Dresden 2026 – scientific programme
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HL: Fachverband Halbleiterphysik
HL 35: Optical Properties II
HL 35.7: Talk
Wednesday, March 11, 2026, 18:15–18:30, POT/0251
Photoluminescence of single color centers in hBN below the diffraction limit — •Iris Niehues1, Daniel Wigger2, Korbinian Kaltenecker3, Annika Klein-Hitpass1, Johannes Binder4, Andrzej Wysmołek4, and Rainer Hillenbrand5 — 1Institute of Physics, University of Münster, Germany — 2Department of Physics, University of Münster, Germany — 3Department of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany — 4Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, Poland — 5CIC nanoGUNE BRTA, Spain
Color Centers in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) are promising quantum light sources due to their stable single-photon emission at room temperature. Using a scattering-type near-field optical microscope, we investigate photoluminescence (PL) properties of hBN grown via metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. Our experiments employ the microscope in tapping mode to detect PL signals influenced by the metallic AFM tip. We demonstrate near-field optical excitation and emission via the tip's nanofocus, creating a sub-diffraction limited tip-enhanced (TE)PL hotspot [1]. Additionally, an "arc" forms around the emitter, explained by constructive interference between direct beams between the optics and the emitter and indirect beams scattered from the tip. This tip-assisted (TA)PL method can be used to map in-plane dipole orientations of hBN color centers at the nanoscale.
[1] I. Niehues et al., Nanophotonics 14(3), 335-342 (2025)
Keywords: hBN; near-field; photoluminescence; single-photon emitter