Single-photon emitters in 2D materials

Atomically thin materials serve as a promising new material class for optoelectronics. Monolayer semiconductors such as MoS₂ or MoSe₂ exhibit prominent photoluminescence. Recently, we have discovered bright and stable single-photon emitters in single layers of WSe₂ [1], which renders atomically thin semiconductors also interesting for quantum optics and quantum technologies.

In my talk, I will show that these quantum light sources can be controlled by mechanical strain and demonstrate deterministic positioning of the emitters on the nanoscale [2]. Furthermore, I will present single-photon emission from GaSe [3], and demonstrate that the emitted photons can be routed in optical waveguides on a photonic chip [4]. Finally, I will discuss the nature and prospects of single-photon emitters in the van der Waals insulator hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) by focusing on how large emitter arrays can be created with commercially available hBN nanocrystals [5] and how light can be efficiently collected in the far-field with the help of 3D-printed polymer lenses [6].

References

[1]  P. Tonndorf et al., Optica 2, 347 (2015)
[2] J. Kern, Advanced Materials 28, 7101 (2016)
[3] P. Tonndorf et al., 2D Materials 4, 021010 (2017)
[4] P. Tonndorf et al., Nano Letters 17, 5446 (2017)
[5] J. Preuß et al., 2D Materials 8, 035005 (2021)
[6] J. Preuß et al., Nano Letters 23, 407 (2023)