Material platforms for solid-state single-photon sources: wide bandgap semiconductors

Junhua Meng; Yiming Shi; Xingwang Zhang

doi:10.1088/1674-4926/26020003

J. Semicond. > Just Accepted

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Material platforms for solid-state single-photon sources: wide bandgap semiconductors

Junhua Meng^1,, Yiming Shi¹ and Xingwang Zhang^{2, 3,}

+ Author Affiliations

1. School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
2. State Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Physics and Chip Technologies, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, PR China
3. Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China

Author Bio:

JunHua Meng is a professor at School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Beijing University of Technology. She received her Ph.D. from the Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2017. Her research focuses on the controlled synthesis and optoelectronic properties of advanced semiconductors and high-performance devices.

YiMing Shi is a doctoral candidate at the School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Beijing University of Technology. Her research focuses on β-Ga₂O₃ materials and devices.

XingWang Zhang is a full professor at the Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ISCAS). He received his B.S. and Ph.D. from Lanzhou University in 1994 and 1999, respectively. He then worked as a postdoctoral at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) from 1999 to 2001, and as a visiting scientist and a Humboldt Research Fellow at the University of Ulm, Germany from 2001 to 2004. His current research interests include ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors, 2D materials, and photovoltaic materials and devices.

Corresponding author: Junhua Meng, jhmeng@bjut.edu.cn; Xingwang Zhang, xwzhang@semi.ac.cn

DOI: 10.1088/1674-4926/26020003CSTR: 32376.14.1674-4926.26020003

References

[1]	Kurtsiefer C, Mayer S, Zarda P, et al. Stable solid-state source of single photons. Phys Rev Lett, 2000, 85(2): 290 doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.85.290
[2]	Schröder T, Trusheim M E, Walsh M, et al. Scalable focused ion beam creation of nearly lifetime-limited single quantum emitters in diamond nanostructures. Nat Commun, 2017, 8: 15376 doi: 10.1038/ncomms15376
[3]	Wan N H, Lu T J, Chen K C, et al. Large-scale integration of artificial atoms in hybrid photonic circuits. Nature, 2020, 583(7815): 226 doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2441-3
[4]	Lohrmann A, Iwamoto N, Bodrog Z, et al. Single-photon emitting diode in silicon carbide. Nat Commun, 2015, 6: 7783 doi: 10.1038/ncomms8783
[5]	Yan F F, Yi A L, Wang J F, et al. Room-temperature coherent control of implanted defect spins in silicon carbide. npj Quantum Inf, 2020, 6: 38 doi: 10.1038/s41534-020-0270-8
[6]	Wang J F, Zhou Y, Wang Z Y, et al. Bright room temperature single photon source at telecom range in cubic silicon carbide. Nat Commun, 2018, 9: 4106 doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-06605-3
[7]	Castelletto S, Johnson B C, Ivády V, et al. A silicon carbide room-temperature single-photon source. Nat Mater, 2014, 13(2): 151 doi: 10.1038/nmat3806
[8]	Berhane A M, Jeong K Y, Bodrog Z, et al. Bright room-temperature single-photon emission from defects in gallium nitride. Adv Mater, 2017, 29(12): 1605092
[9]	Zhou Y, Wang Z Y, Rasmita A, et al. Room temperature solid-state quantum emitters in the telecom range. Sci Adv, 2018, 4(3): eaar3580 doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aar3580
[10]	Xue Y Z, Wang H, Xie N, et al. Single-photon emission from point defects in aluminum nitride films. J Phys Chem Lett, 2020, 11(7): 2689 doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c00511
[11]	Lu T J, Lienhard B, Jeong K Y, et al. Bright high-purity quantum emitters in aluminum nitride integrated photonics. ACS Photonics, 2020, 7(10): 2650 doi: 10.1021/acsphotonics.0c01259
[12]	Xue Y X, Chen F L, Fang Z Y, et al. Bright room temperature near-infrared single-photon emission from single point defects in the AlGaN film. Appl Phys Lett, 2021, 118(13): 131103 doi: 10.1063/5.0045506
[13]	Chanana A, Larocque H, Moreira R, et al. Ultra-low loss quantum photonic circuits integrated with single quantum emitters. Nat Commun, 2022, 13: 7693 doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-35332-z
[14]	Smith J, Monroy-Ruz J, Rarity J G, et al. Single photon emission and single spin coherence of a nitrogen vacancy center encapsulated in silicon nitride. Appl Phys Lett, 2020, 116(13): 134001 doi: 10.1063/5.0002709
[15]	Senichev A, Peana S, Martin Z O, et al. Silicon nitride waveguides with intrinsic single-photon emitters for integrated quantum photonics. ACS Photonics, 2022, 9(10): 3357 doi: 10.1021/acsphotonics.2c00750
[16]	Tran T T, Bray K, Ford M J, et al. Quantum emission from hexagonal boron nitride monolayers. Nat. Nanotechnol, 2016, 11(1): 37 doi: 10.1038/nnano.2015.242
[17]	Tang T W, Ritika R, Tamtaji M, et al. Structured-defect engineering of hexagonal boron nitride for identified visible single-photon emitters. ACS Nano, 2025, 19(9): 8509 doi: 10.1021/acsnano.4c11413
[18]	Chatterjee A, Biswas A, Fuhr A S, et al. Room-temperature high-purity single-photon emission from carbon-doped boron nitride thin films. Sci Adv, 2025, 11(25): eadv2899 doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adv2899
[19]	Zeng L B, Xia Z C, Li Z X, et al. Robust optically stable single photon emission from single-crystal hexagonal boron nitride films. Laser Photonics Rev, 2025, 20: e02146
[20]	Shi Y M, Xia Z C, Meng J H, et al. Room-temperature single-photon emission from β-Ga₂O₃. Nat Commun, 2026, 17: 247

