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- Castelletto, S., et al.
(author)
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A silicon carbide room-temperature single-photon source
- 2014
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In: Nature Materials. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 1476-1122 .- 1476-4660. ; 13:2, s. 151-156
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Over the past few years, single-photon generation has been realized in numerous systems: single molecules(1), quantum dots(2-4), diamond colour centres5 and others(6). The generation and detection of single photons play a central role in the experimental foundation of quantum mechanics(7) and measurement theory(8). An efficient and high-quality single-photon source is needed to implement quantum key distribution, quantum repeaters and photonic quantum information processing(9). Here we report the identification and formation of ultrabright, room-temperature, photostable single-photon sources in a device-friendly material, silicon carbide (SiC). The source is composed of an intrinsic defect, known as the carbon antisite-vacancy pair, created by carefully optimized electron irradiation and annealing of ultrapure SiC. An extreme brightness (2 x 10(6) counts s(-1)) resulting from polarization rules and a high quantum efficiency is obtained in the bulk without resorting to the use of a cavity or plasmonic structure. This may benefit future integrated quantum photonic devices(9).
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