QUROPE Quantum Information Processing and Communication in Europe

Single-photon emitters have been considered for applications in quantum information processing, quantum cryptography and metrology. For the sake of integration and to provide an electron photon interface, it is of great interest to stimulate single-photon emission by electrical excitation as demonstrated for quantum dots. Because of low exciton binding energies, it has so far not been possible to detect sub-Poissonian photon statistics of electrically driven quantum dots at room temperature. However, organic molecules possess exciton binding energies on the order of 1 eV, thereby facilitating the development of an electrically driven single-photon source at room temperature in a solid-state matrix. Here we demonstrate electroluminescence of single, electrically driven molecules at room temperature. By careful choice of the molecular emitter, as well as fabrication of a specially designed organic light-emitting diode structure, we were able to achieve stable single-molecule emission and detect sub-Poissonian photon statistics.