Ultranarrow Photoluminescence from Individual Graphene Nanoribbons Showing Single-Photon Emission
Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
Abstract
Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) combine the remarkable optical and electronic properties of graphene with the presence of a tunable band gap, making them promising for optoelectronic applications. Here, we investigate the excitonic properties of individual cove-edge GNRs through microphotoluminescence (micro-PL) spectroscopy. We observe ultranarrow emission lines with full width at half-maximum as low as 24 μeV, demonstrating a reduction of inhomogeneous broadening by 3 orders of magnitude compared to GNR ensembles. Temperature-dependent PL reveals phonon-mediated broadening mechanisms, with electron–phonon coupling parameters in agreement with ensemble studies but with dramatically reduced line widths. Time-resolved PL suggests long-lived excitonic states, while spectral diffusion analysis demonstrates stable emission energies, highlighting the exceptional quality of these GNRs as single-photon emitters. The absence of intensity blinking and low Mandel parameters further support the robustness of the emission properties. Our findings establish cove-edge GNRs as promising candidates for quantum light sources and nanoscale optoelectronic applications.
Details
| Original language | English |
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| Pages (from-to) | 4432-4438 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Nano letters |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 13 |
| Publication status | Published - 8 Apr 2026 |
| Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
| PubMed | 41889184 |
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Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Keywords
- electron−phonon coupling, graphene nanoribbons, photoluminescence, single-photon emission, spectral diffusion, time-resolved PL, zero-phonon line