Optical quantum technologies with hexagonal boron nitride single photon sources

Single photon quantum emitters are important building blocks of optical quantum technologies. Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), an atomically thin wide band gap two dimensional material, hosts robust, optically active luminescent point defects, which are known to reduce phonon lifetimes, promises as a stable single-photon source at room temperature. In this Review, we present the recent advances in hBN quantum light emission, comparisons with other 2D material based quantum sources and analyze the performance of hBN quantum emitters. We also discuss state-of-the-art stable single photon emitter’s fabrication in UV, visible and near IR regions, their activation, characterization techniques, photostability towards a wide range of operating temperatures and harsh environments, Density-functional theory predictions of possible hBN defect structures for single photon emission in UV to IR regions and applications of single photon sources in quantum communication and quantum photonic circuits with associated potential obstacles.