Narrowband\nElectroluminescence from Color Centers\nin Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Defects\nin wide bandgap materials have emerged as promising\ncandidates\nfor solid-state quantum optical technologies. Electrical excitation\nof single emitters may lead to scalable on-chip devices and therefore\nis highly sought after. However, most wide bandgap materials are not\namenable to efficient doping, posing challenges for electrical excitation\nand on-chip integration. Here, we demonstrate narrowband electroluminescence\nfrom visible and near-infrared color centers in hexagonal boron nitride\n(hBN). We harness van der Waals tunnel junctions of graphene–hBN–graphene.\nCharge carriers are electrically injected into hBN, exciting localized\ndefects that emit nonclassical light, as characterized by the second\norder correlation measurement. Remarkably, the devices operate at\nroom temperature and produce robust, narrowband emission spanning\nfrom visible to the near-infrared. Our work marks an important milestone\nin vdW materials and their promising attributes for integrated quantum\ntechnologies and on-chip photonic circuits.