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This study establishes a critical link between AlN epitaxial growth conditions and the efficiency of creating single-photon sources, identifying N-rich substrates as optimal for quantum photonics applications. By combining proton irradiation with annealing on these specific films, researchers can significantly enhance the density of localized light emitters compared to Al-rich growth methods. These findings provide a actionable pathway for engineering high-performance quantum light sources within CMOS-compatible optomechanical platforms.
Interplay between growth conditions and formation of localized light emitters in epitaxial AlN thin films
arXiv:2609.12772v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: AlN is a promising material for integrated quantum photonics due to its broad transparency window, its compatibility with CMOS technology, and the possibility to host localized light emitters acting as single photon sources. However, little is understood yet about the microscopic nature and formation mechanisms of these light emitters. In this contribution, we demonstrate that their formation efficiency depends significantly on the growth conditions of the AlN thin film. We reveal that localized light emitters with distinct zero-phonon lines in the 600--800~nm range can be efficiently formed in epitaxial AlN thin films grown under N-rich conditions by exposing the AlN to a post-growth treatment consisting in a proton irradiation followed by an annealing process. In contrast, the density of light emitters formed in AlN grown under Al-rich conditions remains low, even after the thin films have been exposed to the post-growth treatment. These results open a pathway toward a better understanding of the microscopic nature of these light emission centers, as well as their engineered integration as quantum light sources in AlN-based optomechanical platforms.
Abstract:AlN is a promising material for integrated quantum photonics due to its broad transparency window, its compatibility with CMOS technology, and the possibility to host localized light emitters acting as single photon sources. However, little is understood yet about the microscopic nature and formation mechanisms of these light emitters. In this contribution, we demonstrate that their formation efficiency depends significantly on the growth conditions of the AlN thin film. We reveal that localized light emitters with distinct zero-phonon lines in the 600--800~nm range can be efficiently formed in epitaxial AlN thin films grown under N-rich conditions by exposing the AlN to a post-growth treatment consisting in a proton irradiation followed by an annealing process. In contrast, the density of light emitters formed in AlN grown under Al-rich conditions remains low, even after the thin films have been exposed to the post-growth treatment. These results open a pathway toward a better understanding of the microscopic nature of these light emission centers, as well as their engineered integration as quantum light sources in AlN-based optomechanical platforms.
Optics (physics.optics); Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci); Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
arXiv:2609.12772 [physics.optics]
(or arXiv:2609.12772v1 [physics.optics] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2609.12772 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)
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