Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2512.15337

Integrated on-chip quantum light sources on a van der Waals platform

Pietro Metuh, Paweł Wyborski, Athanasios Paralikis, Frederik Schröder, Nicolas Stenger, Niels Gregersen, Battulga Munkhbat

physics.opticscond-mat.mtrl-sciquant-phSubmitted Dec 17, 2025• Announced Dec 18, 2025• Revised Oct 6, 2026 (v2)
v1 · Dec 17, 2025v2 · Oct 6, 2026
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Scalable photonic quantum information technologies require a platform combining quantum light sources, waveguides, and detectors on a single chip. Here, we introduce a van der Waals platform comprising strain-engineered bilayer WSe$_2$ quantum emitters, integrated on multimode WS$_2$ waveguides with grating couplers, enabling efficient on-chip quantum light sources. The emitters exhibit bright, highly polarised emission that couples efficiently into WS$_2$ waveguides. Under discrete-state excitation, we observe high-purity, waveguide-coupled single-photon emission, measured using both single-port and cross-correlated, multi-port photon streams, yielding $g^{(2)}(0) = 0.003^{+0.030}_{-0.003}$ and $g^{(2)}(0) = 0.076\pm0.023$, respectively. For a single output, the out-coupled single-photon count rate at the first lens reaches approximately 357 kHz under continuous-wave discrete-state excitation, corresponding to an estimated minimum waveguide-coupled rate of 1.68 MHz. These results demonstrate an efficient, integrated single-photon source and establish a pathway toward scalable photonic quantum information processing centred around nanoengineered van der Waals materials.

Related papers

Photostable molecules on chip: Integrated single photon sources for quantum technologies

Pietro Lombardi, Anna P. Ovvyan, Sofia Pazzagli +8 more

Summary form only given. Efficient quantum light sources and non-linear optical elements at the few photon level are the basic ingredients for most applications in nano and quantum technologies. On the other hand, a scalable platform for quantum information and communication typically requires reliable light matter interfaces and on-chip integration. In this work we demonstrate the potential of a novel hybrid technology which combines single organic molecules as quantum emitters and dielectric chips, consisting of ridge waveguides and grating far-field couplers [1].Here the emitters are integrated by spin-coating onto the photonic chip. We demonstrate at room temperature the emission of single photons from DBT molecules into ridge waveguides with a branching ratio up to 40%. The overall single-photon source efficiency, including emission into the guided mode, propagation losses, and emission into a quasi-gaussian mode in free space, is estimated around 16%. These results are competitive with state-of-the-art single photon emission into propagating guided modes from solid state systems [4], while offering a novel platform with unprecedented versatility. Single waveguided photons can be readily processed on-chip or efficiently extracted into a quasi-gaussian mode in free space. We also discuss options to further improve the collection efficiency and applications to quantum optics [5] and to study manybody-induced quantum correlation effects [6].

arXiv:1701.00459•Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)•Jun 1, 2017•1 citation

Engineering Quantum Light: Emitters, Photonic Structures, and On‐Chip Integration

Anastasia Zalogina, Nathan Coste, Chaohao Chen +2 more

ABSTRACT Integrated quantum photonics is rapidly emerging as a transformative platform for realizing scalable, chip‐based quantum technologies, from secure communication to advanced sensing and computing. At the heart of this revolution are solid‐state quantum emitters: atom‐like light sources embedded in a variety of host materials that enable single‐photon generation, quantum interference, and spin–photon coupling. We begin by discussing quantum emitters across bulk crystals, van der Waals materials, and chemically synthesized nanostructures, highlighting their performance trade‐offs and integration potential. We then examine nanophotonic cavities that enhance the light‐matter interaction, from photonic crystals to metasurfaces and Moiré resonators. Next, we discuss fabrication techniques with sub‐10 nm precision, including material‐specific etching strategies and hybrid integration schemes. Finally, we address emerging approaches for deterministic placement, cavity tuning, and on‐chip scalability. By bringing together insights from materials science, nanofabrication, and quantum optics, this Review provides a comprehensive perspective on the design and integration of high‐performance quantum emitters for scalable photonic platforms.

