Room temperature quantum emitters in aluminum nitride epilayers on silicon

Abstract

Room temperature quantum emitters have been reported in aluminum nitride grown on sapphire, but until now they have not been observed in epilayers grown on silicon. We report that epitaxial aluminum nitride grown on silicon by either plasma vapor deposition or metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy contains point-like emitters in the red to near-infrared part of the spectrum. We study the photon statistics and polarization of emission at a wavelength of 700–750 nm, showing signatures of quantized electronic states under pulsed and CW optical excitation. The discovery of quantum emitters in a material deposited directly on silicon can drive integration using industry standard 300 mm wafers, established complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor control electronics, and low marginal-cost mass-manufacturing.