SINGLE PHOTON EMITTERS IN HEXAGONAL BORON NITRIDE FOR QUANTUM COMMUNICATIONS

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) has garnered as significant attention as a platform for room-temperature operating single-photon sources (SPS). However, early research has been primarily focused on identifying a variety SPS and there has been comparatively little effort to engineer emitters to work as building blocks of quantum communications [1-2]. Herein, we report on the controlled creation of visible-spectrum emitters in hBN through implantation of different dopants. hBN flakes were first mechanically exfoliated on suitable substrates and were subjected to optimized protocols for defect generation using high-temperature annealing, chemical, and plasma processing. We employed ion beam irradiation using several species, including silicon, titanium, and aluminum to induce defects in mechanically exfoliated hBN. Single-photon emission properties from atomic defects in hBN flakes were characterized using scanning confocal photoluminescence microscopy, second-order correlation (Hanbury Brown and Twiss) measurements, lifetime measurements, while spin properties of the defects were examined using optically detected magnetic resonance. These results provide crucial insights for the development of robust quantum key distribution systems and pave the way for integrating hBN-based SPSs into real-world quantum communication architectures.