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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Probe Type II Band Alignment in One-Dimensional Van Der Waals Heterostructures Using First-Principles Calculations
Published on: October 12, 2019
Air-Stable Bright Entangled Photon-Pair Source from Graphene-Encapsulated van der Waals Ferroelectric NbOI2
Mayank Joshi1,2, Meng-Ting Jiang1,3, Yu Xing1
1Quantum Innovation Centre (Q.InC), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 4 Fusionopolis Way, Kinesis, #05, 138635Singapore.
Abstract:
van der Waals (vdW) ferroelectrics are emerging nonlinear photonic materials that combine large second-order susceptibility χ(2) with heterostructure compatibility, offering an attractive route toward miniaturized spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) sources. Practical vdW SPDC, however, remains constrained by low brightness and poor stability in air under continuous irradiation, where ambient exposure and pump-induced heating cause material degradation. Here we demonstrate a bright, air-stable SPDC source based on ferroelectric NbOI2 enabled by graphene encapsulation. Graphene provides robust environmental protection and suppresses pump-induced degradation by enhancing heat dissipation. We report an absolute photon-pair generation rate of 258 Hz and a normalized brightness of 19 900 Hz mW-1 mm-1. Leveraging this stabilized platform, we further generate polarization-entangled photon pairs from graphene-encapsulated 90°-twisted bilayer NbOI2, with 94% fidelity to a maximally entangled Bell state. These results establish graphene-encapsulated NbOI2 as a practical vdW ferroelectric SPDC platform for integrated quantum photonic sources.

