During the course of this project I have developed two new methods to grow mixed-molecular crystals which can be used in organic quantum technologies, including but not limited to photon sources. The first is a co-sublimation growth which has exquisite control over the crystal habit and the doping levels of single photon emitting molecules. This means crystals can be tailor made for operation in various technologies, such as photon sources or sensors, and environments, such as room temperature devices or cryogenically cooled systems. The second method is a supersaturated vapour growth. This technique produces thin crystals which are compatible with a number of planar integrated waveguide devices. Both of these techniques were published during the course of this 2-year fellowship. To understand the inner-workings of single organic molecules and their robustness against temperature fluctuations and their environement, I investigated the quantum dynamics of molecules in the presence of excess dephasing. This was published in Phys. Rev. A and was an Editor’s Suggestion. In collaboration with the University of York I have designed and fabricated a number of different photonic devices. The first are simple nanowire waveguides in silicon nitride, the second are slotted nanowire waveguides which enable a larger coupling between a molecule and a guided mode, and the third are hybrid plasmonic waveguides which use gold to further enhance light-matter interaction. Each of these devices has been shown to couple light from organic molecules, and experiments are close to yielding publishable results, with one paper currently in preparation.