Laser & Photonics Review•Dec 19, 2025•6 citations

Integrated Quantum Photonics

Iman Esmaeil Zadeh

In the past decades quantum optics has been at the forefront of quantum innovative technologies. For practical applications, scalable platforms for implementation of quantum optical circuits are vital. This thesis presents two new platforms for scalable implementation of quantum optical circuits, namely, modular approach and monolithic integration. Here, we take the first steps towards the integration of three main elements of every quantum optics circuits: Single-photon emitters, single-photon detectors, and quantum logics. Until now, most quantum optical circuits used separate platforms for single-photon generation and detection. The main challenge in the integration of these technologies, which have different requirements, has slowed down the research in the field. Here, we integrate sources and detectors by first fabricating the devices on their own platform and then transferring and combining them together. Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of silicon nitride followed by etching optical waveguides connect these elements. Removing the Poissonian optical excitation field from the quantum circuit is necessary for integration. Classical optical excitation can be avoided if the sources are electrically pumped. However, fabrication of high-quality electrically pumped sources, suitable for integration, has been limited. The experiments described in chapter 4 are our first step towards addressing the mentioned problem. Defect-free nanowires are grown on <100> direction and their optoelectronic performance are characterized. Nanowire quantum dots, thanks to their waveguiding, purity, coherence and their potentials for deterministic integration with other optical circuits, are promising single-photon sources for on-chip quantum optics. However, precise control of the emission energy of the quantum dots by growth has not become possible yet. Chapter 5 describes a method for on-chip tuning of emission energy of nanowire quantum dots using strain fields. We show the emission energy of independent nanowire quantum dots can be brought into degeneracy without affecting their single-photon emission properties. The quantum optical components have to be routed and connected together to form functional circuits. On a chip, this is usually carried out using optical waveguides. Moreover, manipulation of single photons has to be done in a scalable fashion. Again optical waveguides and ring resonators are very good candidates for this task. Therefore, understanding the behavior of these circuits such as their losses, polarization dependence, and temperature behavior is important. The experiment described in chapter 6 studies the behavior of plasma enhanced silicon nitride waveguides in cryogenic temperatures. We concluded in this chapter that due to weak thermo-optic sensitivity of silicon nitride at cryogenic temperatures, the available thermal budget on the system should be carefully considered. An important step in achieving a scalable platform for quantum optical circuits is deterministic and efficient integration of single-photon sources. In chapter 7, we demonstrate successful integration of III-V nanowire quantum dots with silicon nitride waveguides. The nanowires are deterministically selected and transferred from the original growth chip to the new substrate where they are integrated with low-loss silicon nitride waveguides. Our measurements show that the integrated sources preserve their high quality emission properties. In chapter 8, we describe an alternative approach: amodular method for scalable quantum optics. The proposed technique is based on coupling the single-photon from sources into optical fibers where the photons can be processed and then fed into the single-photon detectors. This approach has high flexibility and is easier to implement but as described in the chapter, at the moment, losses in the interfaces between optical fibers and single-photon sources are a major limiting factor. We conclude the thesis with some possible future directions and exciting new results on integration of single-photon detectors with sources and waveguides. Finally, primary results on on-chip single-photon filtering and removal of the optical excitation field are demonstrated.

•Jan 1, 2016•0 citations

Silicon Nitride Waveguides with Intrinsic Single-Photon Emitters for Integrated Quantum Photonics

Alexander V. Senichev, Samuel Peana, Zachariah O. Martin +5 more

The recent discovery of room-temperature intrinsic single-photon emitters in silicon nitride (SiN) 1 provides a unique opportunity for seamless monolithic integration of quantum light sources with the well-established SiN photonic platform. In this work, we successfully demonstrate the integration of intrinsic quantum emitters with planar waveguides composed of low-autofluorescence SiN and demonstrate single-photon emission coupling into the waveguide mode. The coupling of single-photon emission to the waveguide mode is confirmed by second-order autocorrelation measurements of light outcoupled off the photonic chip by grating couplers. Fitting the second-order autocorrelation histogram yields g (2) (0) = 0.15 ± 0.09 without spectral filtering or background correction, the outcoupled photon rate derived from saturation measurements is found to be 6 × 10 3 counts per second. This demonstrates the first successful coupling of photons from monolithically integrated SiN intrinsic single-photon emitters with waveguides composed of the same material. The results of our work pave the way toward the realization of scalable, technology-ready quantum photonic integrated circuitry efficiently interfaced with solid-state quantum emitters.

