Electrical Control of Quantum Emitters in a Van der Waals Heterostructure

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates electrical control over quantum emitters in hexagonal boron nitride within a van der Waals heterostructure, enabling reversible activation and modulation, which advances solid-state quantum photonics.

Contribution

It introduces a method to electrically modulate quantum emitters in hBN-graphene heterostructures, overcoming previous doping limitations and enabling new quantum control capabilities.

Findings

Quantum emitters can be reversibly activated by bias voltage.

A significant number of dark emitters become optically active at non-zero voltages.

Devices achieve nearly coherent emission with linewidths of 160 MHz.

Abstract

Controlling and manipulating individual quantum systems in solids underpins the growing interest in development of scalable quantum technologies. Recently, hexagonal boron nitride has garnered significant attention in quantum photonic applications due to its ability to host optically stable quantum emitters. However, the large band gap of hBN and the lack of efficient doping inhibits electrical triggering and limits opportunities to study electrical control of emitters. Here, we show an approach to electrically modulate quantum emitters in n hBN graphene van der Waals heterostructure. We show that quantum emitters in hBN can be reversibly activated and modulated by applying a bias across the device. Notably, a significant number of quantum emitters are intrinsically dark, and become optically active at non-zero voltages. To explain the results, we provide a heuristic electrostatic model of this unique behaviour. Finally, employing these devices we demonstrate a nearly coherent source with linewidths of 160 MHz. Our results enhance the potential of hBN for tuneable solid state quantum emitters for the growing field of quantum information science.