Room-Temperature Quantum Emission from Boron Nitride Nanotubes

Abstract

Quantum information systems such as quantum key distribution and quantum communications require bright, high-purity, stable sources of single photons to act as carriers of quantum information. As such, methods for obtaining single photon emitters (SPEs) in solid-state devices capable of articulating with quantum photonic circuits are a necessary obstacle that must be overcome. Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) flakes have been extensively studied as a host material for SPEs, though working in two dimensions is accompanied by engineering complexity. However, dimensionality can be reduced through the implementation of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs). Here we investigate the potential of BNNTs as room-temperature SPEs using confocal photoluminescence microscopy and Hanbury Brown-Twiss interferometry. Quantum emitters were found in BNNTs spanning the entirety of the visible spectrum, including spectral regions where SPEs within hBN have not been reported. Furthermore, each tube was found to possess multiple SPEs at varying emission wavelengths along the length, exhibiting lifetimes as fast as 0.5 ns, which is about two-fold faster than the fastest hBN SPEs. Additionally, we demonstrate that surface passivation/coating mitigates blinking events, therefore increasing the emitter stability. Thus, BNNTs can function as a single structure supporting a variety of multiwavelength SPE sources, while maintaining a compact radius of ~25 nm, making them ideally suited for deterministic placement and integration within nanophotonic devices such as waveguides and interferometric filters.

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Cite

BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@misc{peter2026roomtemperature,
  title = {{Room-Temperature Quantum Emission from Boron Nitride Nanotubes}},
  author = {Ke-Sean J. M. Peter and Ryan A. Kowalski and David A. Curie and Dakota Braaten and Matthew W. Day and Denis R. Candido and Deyu Li and Richard F. Haglund and Joshua D. Caldwell and Richarda Niemann},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2611.08460},
  eprint = {2611.08460},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.08460},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

RIS

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Room-Temperature Quantum Emission from Boron Nitride Nanotubes
AU  - Ke-Sean J. M. Peter
AU  - Ryan A. Kowalski
AU  - David A. Curie
AU  - Dakota Braaten
AU  - Matthew W. Day
AU  - Denis R. Candido
AU  - Deyu Li
AU  - Richard F. Haglund
AU  - Joshua D. Caldwell
AU  - Richarda Niemann
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/11/05
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2611.08460
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.08460
AB  - Quantum information systems such as quantum key distribution and quantum communications require bright, high-purity, stable sources of single photons to act as carriers of quantum information. As such, methods for obtaining single photon emitters (SPEs) in solid-state devices capable of articulating with quantum photonic circuits are a necessary obstacle that must be overcome. Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) flakes have been extensively studied as a host material for SPEs, though working in two dimensions is accompanied by engineering complexity. However, dimensionality can be reduced through the implementation of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs). Here we investigate the potential of BNNTs as room-temperature SPEs using confocal photoluminescence microscopy and Hanbury Brown-Twiss interferometry. Quantum emitters were found in BNNTs spanning the entirety of the visible spectrum, including spectral regions where SPEs within hBN have not been reported. Furthermore, each tube was found to possess multiple SPEs at varying emission wavelengths along the length, exhibiting lifetimes as fast as 0.5 ns, which is about two-fold faster than the fastest hBN SPEs. Additionally, we demonstrate that surface passivation/coating mitigates blinking events, therefore increasing the emitter stability. Thus, BNNTs can function as a single structure supporting a variety of multiwavelength SPE sources, while maintaining a compact radius of ~25 nm, making them ideally suited for deterministic placement and integration within nanophotonic devices such as waveguides and interferometric filters.
ER  -

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