arXiv:2205.08481•ACS Photonics•Sep 13, 2022•57 citations

Efficient and stable fiber-to-chip coupling enabling the injection of telecom quantum dot photons into a silicon photonic chip

Stephanie Bauer, Dongze Wang, Niklas Hoppe +7 more

The capability of realizing quantum photonics implementations on-chip will have a strong impact on several aspects of quantum computation and information processing. The implementation of large scale integrated quantum photonic technologies requires on-chip reconfigurable waveguide circuits as well as single-photon sources and detectors. Many successes have been made in recent years to demonstrate complex quantum circuits in many material platforms. Among all these platforms, the Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) platform is outstanding as it is well developed for classical applications and therefore deploys a high component density, mature fabrication techniques and compatibility with the telecom regime and the complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. However, the lack of on-demand non-classical light sources, directly incorporated in silicon chips, forces the use of nonlinear processes to generate non-classical light states: the probabilistic nature of the emission process sets a limit in the maximally achievable experimental complexity. The use of on-demand sources will have a strong impact on the device’s scalability.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)•Jun 21, 2021•0 citations

Bright High-Purity Quantum Emitters in Aluminum Nitride Integrated Photonics

Tsung‐Ju Lu, Benjamin Lienhard, Kwang‐Yong Jeong +4 more

Solid-state quantum emitters (QEs) are fundamental in photonic-based quantum information processing. There is strong interest to develop high-quality QEs in III-nitride semiconductors because of their sophisticated manufacturing driven by large and growing applications in optoelectronics, high voltage power transistors, and microwave amplifiers. Here, the generation and direct integration of QEs in an aluminum nitride-based photonic integrated circuit platform is reported. For individual waveguide-integrated QEs, an off-chip count rate exceeding 6 × 10 4 counts per second (cps; saturation rate >8.6 × 10 4 cps) is measured at room temperature under continuous-wave (CW) excitation. In an unpatterned thin-film sample, antibunching with g (2) (0) ∼ 0.08 and photon count rates exceeding 8 × 10 5 cps (saturation rate >1 × 10 6 cps) are measured at room temperature under CW excitation. Although spin and detailed optical line width measurements are left for future work, these results already show the potential for high-quality QEs monolithically integrated in a wide range of III-nitride device technologies that would enable new quantum device opportunities and industrial scalability.

