Nickel Doping Unlocks Ambient-condition Photostability in Individual Cesium Lead Bromide Perovskite Quantum Dots

Abstract

Developing efficient single-photon sources is fundamental to advancing photonic quantum technologies. In particular, achieving scalable, cost-effective, stable, high-rate, and high-purity single-photon emission at ambient conditions is paramount for free-space quantum communication. However, fulfilling all the requirements simultaneously under ambient conditions has remained a significant challenge. Here, the scalable, cost-effective ambient condition synthesis of nickel doped (Ni doped) CsPbBr3 perovskite quantum dots (NPQDs) is presented using a modified ligand-assisted reprecipitation (LARP) method. The resulting individual NPQDs demonstrate remarkable photostability, sustaining their performance for over 10 minutes under ambient conditions with environment humidity of ~55%, and exhibit exceptional single-photon purity (>99%) with a narrow emission linewidth (~70 meV). The remarkable photostability could be attributed to the spatial localization of exciton by Ni atoms on the surface of the nanocrystal, reducing its interaction with the environment. Our results demonstrated that NPQDs with outstanding combinations of quantum emitting properties can be both synthesized and operated at ambient conditions. These findings mark a significant step toward scalable, cost-effective quantum light sources for real-world applications, paving the way for robust quantum communication systems and devices.