C<sub>60</sub> Fullerene as an On-Demand Single Photon Source at Room Temperature.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41042794.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c04007 and PMC identifier 12532277.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Single photon sources are fundamental for applications in quantum computing, secure communication, and sensing, as they enable the generation of individual photons and ensure strict control over photon number statistics. However, current single photon sources can be limited by a lack of robustness, difficulty of integration into existing optical or electronic devices, and high cost. In this study, we present the use of off-the-shelf C<sub>60</sub> fullerene molecules embedded in polystyrene as room-temperature reliable single-photon emitters. As our results demonstrate, these molecules exhibit on-demand single-photon emission, with short fluorescence lifetimes and, consequently, high emission rates. The wide availability and ease of preparation and manipulation of fullerenes as single photon sources can pave the way for the development of practical, economic and scalable quantum photonic technologies.