IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,624,994
Granted Patent B2
US 12,624,994 · App. 18/655,088 · Granted May 12, 2026

Creation of optically stable quantum emitters

Inventors: Muchuan Hua (Naperville, IL); Wei-Ying Chen (Naperville, IL); Hanyu Hou (Downers Grove, IL); Thomas Gage (Bolingbrook, IL); Benjamin Diroll (Chicago, IL); Haihua Liu (Naperville, IL); Jianguo Wen (Bolingbrook, IL); Jian-Min Zuo (Urbana, IL)
Assignees: UCHICAGO ARGONNE, LLC; The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
G01J1/58C23C14/042C23C14/0605C23C14/48G01J1/0411G01J1/44G01J3/021G01J1/0425G01J2001/442G01J3/44
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,624,994
App. No.
18/655,088
Granted
May 12, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A method and devices for fabricating optical emitters. The method includes disposing a flake of a multi-layer material onto a wafer. The wafer has an aperture over which a portion of the flake is disposed. The flake has a first surface partially in contact with the wafer, and a second surface opposite the first surface. The method further includes disposing a deceleration mask layer adjacent the flake. The deceleration mask layer has a flake-side surface adjacent to the flake, and an exposed surface opposite the flake-side surface. An ion beam is directed at the exposed surface of the deceleration mask layer to decelerate ions of the ion beam until at least a portion of the ions are implanted in the flake.

Claims (27)

1 . A method for fabricating optical emitters, the method comprising:

disposing, onto a wafer, a flake of a multi-layer material, the wafer having an aperture over which a portion of the flake is disposed, the flake having a first surface partially in contact with the wafer, and a second surface, opposite the first surface;

disposing a deceleration mask layer adjacent the flake, the deceleration mask layer having a flake-side surface adjacent to the flake and an exposed surface opposite the flake-side surface; and

directing an ion beam at the exposed surface of the deceleration mask layer to decelerate ions of the ion beam until at least a portion of the ions are implanted in the flake.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the multi-layer material comprises a material having between 3 and 300 layers.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the multi-layer material comprises hexagonal boron nitride.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the ions comprise carbon ions.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the deceleration mask layer comprises a carbon film.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the flake has a thickness between the first surface and second surface of 100 nm or less.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the deceleration mask layer has a thickness between the flake-side and exposed surfaces of 50 nm, 100 nm, or less than 100 nm.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising monitoring a temperature of the multi-layer material flake.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein disposing the deceleration mask adjacent to the flake comprises disposing the deceleration mask on a copper spacer, the deceleration mask disposed at a distance away from the second surface of the flake.

10 . A single-photon emission device fabricated according to the method of claim 1 , the device comprising:

a multi-layer material flake having (i) a first surface, (ii) a second surface opposite the first surface, (iii) a thickness defined by the orthogonal distance between the first and second surfaces, and (iv) implanted ions within 100 nm of the second surface.

11 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the multi-layer material comprises hexagonal boron nitride.

12 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the implanted ions comprise carbon ions.

13 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the peak wavelength of the emitters in a typical single-photon emission device have a standard deviation of 2.7 nm or less at room temperature.

14 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the photon emission device emits photons having an emission bandwidths of less than 16 nm at room temperature.

15 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the photon emission device has a maximum emission intensity of greater than 1 MHz.

16 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the thickness of the multi-layer material flake is between 1 and 10 nm, or less than 100 nm.

17 . A system for generating single-photons, the system comprising:

a single-photon emission device fabricated according to the method of claim 1 ;

an excitation radiation source configured to provide excitation radiation to the single-photon emission device;

lensing optics configured to focus the excitation radiation into the single-photon emission device; and

collection optics configured to receive single-photons emitted from the single-photon emission device.

18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the single-photon emission device comprises hexagonal boron nitride implanted with carbon ions.

19 . The system of claim 17 , further comprising a dichroic mirror configured to (i) reflect the excitation radiation into the lensing optics, and (ii) transmit the single-photons emitted from the single-photon emission device.

Assignments (4)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 4, 2026
From: ZUO, JIAN-MIN
To: THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
Reel/Frame 073685/0478 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 4, 2026
From: CHEN, WEI-YING; DIROLL, BENJAMIN; LIU, HAIHUA; HOU, HANYU; HUA, MUCHUAN; WEN, JIANGUO; GAGE, THOMAS
To: UCHICAGO ARGONNE, LLC
Reel/Frame 073685/0275 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 28, 2026
From: CHEN, WEI-YING; DIROLL, BENJAMIN; LIU, HAIHUA; HOU, HANYU; ZUO, JIAN-MIN; HUA, MUCHUAN; WEN, JIANGUO; GAGE, THOMAS
To: UCHICAGO ARGONNE, LLC; THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
Reel/Frame 073616/0732 →
CONFIRMATORY LICENSE Recorded Aug 26, 2024
From: UCHICAGO ARGONNE LLC
To: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Reel/Frame 068793/0883 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20250341418A1 · Nov 6, 2025
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