Room-temperature single-photon emitters in silicon nitride

Single-photon emitters are essential in enabling several emerging applications in quantum information technology, quantum sensing, and quantum communication. Scalable photonic platforms capable of hosting intrinsic or embedded sources of single-photon emission are of particular interest for the realization of integrated quantum photonic circuits. Here, we report on the observation of room-temperature single-photon emitters in silicon nitride (SiN) films grown on silicon dioxide substrates. Photophysical analysis reveals bright (>10(5) counts/s), stable, linearly polarized, and pure quantum emitters in SiN films with a second-order autocorrelation function value at zero time delay g((2))(0) below 0.2 at room temperature. We suggest that the emission originates from a specific defect center in SiN because of the narrow wavelength distribution of the observed luminescence peak. Single-photon emitters in SiN have the potential to enable direct, scalable, and low-loss integration of quantum light sources with a well-established photonic on-chip platform.

Automated summary

Single-photon emitters in silicon nitride (SiN) films grown on silicon dioxide substrates have been observed at room temperature, exhibiting high brightness, stability, linear polarization, and purity. These emitters could originate from specific defect centers in SiN, showing potential for direct, scalable, and low-loss integration with established photonic on-chip platforms.