Ferroelectric Modulation of Quantum Emitters in Monolayer WS<sub>2</sub>.

Lee, Sung-Joon; Chuang, Hsun-Jen; Yeats, Andrew L; McCreary, Kathleen M; O'Hara, Dante J; Jonker, Berend T · ACS Nano · 2024

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Quantum photonics promises significant advances in secure communications, metrology, sensing, and information processing/computation. Single-photon sources are fundamental to this endeavor. However, the lack of high-quality single photon sources remains a significant obstacle. We present here a paradigm for the control of single photon emitters (SPEs) and single photon purity by integrating monolayer WS<sub>2</sub> with the organic ferroelectric polymer poly(vinylidene fluoride-<i>co</i>-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)). We demonstrate that the ferroelectric domains in the P(VDF-TrFE) film control the purity of single photon emission from the adjacent WS<sub>2</sub>. By switching the ferroelectric polarization, we reversibly tune the single photon purity between the semiclassical and quantum light regimes, with single photon purities as high as 94%. This demonstrates a method for modulating and encoding quantum photonic information, complementing more complex approaches. This multidimensional heterostructure introduces an approach for control of quantum emitters by combining the nonvolatile ferroic properties of a ferroelectric with the radiative properties of the zero-dimensional atomic-scale emitters embedded in the two-dimensional WS<sub>2</sub> semiconductor monolayer.