Abstract
Quantum light emitters capable of generating single photons with circular polarization and non-classical statistics could enable non-reciprocal single-photon devices and deterministic spin–photon interfaces for quantum networks. To date, the emission of such chiral quantum light relies on the application of intense external magnetic fields, electrical/optical injection of spin-polarized carriers/excitons or coupling with complex photonic metastructures. Here we report the creation of free-space chiral quantum light emitters via the nanoindentation of monolayer WSe2/NiPS3 heterostructures at zero external magnetic field. These quantum light emitters emit with a high degree of circular polarization (0.89) and single-photon purity (95%), independent of pump laser polarization. Scanning diamond nitrogen-vacancy microscopy and temperature-dependent magneto-photoluminescence studies reveal that the chiral quantum light emission arises from magnetic proximity interactions between localized excitons in the WSe2 monolayer and the out-of-plane magnetization of defects in the antiferromagnetic order of NiPS3, both of which are co-localized by strain fields associated with the nanoscale indentations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1311-1316 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Nature Materials |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 11 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 2023 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
This work was performed at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, an Office of Science User Facility, operated for the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science (OS). Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), an affirmative action equal opportunity employer, is managed by Triad National Security LLC for the US DOE’s NNSA, under contract 89233218CNA000001. Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program 20200104DR provided primary support for the works of X.L., H.Z., A.P., N.S., S.A.C. and H.H. A.C.J. and V.C. acknowledge support from the DOE Basic Energy Sciences, QIS Infrastructure Development Program, Deterministic Placement and Integration of Quantum Defects. X.L., H.H. and S.A.C. also acknowledge partial support by the Quantum Science Center, a National QIS Research Center supported by the DOE, OS. J.C. and H.Z. also acknowledge partial support from LANL Director’s Postdoctoral Fellow Award. M.T.P. acknowledges support from LDRD awards 20210782ER and 20210640ECR. The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) DMR-1644779, the State of Florida, and the US DOE. P.M., D.A.B., M.A.T. and P.R. acknowledge financial support from the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Quantum Science and Technology (QSIT), a competence centre funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), by SNF project no. 188521, and by the ERC consolidator grant project QS2DM. We would like to acknowledge B. Zhou and X. Zhang for the magnetometry experiments using a near-surface ensemble of NV centres, and E. Peterson and C. A. Lane for insightful discussions on the magnetic-exchange proximity interaction. This work was performed at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, an Office of Science User Facility, operated for the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science (OS). Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), an affirmative action equal opportunity employer, is managed by Triad National Security LLC for the US DOE’s NNSA, under contract 89233218CNA000001. Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program 20200104DR provided primary support for the works of X.L., H.Z., A.P., N.S., S.A.C. and H.H. A.C.J. and V.C. acknowledge support from the DOE Basic Energy Sciences, QIS Infrastructure Development Program, Deterministic Placement and Integration of Quantum Defects. X.L., H.H. and S.A.C. also acknowledge partial support by the Quantum Science Center, a National QIS Research Center supported by the DOE, OS. J.C. and H.Z. also acknowledge partial support from LANL Director’s Postdoctoral Fellow Award. M.T.P. acknowledges support from LDRD awards 20210782ER and 20210640ECR. The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) DMR-1644779, the State of Florida, and the US DOE. P.M., D.A.B., M.A.T. and P.R. acknowledge financial support from the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Quantum Science and Technology (QSIT), a competence centre funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), by SNF project no. 188521, and by the ERC consolidator grant project QS2DM. We would like to acknowledge B. Zhou and X. Zhang for the magnetometry experiments using a near-surface ensemble of NV centres, and E. Peterson and C. A. Lane for insightful discussions on the magnetic-exchange proximity interaction.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Quantum Science Center | |
| National Science Foundation | DMR-1644779 |
| U.S. Department of Energy | 89233218CNA000001 |
| School Nutrition Foundation | |
| Office of Science | |
| Basic Energy Sciences | |
| Laboratory Directed Research and Development | |
| Los Alamos National Laboratory | 20210782ER, 20210640ECR |
| Engineering Research Centers | QS2DM |
| Triad National Security | |
| State of Florida | |
| Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung | 188521 |
| National Center of Competence in Research Quantum Science and Technology | |
| NCCR Catalysis |