Single-photon emitters in WSe2 : Critical role of phonons on excitation schemes and indistinguishability

Quantum emitters in few-layer WSe₂ hold promise for scalable quantum computation. However, a significant challenge is to prepare the emitter in a specific excited state ``on-demand''. Here, the authors demonstrate that the emitter-phonon coupling has a crucial influence on the state preparation fidelity, because such a coupling is orders of magnitude stronger in WSe₂ compared to other platforms. While excitation with resonant laser pulses is found to be significantly damped by phonons, alternative strategies based on detuned pulses allow for fast and reliable state preparation.