Fig. 1. (Color online) (a) Fluorescence spectrum of a single NV center^[1]. (b) Fabrication of hybrid photonic devices with integrated GeV color centers registered to diamond waveguides^[3]. (c) EL map of the SiC p⁺n junction diodes device and background corrected anti-bunching trace^[4]. (d) The representative RT PL spectrums of the 3C-SiC SPEs^[6].

DownLoad: Full-Size Img PowerPoint

Fig. 2. (Color online) (a) Room temperature spectra from emitters in GaN^[8]. (b) Scalable AlN-on-sapphire photonic integrated circuits with integrated quantum emitters^[11]. (c) Observation of single-photon emission coupled to a waveguide mode^[15]. (d) Second-order correlation functions g² (τ) of the SPEs from the h-BN^[18]. (e) Optical stability tests of the quantum emitters with an h-BN capping layer^[19]. (f) Kohn-Sham energy levels of VGa_I-VO_III defect in β-Ga₂O₃^[20].

DownLoad: Full-Size Img PowerPoint

[1]	Kurtsiefer C, Mayer S, Zarda P, et al. Stable solid-state source of single photons. Phys Rev Lett, 2000, 85(2): 290 doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.85.290
[2]	Schröder T, Trusheim M E, Walsh M, et al. Scalable focused ion beam creation of nearly lifetime-limited single quantum emitters in diamond nanostructures. Nat Commun, 2017, 8: 15376 doi: 10.1038/ncomms15376
[3]	Wan N H, Lu T J, Chen K C, et al. Large-scale integration of artificial atoms in hybrid photonic circuits. Nature, 2020, 583(7815): 226 doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2441-3
[4]	Lohrmann A, Iwamoto N, Bodrog Z, et al. Single-photon emitting diode in silicon carbide. Nat Commun, 2015, 6: 7783 doi: 10.1038/ncomms8783
[5]	Yan F F, Yi A L, Wang J F, et al. Room-temperature coherent control of implanted defect spins in silicon carbide. npj Quantum Inf, 2020, 6: 38 doi: 10.1038/s41534-020-0270-8
[6]	Wang J F, Zhou Y, Wang Z Y, et al. Bright room temperature single photon source at telecom range in cubic silicon carbide. Nat Commun, 2018, 9: 4106 doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-06605-3
[7]	Castelletto S, Johnson B C, Ivády V, et al. A silicon carbide room-temperature single-photon source. Nat Mater, 2014, 13(2): 151 doi: 10.1038/nmat3806
[8]	Berhane A M, Jeong K Y, Bodrog Z, et al. Bright room-temperature single-photon emission from defects in gallium nitride. Adv Mater, 2017, 29(12): 1605092
[9]	Zhou Y, Wang Z Y, Rasmita A, et al. Room temperature solid-state quantum emitters in the telecom range. Sci Adv, 2018, 4(3): eaar3580 doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aar3580
[10]	Xue Y Z, Wang H, Xie N, et al. Single-photon emission from point defects in aluminum nitride films. J Phys Chem Lett, 2020, 11(7): 2689 doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c00511
[11]	Lu T J, Lienhard B, Jeong K Y, et al. Bright high-purity quantum emitters in aluminum nitride integrated photonics. ACS Photonics, 2020, 7(10): 2650 doi: 10.1021/acsphotonics.0c01259
[12]	Xue Y X, Chen F L, Fang Z Y, et al. Bright room temperature near-infrared single-photon emission from single point defects in the AlGaN film. Appl Phys Lett, 2021, 118(13): 131103 doi: 10.1063/5.0045506
[13]	Chanana A, Larocque H, Moreira R, et al. Ultra-low loss quantum photonic circuits integrated with single quantum emitters. Nat Commun, 2022, 13: 7693 doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-35332-z
[14]	Smith J, Monroy-Ruz J, Rarity J G, et al. Single photon emission and single spin coherence of a nitrogen vacancy center encapsulated in silicon nitride. Appl Phys Lett, 2020, 116(13): 134001 doi: 10.1063/5.0002709
[15]	Senichev A, Peana S, Martin Z O, et al. Silicon nitride waveguides with intrinsic single-photon emitters for integrated quantum photonics. ACS Photonics, 2022, 9(10): 3357 doi: 10.1021/acsphotonics.2c00750
[16]	Tran T T, Bray K, Ford M J, et al. Quantum emission from hexagonal boron nitride monolayers. Nat. Nanotechnol, 2016, 11(1): 37 doi: 10.1038/nnano.2015.242
[17]	Tang T W, Ritika R, Tamtaji M, et al. Structured-defect engineering of hexagonal boron nitride for identified visible single-photon emitters. ACS Nano, 2025, 19(9): 8509 doi: 10.1021/acsnano.4c11413
[18]	Chatterjee A, Biswas A, Fuhr A S, et al. Room-temperature high-purity single-photon emission from carbon-doped boron nitride thin films. Sci Adv, 2025, 11(25): eadv2899 doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adv2899
[19]	Zeng L B, Xia Z C, Li Z X, et al. Robust optically stable single photon emission from single-crystal hexagonal boron nitride films. Laser Photonics Rev, 2025, 20: e02146
[20]	Shi Y M, Xia Z C, Meng J H, et al. Room-temperature single-photon emission from β-Ga₂O₃. Nat Commun, 2026, 17: 247

