Annealing (glass)

Quantum mechanics

Composite number

Boron

Materials science

Boron nitride

Graphene

Nuclear physics

Electron beam processing

Carbon fibers

Hexagonal crystal system

Physics

Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

Hexagonal boron nitride

Irradiation

Composite material

Crystallography

Chemistry

Electron

Optoelectronics

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) mono and multilayers are promising hosts for room-temperature single photon emitters (SPEs). In this work we explore high-energy (∼MeV) electron irradiation as a means to generate stable SPEs in hBN. We investigate four types of exfoliated hBN flakes-namely, high-purity multilayers, isotopically pure hBN, carbon-rich hBN multilayers and monolayered material-and find that electron irradiation increases emitter concentrations dramatically in all samples. Furthermore, the engineered emitters are located throughout hBN flakes (not only at flake edges or grain boundaries) and do not require activation by high-temperature annealing of the host material after electron exposure. Our results provide important insights into controlled formation of hBN SPEs and may aid in identification of their crystallographic origin.

Effects of High-Energy Electron Irradiation on Quantum Emitters in Hexagonal Boron Nitride