Electrical Generation of Color Centers in Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Defects in wide band gap crystals have emerged as a promising platform for hosting color centers that enable quantum photonic applications. Among these, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), a van der Waals material, stands out for its ability to be integrated into heterostructures, enabling unconventional charge injection mechanisms that bypass the need for p-n junctions. This advancement allows for the electrical excitation of hBN color centers deep inside the large hBN band gap, which has seen rapid progress in recent developments. Here, we fabricate hBN electroluminescence (EL) devices that generate narrowband color centers suitable for electrical excitation. The color centers are localized to tunneling current hotspots within the hBN flake, which are engineered during device fabrication. We outline the optimal conditions for device operation and color center stability, focusing on minimizing background emission and ensuring prolonged operation. Our findings follow up on the existing literature and mark a step forward toward the integration of hBN-based color centers into quantum photonic technologies.