Dynamically unpolarized single-photon source in diamond with intrinsic randomness

Polarization is one of the fundamental properties of light, providing numerous applications in science and technology. While ‘dynamically unpolarized’ single-photon sources are demanded for various quantum applications, such sources have never been explored. Here we demonstrate dynamically unpolarized single-photon emission from a single [111]-oriented nitrogen- vacancy centre in diamond, in which the single-photon stream is unpolarized, exhibiting intrinsic randomness with vanishing polarization correlation between time adjacent photons. These properties not only allow true random number generation, but may also enable fundamental tests in quantum physics.