Strain activated hBN color centers in photonic and plasmonic systems*

A photonic-chip-based source of quantum light is highly desirable for long range quantum commutation. One promising material system for this is the Van der Waals material hexagonal Boron Nitride (hBN) which hosts room temperature single photon emitters in its bulk and 2d limit. The ultra-thin nature of hBN allows for the ability to conform and integrate with other material systems and offers a way to control its the electronic and optical properties through strain and electro-magnetic nearfields. Here we demonstrate a deterministic coupling method by activation of such emitters via strain applied by mechanical bending at precise locations. We use the topography of the photonic element structure to induce the bending and strain engineer heightened defect emission within the field mode of two micro and nano-photonic elements, e.g. Si₃N₄ microdisk (MD) cavities and surface lattice resonances (SLRs) of plasmonic Ag pillar array. We subsequently show coupling of the hBN defect emission to these cavity structure and find this method to be a promising step towards more accessible quantum states of light for study in on-chip devices.