A device that is able to produce single photons is a fundamental building block for a number of quantum technologies. Significant progress has been made in engineering quantum emission in the solid state, for instance, using semiconductor quantum dots as well as defect sites in bulk and two-dimensional materials. Here we report the discovery of a room-temperature quantum emitter embedded deep within the band gap of aluminum nitride. Using spectral, polarization, and photon-counting time-resolved measurements we demonstrate bright (>105 counts per second), pure (g(2)(0)<0.2), and polarized room-temperature quantum light emission from color centers in this commercially important semiconductor.
@article{arxiv.2208.01934,
title = {Room-Temperature Quantum Emitter in Aluminum Nitride},
author = {Sam G. Bishop and John P. Hadden and Faris D. Alzahrani and Reza Hekmati and Diana L. Huffaker and Wolfgang W. Langbein and Anthony J. Bennett},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2208.01934},
year = {2022}
}