Photochromism in a Hexagonal Boron Nitride Single Photon Emitter

TL;DR

This study investigates the electronic structure of hexagonal boron nitride single-photon emitters, revealing photochromism and cross-correlations between emission lines, advancing understanding of their quantum properties.

Contribution

It reports the first observation of photochromism in hBN SPEs and explores their electronic structure using combined spectroscopic and interferometric techniques.

Findings

Discovered photochromism in hBN SPEs

Identified cross-correlations between emission lines

Linked quantum efficiencies to electronic structure

Abstract

Solid-state single-photon emitters (SPEs) such as the bright, stable, room-temperature defects within hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) are of increasing interest for quantum information science applications. To date, the atomic and electronic origins of SPEs within hBN are not well understood, and no studies have reported photochromism or explored cross-correlations between hBN SPEs. Here, we combine irradiation-time dependent measures of quantum efficiency and microphotoluminescence (${\mu}$PL) spectroscopy with two-color Hanbury Brown-Twiss interferometry to enable an investigation of the electronic structure of hBN defects. We identify photochromism in a hBN SPE that exhibits cross-correlations and correlated quantum efficiencies between the emission of its two zero-phonon lines.