Search

GET CITATION

shu

Export: BibTex EndNote

Article Metrics

Article views: 8 Times PDF downloads: 0 Times Cited by: 0 Times

History

Received: 03 February 2026 Revised: Online: Accepted Manuscript: 18 March 2026

Article Navigation > Journal of Semiconductors > 2026 > Accepted Manuscript

Junhua Meng, Yiming Shi, Xingwang Zhang. Material platforms for solid-state single-photon sources: wide bandgap semiconductors[J]. Journal of Semiconductors, 2026, In Press. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/26020003 ****J H Meng, Y M Shi, and X W Zhang, Material platforms for solid-state single-photon sources: wide bandgap semiconductors[J]. J. Semicond., 2026, accepted doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/26020003

Citation:

Junhua Meng, Yiming Shi, Xingwang Zhang. Material platforms for solid-state single-photon sources: wide bandgap semiconductors[J]. Journal of Semiconductors, 2026, In Press. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/26020003 ****

J H Meng, Y M Shi, and X W Zhang, Material platforms for solid-state single-photon sources: wide bandgap semiconductors[J]. J. Semicond., 2026, accepted doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/26020003

Citation:

J H Meng, Y M Shi, and X W Zhang, Material platforms for solid-state single-photon sources: wide bandgap semiconductors[J]. J. Semicond., 2026, accepted doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/26020003

PDF( 4109 KB)

Material platforms for solid-state single-photon sources: wide bandgap semiconductors

DOI: 10.1088/1674-4926/26020003

CSTR: 32376.14.1674-4926.26020003

1.
School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
2.
State Key Laboratory of Semiconductor Physics and Chip Technologies, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, PR China
3.
Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China

More Information

JunHua Meng is a professor at School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Beijing University of Technology. She received her Ph.D. from the Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2017. Her research focuses on the controlled synthesis and optoelectronic properties of advanced semiconductors and high-performance devices
YiMing Shi is a doctoral candidate at the School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Beijing University of Technology. Her research focuses on β-Ga₂O₃ materials and devices
XingWang Zhang is a full professor at the Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ISCAS). He received his B.S. and Ph.D. from Lanzhou University in 1994 and 1999, respectively. He then worked as a postdoctoral at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) from 1999 to 2001, and as a visiting scientist and a Humboldt Research Fellow at the University of Ulm, Germany from 2001 to 2004. His current research interests include ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors, 2D materials, and photovoltaic materials and devices
Corresponding author: jhmeng@bjut.edu.cn; xwzhang@semi.ac.cn
Received Date: 2026-02-03
Available Online: 2026-03-18

Abstract

FullText(HTML)

References(20)