Photochromism in a Hexagonal Boron Nitride Single Photon Emitter

Solid-state single-photon emitters (SPEs) such as the bright, stable, room-temperature defects within hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) are of increasing interest for quantum information science. To date, the atomic and electronic origins of SPEs within hBN have not been well understood, and no studies have reported photochromism or explored cross correlations between hBN SPEs. Here, we combine irradiation time-dependent microphotoluminescence spectroscopy with two-color Hanbury Brown–Twiss interferometry in an investigation of the electronic structure of hBN defects. We identify evidence of photochromism in an hBN SPE that exhibits single-photon cross correlations and correlated changes in the intensity of its two zero-phonon lines.