Atomically thin single-photon emitting diodes

Integrating single-photon sources into on-chip optical circuits is a challenge for scalable quantum-photonic technologies. Despite a plethora of single-photon sources reported to-date, all-electrical operation has been reported for only a few. The attractiveness of single-photon sources in layered materials stems from their ability to operate at the fundamental limit of single-layer thickness, foreseeing high extraction efficiency and providing the potential to integrate into conventional and scalable high-speed optoelectronic device systems. We use light emitting devices realized by vertical stacking of graphene, hexagonal-BN few layers thick and mono- and bilayer transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and achieve charge injection from graphene into the TMD layer containing optically active quantum dots. We demonstrate that layered materials enable all-electrical single-photon generation over a broad spectrum. We demonstrate for the first time that quantum emitters reported in WSe$_{\mathrm{2\thinspace }}$can operate electrically, paving the way towards a new class of quantum light emitting devices. We further report all-electrical single-photon generation in the visible spectrum from quantum emitters in a new material, WS$_{\mathrm{2}}$. I will also discuss the potential for scalability and charge control to show that 2d materials are a platform for fully integrable and atomically precise quantum photonics device technologies.