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Photon emission enhancement of lanthanoid ions implanted in gallium nitride nanostructures

佐藤真一郎, Takao Oto, Andrew D. Greentree, Manato Deki, Tomoaki Nishimura, Shugo Nitta, Yoshio Honda, Hiroshi Amano, Brant C. Gibson, Ohshima Takeshi

Published Mar 1, 2026• 0 citations

Abstract

Reliable single-photon sources (SPSs) that provide on-demand single photons are indispensable in the rapidly growing field of quantum technologies. To be maximally useful, they must operate at room temperature, be compatible with mature fabrication processes, and integrate seamlessly with other photonic systems. These requirements have driven research into gallium nitride (GaN)-based photon emitters and devices. Lanthanoid (Ln)-doped GaN exhibits temperature-insensitive, spectrally sharp, and stable visible/near infrared emission. Additionally, Ln-doped GaN leverages a well-developed GaN platform, enabling integration into more complex devices. However, the spontaneous emission rate of Ln ions in the 4f-4f transition is lower than that of other SPS candidates, such as quantum dots. In this study, we present two types of nanostructures that enhance the photon emission of implanted Ln ions in GaN: nanopillar structures and photonic crystal nanocavities. We discuss the mechanisms by which these nanostructures enhance photon emission and explore the future prospects of Ln-doped GaN SPS.

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Lanthanoid (Ln)-doped Gallium Nitride (GaN) have attracted attentions because of their high intensity luminescence and sharp room-temperature (RT) optical linewidth. These superior luminescent properties are quite attractive for the application of single photon source (SPS) which is a key technology for quantum computing, quantum sensing, and quantum key distribution. However, one of the challenges to realize Ln-doped GaN SPS is the long luminescent transition lifetime, resulting in the low photon counts insufficient to optically detect isolated single Ln ions. Confinement of luminescent centers into nanometersized regions is an effective method to enhance their photon emission and we here we show that confinement into GaN nanopillars enhances photon emission from implanted praseodymium (Pr) ions at RT.

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Abstract We demonstrate the optical coupling of implanted neodymium (Nd) ions in a photonic crystal (PhC)-L3 cavity on GaN at RT. The structure of the PhC-L3 cavity is designed by the electromagnetic field simulation to enhance the 4 F 3/2–4 I 9/2 and 4 F 3/2–4 I 11/2 transitions (916 and 1107 nm) in Nd3+. The highest enhancement ratio of 20-fold is achieved under our measurement conditions by the enhancement of spontaneous emission rate due to the Purcell effect in addition to the improvement of light collection efficiency. These results pave the way for the development of Ln-doped GaN based quantum light–matter interface and nanophotonics.

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On-demand, single-photon emitters (SPEs) play a key role across a broad range of quantum technologies. In quantum networks and quantum key distribution protocols, where photons are used as flying qubits, telecom wavelength operation is preferred because of the reduced fiber loss. However, despite the tremendous efforts to develop various triggered SPE platforms, a robust source of triggered SPEs operating at room temperature and the telecom wavelength is still missing. We report a triggered, optically stable, room temperature solid-state SPE operating at telecom wavelengths. The emitters exhibit high photon purity (~5% multiphoton events) and a record-high brightness of ~1.5 MHz. The emission is attributed to localized defects in a gallium nitride (GaN) crystal. The high-performance SPEs embedded in a technologically mature semiconductor are promising for on-chip quantum simulators and practical quantum communication technologies.