Hybrid Metamaterial Platforms for Room-Temperature Chiral Quantum Emitters

POSTER

Abstract

Chiral single-photon emitter (SPE) platforms are crucial for noise-resilient binary information transfer, providing a stable basis for quantum encryption and nonreciprocal optical communication [1]. We demonstrate a hybrid system integrating hexagonal boron nitride containing oxygen-etching-induced vacancy defects as single-photon sources with glancing-angle-deposited nano-helical metamaterials [2]. These intrinsically chiral helices act as circular polarization filters, enabling control of photon emission handedness. Finite-element modeling reveals selective coupling of the emitter dipole to plasmonic modes, resulting in polarization-dependent Purcell enhancement. Experimentally, we studied both dispersed and directly deposited hybrid configurations, identifying structural parameters that maximize chiral contrast and circular polarization selectivity. The combined theoretical and experimental results demonstrate a scalable route to room-temperature, circularly polarized SPE, providing a compact foundation for quantum photonic communication systems.

[1]Dowran et al., Laser Photon.Rev. 2400705 (2024).[2] Kilic et al., Adv.Funct.Mater. 31, 2010329 (2021).

*This work is supported by the NSF Grants No. ECCS 2329940, DMR 1808715, CMMI 2211858, 2224456, OIA-2044049, AFOSR Grants No. FA9550-18-1-0360, FA9550-19-S-0003, FA9550-21-1-0259, FA9550-23-1-0574 DEF, and NASA Nebraska Space Grant (Award #80NSSC25M7128).

Publication: Dowran M.J., et al., Adv. Opt. Mater. 11, 2300392 (2023).
Dowran M.J., Kilic, U., et al., Laser Photon. Rev. 2400705 (2024).
Kilic, U., Saraswat, H., et al., in preparation (2025).

Presenters

  • UFUK KILIC

    • University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Authors

  • UFUK KILIC

    • University of Nebraska - Lincoln

  • Himani Saraswat

    • University of Nebraska-Lincoln

  • Raymond Simith

    • University of Nebraska Lincoln

  • Suvechhya Lamichhane

    • University of Nebraska-Lincoln
    • University of Nebraska Lincoln

  • Sema G Guvenc Kilic

    • University of Nebraska Lincoln
    • University of Nebraska - Lincoln

  • Mathias M Schubert

    • University of Nebraska Lincoln

  • Sy-Hwang Liou

    • University of Nebraska-Lincoln
    • University of Nebraska Lincoln

  • Eva B SCHUBERT

    • University of Nebraska Lincoln
    • University of Nebraska-Lincoln

  • Christos Argyropoulos

    • Pennsylvania State University

  • Abdelghani Laraoui

    • University of Nebraska Lincoln