Natural van der Waals silicates as hosts for telecom quantum emitters: the case of erbium-doped talc

Abstract

Erbium ion is among the most promising solid-state single photon emitters and spin-photon interfaces for quantum networks, emitting directly in the telecom C-band in many host semiconductors. Recently, the search for scalable, low-noise host materials turned toward atomically thin and van der Waals materials that enable efficient integration with nanophotonic architectures. Here, we identify talc, a naturally occurring layered magnesium silicate, as a promising host for telecom-active erbium centers. Using first-principles density functional theory combined with multireference wavefunction calculations, we investigate the thermodynamic stability, electronic structure, crystal-field splitting, and optical transitions of erbium-related defects in talc. We find that substitutional incorporation of Er at Mg sites is energetically favourable over a wide range of Fermi-levels, leading predominantly to telecom C band emitting Er$^{3+}$ configuration. The characteristic ${^4}I_{13/2} \rightarrow {^4}I_{15/2}$ transition of Er$^{3+}$ is preserved in the talc environment and remains centred near 1.55 $\mu$m, while crystal-field interactions produce a Stark manifold suitable for spectrally selective optical addressing. The combination of thermodynamic stability, wide band gap, low background emission, and compatibility with van der Waals heterostructures suggests that erbium-doped talc constitutes a promising platform for integrated photonics in the C-band.