Electrical excitation of color centers in diamond: Toward practical single-photon sources

Color centers in silicon carbide have recently emerged as one of the most promising emitters for bright single-photon emitting diodes (SPEDs). It has been shown that, at room temperature, they can emit more than 109 photons per second under electrical excitation. However, the spectral emission properties of color centers in SiC at room temperature are far from ideal. The spectral properties could be significantly improved by decreasing the operating temperature. However, the densities of free charge carriers in SiC rapidly decrease as temperature decreases, which reduces the efficiency of electrical excitation of color centers by many orders of magnitude. Here, we study for the first time the temperature characteristics of SPEDs based on color centers in 4H-SiC. Using a rigorous numerical approach, we demonstrate that although the single-photon electroluminescence rate does rapidly decrease as temperature decreases, it is possible to increase the SPED brightness to 107 photons/s at 100 K using the recently predicted effect of hole superinjection in homojunction p-i-n diodes. This gives the possibility to achieve high brightness and good spectral properties at the same time, which paves the way toward novel quantum photonics applications of electrically driven color centers in silicon carbide.

Download Full-text

Single-Photon Sources Based on Novel Color Centers in Silicon Carbide P–I–N Diodes: Combining Theory and Experiment

Nano-Micro Letters ◽

10.1007/s40820-021-00600-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Igor A. Khramtsov ◽

Dmitry Yu. Fedyanin

Keyword(s):

Silicon Carbide ◽

Single Photon ◽

Color Centers ◽

Photon Sources ◽

Theory And Experiment

Download Full-text

Bright Single-Photon Emitting Diodes Based on the Silicon-Vacancy Center in AlN/Diamond Heterostructures

Nanomaterials ◽

10.3390/nano10020361 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 361 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Igor A. Khramtsov ◽

Dmitry Yu. Fedyanin

Keyword(s):

Quantum Information ◽

Information Technologies ◽

Room Temperature ◽

Single Photon ◽

Forward Bias ◽

Color Centers ◽

Practical Implementation ◽

Ambient Conditions ◽

Silicon Vacancy ◽

Photon Sources

Practical implementation of many quantum information and sensing technologies relies on the ability to efficiently generate and manipulate single-photon photons under ambient conditions. Color centers in diamond, such as the silicon-vacancy (SiV) center, have recently emerged as extremely attractive single-photon emitters for room temperature applications. However, diamond is a material at the interface between insulators and semiconductors. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to excite color centers electrically and consequently develop bright and efficient electrically driven single-photon sources. Here, using a comprehensive theoretical approach, we propose and numerically demonstrate a concept of a single-photon emitting diode (SPED) based on a SiV center in a nanoscale AlN/diamond heterojunction device. We find that in spite of the high potential barrier for electrons in AlN at the AlN/diamond heterojunction, under forward bias, electrons can be efficiently injected from AlN into the i-type diamond region of the n-AlN/i-diamond/p-diamond heterostructure, which ensures bright single-photon electroluminescence (SPEL) of the SiV center located in the i-type diamond region. The maximum SPEL rate is more than five times higher than what can be achieved in SPEDs based on diamond p-i-n diodes. Despite the high density of defects at the AlN/diamond interface, the SPEL rate can reach about 4 Mcps, which coincides with the limit imposed by the quantum efficiency and the lifetime of the shelving state of the SiV center. These findings provide new insights into the development of bright room-temperature electrically driven single-photon sources for quantum information technologies and, we believe, stimulate further research in this area.

Download Full-text

Single photon sources based on HPHT nanodiamonds

Journal of Physics Conference Series ◽

10.1088/1742-6596/2015/1/012053 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2015 (1) ◽

pp. 012053

Author(s):

N S Kurochkin ◽

S P Eliseev ◽

V V Sychev ◽

A V Gritsienko ◽

V S Gorelik ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Correlation Functions ◽

High Speed ◽

Single Photon ◽

Luminescence Decay ◽

Second Order ◽

Color Centers ◽

Energy Structure ◽

Single Photons ◽

Photon Sources ◽

The Creation

Abstract Color centers in nanodiamonds are promising candidates for the creation of high-speed sources of single photons without blinking and degradation. Color centers in HPHT nanodiamonds have been investigated. The luminescence decay curves of color centers have been measured. Second order correlation functions were measured for nanodiamonds with sizes from 50 nm to 250 nm. Conclusions about the energy structure of color centers were made based on the correlation functions.

Download Full-text

Single-Color Centers in Diamond as Single-Photon Sources and Quantum Sensors

Springer Series on Fluorescence - Advanced Photon Counting ◽

10.1007/4243_2014_78 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 303-318 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Boris Naydenov ◽

Fedor Jelezko

Keyword(s):

Single Photon ◽

Color Centers ◽

Photon Sources

Download Full-text

Nanoscale depth control of implanted shallow silicon vacancies in silicon carbide

Nanoscale ◽

10.1039/c9nr05938e ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (43) ◽

pp. 20554-20561 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Qiang Li ◽

Jun-Feng Wang ◽

Fei-Fei Yan ◽

Ze-Di Cheng ◽

Zheng-Hao Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Silicon Carbide ◽

Room Temperature ◽

Single Photon ◽

Color Centers ◽

Depth Control ◽

Photon Sources ◽

Broad Interest

Color centers in silicon carbide have recently attracted broad interest as high bright single photon sources and defect spins with long coherence times at room temperature.

Download Full-text