Move Aside Pentacene: Diazapentacene-Doped para-Terphenyl, a Zero-Field Room-Temperature Maser with Strong Coupling for Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics

Masers can deliver ultralow-noise amplification of microwave signals in medical imaging and deep-space communication, with recent research being rekindled through the discovery of gain media operating at room-temperature, eschewing bulky cryogenics that hindered their use. This work shows the discovery of 6,13-diazapentacene doped in para-terphenyl (DAP:PTP) as a maser gain medium that can operate at room-temperature, without an external magnetic field. With a maser output power of −10 dBm, it is on par with pentacene-doped para-terphenyl in masing power, while possessing compelling advantages such as faster amplification startup times, being pumped by longer wavelength light at 620 nm and greater chemical stability from nitrogen groups. Furthermore, the maser bursts from DAP:PTP allow one to reach the strong coupling regime for cavity quantum electrodynamics, with a high cooperativity of 182. The optical and microwave spin dynamics of DAP:PTP are studied in order to evaluate its capabilities as a maser gain medium, where it features fast intersystem crossing and an advantageously higher triplet quantum yield. The results pave the way for the future discovery of similar maser materials and help designate them as promising candidates for quantum sensors, optoelectronic devices and the study of cavity quantum electrodynamic effects at room-temperature.