, the reported emission rates are far off what can be achieved by state-of-the-art electrically driven epitaxial quantum dots. Since the electroluminescence mechanism has not yet been elucidated, it is not clear to what extent the emission rate can be increased. Here we develop a theoretical framework to study single-photon emission from color centers in diamond under electrical pumping. The proposed model comprises electron and hole…
Nowadays, integrated photonics is a key technology in quantum information processing (QIP) but achieving all-optical buses for quantum networks with efficient integration of single photon emitters remains a challenge. Photonic crystals and cavities are good candidates but do not tackle how to effectively address a nanoscale emitter. Using a nanowire nanowaveguide, we realise an hybrid nanodevice which locally excites a single photon source (SPS). The nanowire acts as a passive or active sub-wavelength waveguide to excite the quantum emitter. Our results show that localised excitation of a SPS …
In the present study, we developed a fabrication process of an electrically driven single-photon LED based on InP QDs emitting in the red spectral range, the wavelength of interest coinciding with the high efficiency window of Si APDs. A deterministic lithography technique allowed for the pre-selection of a suitable QD, here exclusively operated under electrical carrier injection. The final device was characterized under micro-electroluminescence in direct current, as well as in pulsed excitation mode. In particular, under pulsed excitation of one device, single-photon emission of a spectral l…
We propose a novel approach for efficient generation of entangled photons, based on Cooper-pair luminescence in semiconductors, which does not require isolated emitters such as single atoms or quantum dots. We show that in bulk materials, electron-spin entanglement in Cooper pairs should not be expected to be translated into pure entangled photons despite the selection rules, due to mixing introduced by light-hole heavy-hole degeneracy. Semiconductor quantum wells, however, remove this degeneracy, allowing efficient photon entanglement generation in simple electrically-driven structures, takin…
Spin defects in silicon carbide have exceptional electron spin coherence with a near-infrared spin-photon interface in a material amenable to modern semiconductor fabrication. Leveraging these advantages, we successfully integrate highly coherent single neutral divacancy spins in commercially available p-i-n structures and fabricate diodes to modulate the local electrical environment of the defects. These devices enable deterministic charge state control and broad Stark shift tuning exceeding 850 GHz. Surprisingly, we show that charge depletion results in a narrowing of the optical linewidths …
A source of single photons and quantum entangled photon pairs is a key element in quantum information networks. Here, we demonstrate the electrically driven generation of quantum entangled pairs using a naturally symmetric GaAs quantum dot grown by droplet epitaxy. Coincidence histograms obtained at a temperature of 10 K reveal the generation of quantum entangled pairs that have a fidelity to the Bell pairs of 0.71 +- 0.015, much beyond the classical limit. The quantum nature of the emitted pairs is conserved at temperatures of up to ~65 K, and is essentially limited by the charge carrier conf…
Highly uniform and ordered nanodot arrays are crucial for high performance quantum optoelectronics including new semiconductor lasers and single photon emitters, and for synthesizing artificial lattices of interacting quasiparticles towards quantum information processing and simulation of many-body physics. Van der Waals heterostructures of 2D semiconductors are naturally endowed with an ordered nanoscale landscape, i.e. the moiré pattern that laterally modulates electronic and topographic structures. Here we find these moiré effects realize superstructures of nanodot confinements for long-liv…
Understanding and controlling the interaction between the excitonic states of a quantum emitter and the plasmonic modes of a nanocavity is one of the most relevant current scientific challenges, key for the development of many applications, from quantum information processing devices to polaritonic catalysts. In this paper we demonstrate that the tunnel electroluminescence of C60 nanocrystals enclosed in the plasmonic nanocavity between a metallic surface and the tip of a Scanning Tunnelling Microscope, and isolated from the metal surface by a thin NaCl film, can be switched from a broad emiss…
The observation and electrical manipulation of infrared surface plasmons in graphene have triggered a search for similar photonic capabilities in other atomically thin materials that enable electrical modulation of light at visible and near-infrared frequencies, as well as strong interaction with optical quantum emitters. Here, we present a simple analytical description of the optical response of such kinds of structures, which we exploit to investigate their application to light modulation and quantum optics. Specifically, we show that plasmons in one-atom-thick noble-metal layers can be used…
