Dresden 2026 – scientific programme
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HL: Fachverband Halbleiterphysik
HL 11: Focus Session: Quantum Emitters in 3D Semiconductors
HL 11.7: Talk
Monday, March 9, 2026, 18:00–18:15, POT/0251
Controlled generation of color centers in MBE-grown AlN for quantum photonics applications — •Meysam Saeedi1, Duc V. Dinh1, Andrey N. Anisimov2, Mingyun Yuan1, Georgy V. Astakhov2, and Alberto Hernández-Mínguez1 — 1Paul-Drude-Institut für Festkörperelektronik, Leibniz-Institut im Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V., 10117 Berlin, Germany — 2Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research, 01328 Dresden, Germany
The large electronic band gap of aluminium nitride (AlN), its compatibility with CMOS technology, and the presence of defect centers acting as quantum light sources in the visible spectral range, make this material attractive for applications in integrated quantum photonics. In this contribution, we demonstrate the controlled generation of optically active defect centers in AlN thin films grown on 4H-SiC by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). To this end, we compare the photoluminescence (PL) spectra of pristine AlN samples grown under both N-rich and Al-rich conditions with their corresponding PL spectra after H-ion irradiation and annealing. We show that achieving high-purity single-photon emitters in samples grown under N-rich conditions is hindered by a broad background PL, primarily arising from native oxygen-related defect complexes already present in as-grown samples. However, the PL background is reduced by more than one order of magnitude by turning the MBE growth conditions from N-rich to Al-rich regimes. These results outline a clear pathway toward the engineering of integrated, high-purity quantum emitters in epitaxial AlN.
Keywords: aluminium nitride; quantum photonics; molecular beam epitaxy; quantum emitter