Superinjection in diamond p-i-n diodes: bright single-photon electroluminescence of color centers beyond the doping limit

Abstract

Efficient generation of single photons on demand at a high repetition rate is a key to the practical realization of quantum-communication networks and optical quantum computations. Color centers in diamond are considered to be the most promising platform for building such single-photon sources owing to the outstanding emission properties of color centers at room temperature. However, their efficient electrical excitation remains a challenge due to the inability to create a high density of free electrons in diamond. Here, we show that using the self-gating effect in a diamond p-i-n diode, one can overcome the doping problem and inject four orders of magnitude more carriers into the i-region of the diamond diode than the doping of the n-region allows. This high density of free electrons can be efficiently used to boost the single-photon electroluminescence process and enhance the brightness of the single-photon source by more than three orders of magnitude. Moreover, we show that such a high single-photon emission rate can be achieved at exceptionally low injection current densities of only 0.001 A/mm$^2$, which creates the backbone for the development of low-power and cost-efficient diamond quantum optoelectronic devices for quantum information technologies.