Quantum Confined Excitons in 2-Dimensional Materials

Book excerpt: This book presents the first established experimental results of an emergent field: 2-dimensional materials as platforms for quantum technologies, specifically through the optics of quantum-confined excitons. It also provides an extensive review of the literature from a number of disciplines that informed the research, and introduces the materials of focus – 2d Transition Metal Dichalcogenides (2d-TMDs) – in detail, discussing electronic and chemical structure, excitonic behaviour and response to strain. This is followed by a brief overview of quantum information technologies, including concepts such as single-photon sources and quantum networks. The methods chapter addresses quantum optics techniques and 2d-material processing, while the results section shows the development of a method to deterministically create quantum dots (QDs) in the 2d-TMDs, which can trap single-excitons; the fabrication of atomically thin quantum light-emitting diodes to induce all-electrical single-photon emission from the QDs, and lastly, the use of devices to controllably trap single-spins in the QDs –the first step towards their use as optically-addressable matter qubits.