QUantum emitters in semiconductors for future Technologies; Single-photon emitters in Aluminium Nitride

Quantum technology (QT) promises massive impacts in fields ranging from communication and cryptography to sensing and computing. While current quantum computers use superconducting processors that require mK operation temperatures, extreme stability and are challenging to scale, point defects combine the potential for room-temperature qubit operation with nanoscale sensing and single-photon emitter (SPE) capabilities. SPEs are central to point defect based quantum technology, a field that is rapidly evolving, and new defects and materials are continuously being explored. A recent material that has reached the attention of the QT community is Aluminum nitride (AlN), a material that is industrially friendly and intriguing also for related technologies such as waveguides. In the present extension of the RCN funded FriPro project, the QUantum emitters in semiconductors for future TEchnologies (QuTe) project, we will develop and explore novel SPEs and quantum defects in AlN. The project is a collaboration between the university of Oslo and the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment and aims at building competence within QT, explore quantum defects in a material of common interest, and extend and strengthen the existing QuTe project.

Quantum technology (QT) promises a disruptive technology for communication, computing, simulation, and sensing, relying on already demonstrated long-distance separation of entangled photons and advantages of quantum algorithms. The project “QUantum emitters in semiconductors for future Technologies" (QuTe) is a cross-disciplinary research project with a team from the Dept. of Physics and the Centre for Materials Science and Nanotechnology (SMN) at the University of Oslo (UiO) in collaboration with the international partners. The vision of the existing QuTe project is to accelerate the process of utilizing point defects in semiconductors as building blocks for quantum technology, and bridge the gap between the existing state-of-the-art semiconductor expertise and quantum functionalities required in future technologies. A specific task in QuTe was to identify potential qubit candidates and host materials, where aluminum nitride (AlN) was as a highly interesting candidate, strengthened by theoretical calculations using data mining and machine learning [Hebnes et al, npj Computational Materials, 8, 207, 2022] and initial experimental investigations. Building on these findings, we propose in QuTe2.0 to explore further AlN as a platform for quantum technology, with a particular emphasis on single-photon emitters (SPEs) for quantum communication. In the Supplementary project, we would also like to include the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment (FFI). In QuTe2.0 we aim to tackle the overarching research questions: (1) How can SPEs in AlN be formed selectively, in a controlled fashion and with high quality? (2) What is the origin of the SPE and spin signals observed in AlN? (3) How can SPE selection be performed to optimize key properties, e.g., energy, brightness, purity and indistinguishability? (4) What is the impact of waveguide integration on quality of SPEs in AlN?