Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 21, 2026
10:00
Gradient Echo Quantum Memory in Warm Atomic Vapor
Published on: November 11, 2013
13.2K
Atomic localization of quantum emitters in multilayer hexagonal boron nitride.
Tobias Vogl1, Marcus W Doherty, Ben C Buchler
1Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology, Department of Quantum Science, Research School of Physics and Engineering, The Australian National University, Acton ACT 2601, Australia. tobias.vogl@uni-jena.de ping.lam@anu.edu.au.
Nanoscale
|July 24, 2019
Summary
Researchers precisely located quantum emitters in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) using layer-by-layer etching. Emitter location and fabrication method correlate, impacting their excited state lifetime.
Area of Science:
- Quantum optics
- Materials science
- Solid-state physics
Background:
- Two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) hosts single-photon emitters with room-temperature operation.
- These quantum emitters exhibit high luminosity but their precise nature remains unknown.
- Understanding these emitters is crucial for quantum technologies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To precisely localize quantum emitters in multilayer hBN using layer-by-layer etching.
- To investigate the correlation between emitter location, fabrication method, and excited state lifetime.
- To elucidate the underlying mechanisms affecting emitter properties.
Main Methods:
- Layer-by-layer etching of multilayer hBN for atomic precision localization.
- Correlation analysis of emitter position with fabrication methods (plasma treatment vs. electron irradiation).
- Finite-difference time-domain and density functional theory simulations.
Main Results:
- Emitter location is dependent on fabrication method: plasma-treated emitters are near-surface, electron-irradiated emitters are distributed throughout.
- Lower kinetic energy of plasma ions compared to electron irradiation explains positional disparity.
- Near-surface emitters exhibit shorter excited state lifetimes than bulk emitters.
- Simulations rule out optical and electronic effects as primary causes for lifetime differences.
Conclusions:
- Emitter position and fabrication method are key factors influencing quantum emitter properties in hBN.
- Surface coupling or phonon interactions are potential causes for reduced lifetimes in near-surface emitters.
- This work provides a pathway for identifying the defect and engineering emitter properties for quantum applications.
Related Concept Videos
02:45The Quantum-Mechanical Model of an Atom
56.7K
Shortly after de Broglie published his ideas that the electron in a hydrogen atom could be better thought of as being a circular standing wave instead of a particle moving in quantized circular orbits, Erwin Schrödinger extended de Broglie’s work by deriving what is now known as the Schrödinger equation. When Schrödinger applied his equation to hydrogen-like atoms, he was able to reproduce Bohr’s expression for the energy and, thus, the Rydberg formula governing hydrogen spectra.
56.7K
01:52Atomic Mass
69.7K
Atoms — and the protons, neutrons, and electrons that compose them — are extremely small. For example, a carbon atom weighs less than 2 × 10−23 g. When describing the properties of tiny objects such as atoms, we use appropriately small units of measure, such as the atomic mass unit (amu). The amu was originally defined based on hydrogen, the lightest element, then later in terms of oxygen. Since 1961, it has been defined with regard to the most abundant isotope of carbon, atoms of which...
69.7K
02:43Quantum Numbers
49.4K
It is said that the energy of an electron in an atom is quantized; that is, it can be equal only to certain specific values and can jump from one energy level to another but not transition smoothly or stay between these levels.
49.4K
03:24Hybridization of Atomic Orbitals I
66.0K
The mathematical expression known as the wave function, ψ, contains information about each orbital and the wavelike properties of electrons in an isolated atom. When atoms are bound together in a molecule, the wave functions combine to produce new mathematical descriptions that have different shapes. This process of combining the wave functions for atomic orbitals is called hybridization and is mathematically accomplished by the linear combination of atomic orbitals. The new orbitals that...
66.0K
02:44Atomic Orbitals
43.3K
An atomic orbital represents the three-dimensional regions in an atom where an electron has the highest probability to reside. The radial distribution function indicates the total probability of finding an electron within the thin shell at a distance r from the nucleus. The atomic orbitals have distinct shapes which are determined by l, the angular momentum quantum number. The orbitals are often drawn with a boundary surface, enclosing densest regions of the cloud.
43.3K
03:08Atomic Radii and Effective Nuclear Charge
61.7K
The elements in groups of the periodic table exhibit similar chemical behavior. This similarity occurs because the members of a group have the same number and distribution of electrons in their valence shells.
61.7K