Ultranarrow Photoluminescence from Individual Graphene Nanoribbons Showing Single-Photon Emission

Research output: Contribution to journalLetterContributedpeer-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 languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4432-4438
Number of pages7
JournalNano letters
Volume26
Issue number13
Publication statusPublished - 8 Apr 2026
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 41889184

Keywords

Keywords

  • electron−phonon coupling, graphene nanoribbons, photoluminescence, single-photon emission, spectral diffusion, time-resolved PL, zero-phonon line