Single photon emitters in hBN are a promising platform for nanophotonic device integration, with many possible applications in quantum photonics. The photon statistics of an ideal emitter would allow for the detection of exactly one photon per time bin, representing a sub-Poissonian distribution. Measuring the Mandel Q value of a source of light quantifies the extent of Poissonian behaviour, with negative values representing sub-Poissonian behaviour. For a detection of exactly one photon per time bin the Mandel Q would be -1. As such, theory posits Mandel Q = -1 for the ideal SPE. However, due to nonidealities including non-unity quantum efficiencies, collection losses, and detection deadtime, demonstration negative Mandel Q values from SPEs is nontrivial.

We report on the photon statistics of single photon emitters (SPEs) associated with colour centers in hBN using Mandel Q as comparative metric under pulsed and continuous laser irradiation. In this talk, we will present hBN SPEs with statistically significant negative Mandel Q values of -0.002 and -0.0025 under pulsed and continuous-wave laser excitation, respectively. To date, these are the most negative Mandel Q values reported for each type of excitation. These values represent good agreement with expected Mandel Q values accounting for our optical losses. Further, we use an extended version of the Jaynes-Cummings Model to simulate a near-ideal two-level SPE with a Mandel Q of near -1 and demonstrate that including known nonidealities causes the Mandel Q to remain negative but trend towards 0. Under, continuous-wave excitement we define an onset of coherence by varying the time-bin size while minimizing the effect of deadtime. Finally, we will also establish how Mandel Q can be used to both predict and improve the performance of integrated emitters for quantum applications, using random number generation. 

Kristina Malinowski is a second year PhD student in Materials Science working in Prof. Harry Atwater’s lab at Caltech. She earned her BS in Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology in 2022. Her work focuses on studying single photon emitters in hexagonal boron nitride. She has previously worked on elucidating the fundamental physics of these emitters, including better understanding their photon statistics. Currently her projects focus on the integration of these emitters in photonic devices for quantum applications including single photon addition.