ACS Photonics•Sep 21, 2020•56 citations
Scalable photonic quantum information technologies require a platform combining quantum light sources, waveguides, and detectors on a single chip. Here, we introduce a van der Waals platform comprising strain-engineered bilayer WSe2_22​ quantum emitters, integrated on multimode WS2_22​ waveguides with grating couplers, enabling efficient on-chip quantum light sources. The emitters exhibit bright, highly polarised emission that couples efficiently into WS2_22​ waveguides. Under discrete-state excitation, we observe high-purity, waveguide-coupled single-photon emission, measured using both single-port and cross-correlated, multi-port photon streams, yielding g(2)(0)=0.003−0.003+0.030g^{(2)}(0) = 0.003^{+0.030}_{-0.003}g(2)(0)=0.003−0.003+0.030​ and g(2)(0)=0.076±0.023g^{(2)}(0) = 0.076\pm0.023g(2)(0)=0.076±0.023, respectively. For a single output, the out-coupled single-photon count rate at the first lens reaches approximately 357 kHz under continuous-wave discrete-state excitation, corresponding to an estimated minimum waveguide-coupled rate of 1.68 MHz. These results demonstrate an efficient, integrated single-photon source and establish a pathway toward scalable photonic quantum information processing centred around nanoengineered van der Waals materials.
Summary form only given. Efficient quantum light sources and non-linear optical elements at the few photon level are the basic ingredients for most applications in nano and quantum technologies. On the other hand, a scalable platform for quantum information and communication typically requires reliable light matter interfaces and on-chip integration. In this work we demonstrate the potential of a novel hybrid technology which combines single organic molecules as quantum emitters and dielectric chips, consisting of ridge waveguides and grating far-field couplers [1].Here the emitters are integrated by spin-coating onto the photonic chip. We demonstrate at room temperature the emission of single photons from DBT molecules into ridge waveguides with a branching ratio up to 40%. The overall single-photon source efficiency, including emission into the guided mode, propagation losses, and emission into a quasi-gaussian mode in free space, is estimated around 16%. These results are competitive with state-of-the-art single photon emission into propagating guided modes from solid state systems [4], while offering a novel platform with unprecedented versatility. Single waveguided photons can be readily processed on-chip or efficiently extracted into a quasi-gaussian mode in free space. We also discuss options to further improve the collection efficiency and applications to quantum optics [5] and to study manybody-induced quantum correlation effects [6].
ABSTRACT Integrated quantum photonics is rapidly emerging as a transformative platform for realizing scalable, chip‐based quantum technologies, from secure communication to advanced sensing and computing. At the heart of this revolution are solid‐state quantum emitters: atom‐like light sources embedded in a variety of host materials that enable single‐photon generation, quantum interference, and spin–photon coupling. We begin by discussing quantum emitters across bulk crystals, van der Waals materials, and chemically synthesized nanostructures, highlighting their performance trade‐offs and integration potential. We then examine nanophotonic cavities that enhance the light‐matter interaction, from photonic crystals to metasurfaces and Moiré resonators. Next, we discuss fabrication techniques with sub‐10 nm precision, including material‐specific etching strategies and hybrid integration schemes. Finally, we address emerging approaches for deterministic placement, cavity tuning, and on‐chip scalability. By bringing together insights from materials science, nanofabrication, and quantum optics, this Review provides a comprehensive perspective on the design and integration of high‐performance quantum emitters for scalable photonic platforms.
In the past decades quantum optics has been at the forefront of quantum innovative technologies. For practical applications, scalable platforms for implementation of quantum optical circuits are vital. This thesis presents two new platforms for scalable implementation of quantum optical circuits, namely, modular approach and monolithic integration. Here, we take the first steps towards the integration of three main elements of every quantum optics circuits: Single-photon emitters, single-photon detectors, and quantum logics. Until now, most quantum optical circuits used separate platforms for single-photon generation and detection. The main challenge in the integration of these technologies, which have different requirements, has slowed down the research in the field. Here, we integrate sources and detectors by first fabricating the devices on their own platform and then transferring and combining them together. Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of silicon nitride followed by etching optical waveguides connect these elements. Removing the Poissonian optical excitation field from the quantum circuit is necessary for integration. Classical optical excitation can be avoided if the sources are electrically pumped. However, fabrication of high-quality electrically pumped sources, suitable for integration, has been limited. The experiments described in chapter 4 are our first step towards addressing the mentioned problem. Defect-free nanowires are grown on <100> direction and their optoelectronic performance are characterized. Nanowire quantum dots, thanks to their waveguiding, purity, coherence and their potentials for deterministic integration with other optical circuits, are promising single-photon sources for on-chip quantum optics. However, precise control of the emission energy of the quantum dots by growth has not become possible yet. Chapter 5 describes a method for