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arXiv · 1605.04445

Temperature Dependence of Wavelength Selectable Zero-Phonon Emission from Single Defects in Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Nicholas R. Jungwirth·Brian Calderon·Yanxin Ji·Michael G. Spencer·Michael E. Flatté·Gregory D. Fuchs
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Abstract

We investigate the distribution and temperature-dependent optical properties of sharp, zero-phonon emission from defect-based single photon sources in multilayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) flakes. We observe sharp emission lines from optically active defects distributed across an energy range that exceeds 500 meV. Spectrally-resolved photon-correlation measurements verify single photon emission, even when multiple emission lines are simultaneously excited within the same h-BN flake. We also present a detailed study of the temperature-dependent linewidth, spectral energy shift, and intensity for two different zero-phonon lines centered at 575 nm and 682 nm, which reveals a nearly identical temperature dependence despite a large difference in transition energy. Our temperature-dependent results are best described by a lattice vibration model that considers piezoelectric coupling to in-plane phonons. Finally, polarization spectroscopy measurements suggest that whereas the 575 nm emission line is directly excited by 532 nm excitation, the 682 nm line is excited indirectly.

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Nicholas R. Jungwirth, Brian Calderon, Yanxin Ji, Michael G. Spencer, Michael E. Flatté, Gregory D. Fuchs. 2016-05-14. Temperature Dependence of Wavelength Selectable Zero-Phonon Emission from Single Defects in Hexagonal Boron Nitride. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b01987

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