The generation of non-classical light states in the near-infrared (NIR) is important for a number of photonic quantum technologies. Here, we report the first experimental observation of sub-Poissonian NIR (1.24 eV) light emission from defects in a 2D hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) sheet at room temperature. Photoluminescence statistics shows g⁽²⁾(0) = 0.6, which is a signature of the quantum nature of the emission. Density functional-theory calculations, at the level of the generalized gradient approximation, for the negatively charged nitrogen anti-site lattice defects are consistent with the observed emission energy. This work demonstrates that the defects in hBN could be a promising platform for single-photon generation in the NIR.

中文翻译：

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室温六方氮化硼中近红外亚泊松光子发射的观察

对于许多光子量子技术而言，近红外（NIR）中非经典光态的生成非常重要。在这里，我们报道了室温下二维六方氮化硼（hBN）薄板中的缺陷产生的亚泊松NIR（1.24 eV）发光的首次实验观察。光致发光统计数据显示g ^（2）（0）= 0.6，这是发射的量子性质的特征。在广义梯度近似的水平上，带负电荷的氮反位晶格缺陷的密度泛函理论计算与观察到的发射能一致。这项工作表明，hBN中的缺陷可能是近红外单光子产生的有前途的平台。