Transfer of hexagonal boron nitride quantum emitters onto arbitrary substrates with zero thermal budget

Abstract

The van der Waals material hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) has emerged as a promising candidate for hosting room temperature single-photon emitters (SPEs) for next-generation quantum technologies. However, the requirement of a high temperature anneal (850 °C or higher) to activate the SPEs in hBN makes it difficult to integrate into hybrid structures that cannot tolerate such temperatures, including all silicon-based circuits. In this work, we present a method to deterministically activate quantum emitters in multilayered hBN on a process substrate, followed by a zero thermal budget transfer to a target substrate. This technique does not lead to any degradation or loss of photon purity in the hBN emitters and provides a procedure for combining high-purity emitters with other exciting photonic, magnetic, or electrical properties to explore new physical phenomena. The ability to transfer hBN emitters onto arbitrary substrates creates new technological possibilities to incorporate these quantum photonic properties into photonic integrated circuits and plasmonic devices.