Cryogenic Thermal Shock Effects on Optical Properties of Quantum Emitters in Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Solid-state quantum emitters are vital building blocks for quantum information science and quantum technology. Among various types of solid-state emitters discovered to date, color centers in hexagonal boron nitride have garnered tremendous traction in recent years thanks to their environmental robu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2023-11
Main Authors: Thi Ngoc Anh Mai, Sajid, Ali, Hossain, Md Shakhawath, Chen, Chaohao, Ding, Lei, Chen, Yongliang, Solntsev, Alexander S, Mou, Hongwei, Xu, Xiaoxue, Medhekar, Nikhil, Tran, Toan Trong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Boron nitride
Color centers
Cryogenic temperature
Emitters
Lattice strain
Optical properties
Quantum cryptography
Quantum phenomena
Room temperature
Solid state
Space applications
Spectral emittance
Stability
Thermal shock
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Summary:Solid-state quantum emitters are vital building blocks for quantum information science and quantum technology. Among various types of solid-state emitters discovered to date, color centers in hexagonal boron nitride have garnered tremendous traction in recent years thanks to their environmental robustness, high brightness and room-temperature operation. Most recently, these quantum emitters have been employed for satellite-based quantum key distribution. One of the most important requirements to qualify these emitters for space-based applications is their optical stability against cryogenic thermal shock. Such understanding has, however, remained elusive to date. Here, we report on the effects caused by such thermal shock which induces random, irreversible changes in the spectral characteristics of the quantum emitters. By employing a combination of structural characterizations and density functional calculations, we attribute the observed changes to lattice strains caused by the cryogenic temperature shock. Our study shed light on the stability of the quantum emitters under extreme conditions, similar to those countered in outer space.
ISSN:2331-8422