Recent intense electrical and optical studies of graphene have pushed the material to the forefront of optoelectronic research. Of particular interest is the few terahertz (THz) frequency regime where efficient light sources and highly sensitive detectors are very challenging to make. Here we present THz sources and detectors made with graphene field effect transistors (GFETs) enhanced by a double-patch antenna and an on-chip silicon lens. We report the first experimental observation of 1-3 THz radiation from graphene, as well as four orders of magnitude performance improvements in a GFET ther…
Graphene and related two-dimensional materials are promising candidates for atomically thin, flexible, and transparent optoelectronics. In particular, the strong light-matter interaction in graphene has allowed for the development of state-of-the-art photodetectors, optical modulators, and plasmonic devices. In addition, electrically biased graphene on SiO2 substrates can be used as a low-efficiency emitter in the mid-infrared range. However, emission in the visible range has remained elusive. Here we report the observation of bright visible-light emission from electrically biased suspended gr…
We develop the device model for the proposed injection (electrically) driven thermal light emitters (IDLEs) based on the vertical Hexagonal Boron Nitride Layer/Graphene Layer/ Hexagonal Boron Nitride Layer (hBNL/GL/hBNL) heterostructures and analyze their dynamic response. The operation of the IDLEs is associated with the light emission of the hot two-dimensional electron-hole plasma (2DEHP) generated in the GL by both the lateral injection from the side contacts and the vertical injection through the hBNL (combined injection) heating the 2DEHP. The temporal variation of the injection current …
Point defects significantly influence the optical and electrical properties of solid-state materials due to their interactions with charge carriers, which reduce the band-to-band optical transition energy. There has been a demand for developing direct optical imaging methods that would allow in-situ characterization of individual defects with nanometer resolution. Here, we demonstrate the localization and quantitative counting of individual optically active defects in monolayer hexagonal boron nitride using single molecule localization microscopy. By exploiting the blinking behavior of defect …
Powered by the mutual developments in instrumentation, materials andtheoretical descriptions, sensing and imaging capabilities of quantum emitters insolids have significantly increased in the past two decades. Quantum emitters insolids, whose properties resemble those of atoms and ions, provide alternative waysto probing natural and artificial nanoscopic systems with minimum disturbance andultimate spatial resolution. Among those emerging quantum emitters, the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color center in diamond is an outstanding example due to its intrinsicproperties at room temperature (highly-lumi…
Thermionic energy conversion (TEC) using nano materials is an emerging field of research. Graphene can stand high temperature as high as 4600 K in vacuum. Its work function can be engineered from its high value (for monolayer/bilayer) 4.6 eV to 3. 7 eV, 3.8 eV, 3.5 eV and 3.4 eV, through the use of K2CO3, Li2CO3, Rb2CO3, Cs2CO3 as shown by Kwon et al43 and to as low as 0.7 eV as shown by Yuan et al. Such remarkable property along with good electrical conductivity, high dielectric constant makes engineered graphene an ideal candidate to be used as both emitter and collector in a thermionic ener…
Electrically tunable graphene plasmons are anticipated to enable strong light-matter interactions with resonant quantum emitters. However, plasmon resonances in graphene are typically limited to infrared frequencies, below those of optical excitations in robust quantum light sources and many biologically interesting molecules. Here we propose to utilize near fields generated by the plasmon-assisted nonlinear optical response of nanostructured graphene to resonantly couple with proximal quantum emitters operating in the near-infrared. We show that the nonlinear near-field produced by a graphene…
Self-organized semiconductor quantum dots represent almost ideal two-level systems, which have strong potential to applications in photonic quantum technologies. For instance, they can act as emitters in close-to-ideal quantum light sources. Coupled quantum dot systems with significantly increased functionality are potentially of even stronger interest since they can be used to host ultra-stable singlet-triplet spin qubits for efficient spin-photon interfaces and for a deterministic photonic 2D cluster-state generation. We realize an advanced quantum dot molecule (QDM) device and demonstrate e…
Gate-tuneable single-photon emitters in WSe2 monolayer created via AFM nanoindentation on rigid SiO2/Si substrates
Indian Institute of Science（印度科学研究所）；Université de Toulouse, INSA-CNRS-UPS, LPCNO（图卢兹大学，INSA-CNRS-UPS，LPCNO）；Indian Institute of Technology Goa（印度理工学院果阿分校）；Institut Universitaire de France（法国高等研究院）