on-chip tuning of emission energy of nanowire quantum dots using strain fields. We show the emission energy of independent nanowire quantum dots can be brought into degeneracy without affecting their single-photon emission properties. The quantum optical components have to be routed and connected together to form functional circuits. On a chip, this is usually carried out using optical waveguides. Moreover, manipulation of single photons has to be done in a scalable fashion. Again optical waveguides and ring resonators are very good candidates for this task. Therefore, understanding the behavior of these circuits such as their losses, polarization dependence, and temperature behavior is important. The experiment described in chapter 6 studies the behavior of plasma enhanced silicon nitride waveguides in cryogenic temperatures. We concluded in this chapter that due to weak thermo-optic sensitivity of silicon nitride at cryogenic temperatures, the available thermal budget on the system should be carefully considered. An important step in achieving a scalable platform for quantum optical circuits is deterministic and efficient integration of single-photon sources. In chapter 7, we demonstrate successful integration of III-V nanowire quantum dots with silicon nitride waveguides. The nanowires are deterministically selected and transferred from the original growth chip to the new substrate where they are integrated with low-loss silicon nitride waveguides. Our measurements show that the integrated sources preserve their high quality emission properties. In chapter 8, we describe an alternative approach: amodular method for scalable quantum optics. The proposed technique is based on coupling the single-photon from sources into optical fibers where the photons can be processed and then fed into the single-photon detectors. This approach has high flexibility and is easier to implement but as described in the chapter, at the moment, losses in the interfaces between optical fibers and single-photon sources are a major limiting factor. We conclude the thesis with some possible future directions and exciting new results on integration of single-photon detectors with sources and waveguides. Finally, primary results on on-chip single-photon filtering and removal of the optical excitation field are demonstrated.
The recent discovery of room-temperature intrinsic single-photon emitters in silicon nitride (SiN) 1 provides a unique opportunity for seamless monolithic integration of quantum light sources with the well-established SiN photonic platform. In this work, we successfully demonstrate the integration of intrinsic quantum emitters with planar waveguides composed of low-autofluorescence SiN and demonstrate single-photon emission coupling into the waveguide mode. The coupling of single-photon emission to the waveguide mode is confirmed by second-order autocorrelation measurements of light outcoupled off the photonic chip by grating couplers. Fitting the second-order autocorrelation histogram yields g (2) (0) = 0.15 ± 0.09 without spectral filtering or background correction, the outcoupled photon rate derived from saturation measurements is found to be 6 × 10 3 counts per second. This demonstrates the first successful coupling of photons from monolithically integrated SiN intrinsic single-photon emitters with waveguides composed of the same material. The results of our work pave the way toward the realization of scalable, technology-ready quantum photonic integrated circuitry efficiently interfaced with solid-state quantum emitters.
The capability of realizing quantum photonics implementations on-chip will have a strong impact on several aspects of quantum computation and information processing. The implementation of large scale integrated quantum photonic technologies requires on-chip reconfigurable waveguide circuits as well as single-photon sources and detectors. Many successes have been made in recent years to demonstrate complex quantum circuits in many material platforms. Among all these platforms, the Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) platform is outstanding as it is well developed for classical applications and therefore deploys a high component density, mature fabrication techniques and compatibility with the telecom regime and the complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. However, the lack of on-demand non-classical light sources, directly incorporated in silicon chips, forces the use of nonlinear processes to generate non-classical light states: the probabilistic nature of the emission process sets a limit in the maximally achievable experimental complexity. The use of on-demand sources will have a strong impact on the device’s scalability.
Solid-state quantum emitters (QEs) are fundamental in photonic-based quantum information processing. There is strong interest to develop high-quality QEs in III-nitride semiconductors because of their sophisticated manufacturing driven by large and growing applications in optoelectronics, high voltage power transistors, and microwave amplifiers. Here, the generation and direct integration of QEs in an aluminum nitride-based photonic integrated circuit platform is reported. For individual waveguide-integrated QEs, an off-chip count rate exceeding 6 × 10 4 counts per second (cps; saturation rate >8.6 × 10 4 cps) is measured at room temperature under continuous-wave (CW) excitation. In an unpatterned thin-film sample, antibunching with g (2) (0) ∼ 0.08 and photon count rates exceeding 8 × 10 5 cps (saturation rate >1 × 10 6 cps) are measured at room temperature under CW excitation. Although spin and detailed optical line width measurements are left for future work, these results already show the potential for high-quality QEs monolithically integrated in a wide range of III-nitride device technologies that would enable new quantum device opportunities and industrial scalability.