Paper Published in Nano Letters: Deterministic Formation of Single Organic Color Centers in Carbon Nanotubes
Left panel: Schematic diagram of quantum defect formation on carbon nanotube through photochemical reaction. Right panel: Actual excitation PL image of the formed quantum defect. The bright spot indicated by the white arrow shows the location of the quantum defect (color center).
We are pleased to announce that our research paper “Deterministic Formation of Single Organic Color Centers in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes” has been published in Nano Letters.
Nano Letters DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c02378
Our team has developed the world’s first technique to introduce quantum defects with controlled number, position, and wavelength on carbon nanotubes. The key innovation is our “deterministic single-molecule modification method” that monitors photochemical reactions in real-time and stops the reaction immediately when individual quantum defects are formed. This approach achieves three simultaneous controls: (1) limiting the number of quantum defects to exactly one, (2) controlling position with sub-micron precision, and (3) adjusting emission wavelength through carbon nanotube structure selection.
By detecting the formation of a single quantum defect through optical measurements, we can stop the chemical reaction within 500 milliseconds, achieving 77% probability of forming single quantum defects. Photon correlation measurements reveal clear antibunching behavior with g^(2)(0) = 0.45, confirming the quantum nature of the color centers that operate at room temperature within the telecom wavelength range. This breakthrough enables the creation of quantum communication devices using quantum light sources that operate at room temperature and in the telecom wavelength range, representing a significant step forward in engineering atomically defined quantum emitters for applications in quantum communication, computing, and sensing.
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grants, JST ASPIRE, Canon Foundation, Mitsubishi Foundation, Murata Science and Education Foundation, and MEXT ARIM Grant.