To harness quantum technology for applications such as computing and cryptography, researchers must develop materials that can emit single photons in response to electrical signals. However, existing approaches require an ultracold environment.

Maximilian Nothaft at the University of Stuttgart in Germany and his colleagues tested phosphorescent iridium-based organic molecules as the active layer in a light-emitting diode (LED) at room temperature. They showed that the molecules could emit photons in response to electrical and laser stimulation. The distribution of the emitted photons suggests that each was emitted by a single molecule.

The authors say that their method should allow for further study of photon-emission mechanisms in organic LEDs.

Nature Commun. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1637 (2012)