The negatively charged silicon-vacancy (SiV^{-}) color center in diamond has recently emerged as a promising system for quantum photonics. Its symmetry-protected optical transitions enable the creation of indistinguishable emitter arrays and deterministic coupling to nanophotonic devices. Despite this, the longest coherence time associated with its electronic spin achieved to date (∼250 ns) has been limited by coupling to acoustic phonons. We demonstrate coherent control and suppression of phonon-induced dephasing of the SiV^{-} electronic spin coherence by 5 orders of magnitude by operating at temperatures below 500 mK. By aligning the magnetic field along the SiV^{-} symmetry axis, we demonstrate spin-conserving optical transitions and single-shot readout of the SiV^{-} spin with 89% fidelity. Coherent control of the SiV^{-} spin with microwave fields is used to demonstrate a spin coherence time T_{2} of 13 ms and a spin relaxation time T_{1} exceeding 1 s at 100 mK. These results establish the SiV^{-} as a promising solid-state candidate for the realization of quantum networks.
In this Letter, we demonstrate initialization and readout of nuclear spins via a negatively charged silicon-vacancy (SiV) electron spin qubit. Under Hartmann-Hahn conditions the electron spin polarization is coherently transferred to the nuclear spin. The readout of the nuclear polarization is observed via the fluorescence of the SiV. We also show that the coherence time of the nuclear spin (6 ms) is limited by the electron spin-lattice relaxation due to the hyperfine coupling to the electron spin. This Letter paves the way toward realization of building blocks of quantum hardware with an efficient spin-photon interface based on the SiV color center coupled to a long lasting nuclear memory.
Spin impurities in diamond can be versatile tools for a wide range of solid-state-based quantum technologies, but finding spin impurities that offer sufficient quality in both photonic and spin properties remains a challenge for this pursuit. The silicon-vacancy center has recently attracted much interest because of its spin-accessible optical transitions and the quality of its optical spectrum. Complementing these properties, spin coherence is essential for the suitability of this center as a spin-photon quantum interface. Here, we report all-optical generation of coherent superpositions of spin states in the ground state of a negatively charged silicon-vacancy center using coherent population trapping. Our measurements reveal a characteristic spin coherence time, T2*, exceeding 45 nanoseconds at 4 K. We further investigate the role of phonon-mediated coupling between orbital states as a source of irreversible decoherence. Our results indicate the feasibility of all-optical coherent control of silicon-vacancy spins using ultrafast laser pulses.
Atomic defects in solids offer access to atom-like quantum properties without complex trapping methods while displaying a rich physics due to interactions with their solid-state environment. Such properties have made them an advantageous building block for quantum information processing, in particular to construct a quantum network, where information would be encoded in spins and transferred between nodes through photons. Among defects in solids, the negatively charged silicon-vacancy centre in diamond (SiV
−) has attracted attention for its very promising optical properties for such a network. In this thesis, we investigate the spin properties of the silicon-vacancy centre as a potential spin-photon interface. First, we use resonant excitation of an SiV
− centre in an external magnetic field to selectively address different electronic states and analyse the resulting fluorescence. We find evidence of selection rules in the optical transitions revealing that the centre possesses an electronic spin S = 1/2. Making use of the dependence of such selection rules on the applied magnetic field orientation, we resonantly drive two optical transitions forming a
Λ-scheme. In the double resonance condition, we achieve coherent population trapping, whereby the SiV
− is pumped into a dark state corresponding to a superposition of the two addressed ground states of opposite spin. This technique allows us to evaluate the coherence time of the dark state and hence of the spin, while demonstrating the possibility of all-optical control of the spin when a
Λ-scheme is available. We then use resonant optical pulses to initialise and read out the spin state of a single SiV
−. By tuning a microwave pulse into resonance between two ground states of opposite spin, we demonstrate optically detected magnetic resonance. Subsequently, by varying the duration of a resonant microwave pulse, we achieve coherent control of a single SiV
− electronic spin. Through Ramsey interferometry, we measure a spin dephasing time of 115
± 9 ns. We then investigate interactions of the SiV
− with its environment. We analyse the hyperfine interaction of the SiV
− spin with the nuclear spin of
29Si, with a view to taking advantage of the long-lived nuclear spin in the future. We show that single-phonon-mediated excitations between electronic states of the SiV
− are the dominant spin dephasing and population decay mechanism and evaluate how external strain alters optical selection rules and can be used to improve the coherence time of the spin.
Abstract Spin impurities in diamond have emerged as a promising building block in a wide range of solid-state-based quantum technologies. The negatively charged silicon-vacancy centre combines the advantages of its high-quality photonic properties with a ground-state electronic spin, which can be read out optically. However, for this spin to be operational as a quantum bit, full quantum control is essential. Here we report the measurement of optically detected magnetic resonance and the demonstration of coherent control of a single silicon-vacancy centre spin with a microwave field. Using Ramsey interferometry, we directly measure a spin coherence time, T2*, of 115±9 ns at 3.6 K. The temperature dependence of coherence times indicates that dephasing and decay of the spin arise from single-phonon-mediated excitation between orbital branches of the ground state. Our results enable the silicon-vacancy centre spin to become a controllable resource to establish spin-photon quantum interfaces.
Atomic‐scale impurity spins, also called color centers, in an otherwise spin‐free diamond host lattice have proven to be versatile tools for applications in solid‐state‐based quantum technologies ranging from quantum information processing (QIP) to quantum‐enhanced sensing and metrology. Due to its wide band gap, diamond can host hundreds of different color centers. However, their suitability for QIP or sensing applications has only been tested for a handful of these, with the nitrogen vacancy (NV) strongly dominating this field of research. Due to its limited optical properties, the success of the NV for QIP applications however strongly depends on the development of efficient photonic interfaces. In the past years the negatively charged silicon vacancy (SiV−) center received significant attention due to its highly favourable spectral properties such as narrow zero phonon line transitions and weak phonon sidebands. Here, the recent work investigating the SiV center's orbital and electron spin coherence properties is reviewed as well as techniques to coherently control its quantum state using microwave as well as optical fields. Also, potential future experimental directions to improve the SiV's coherence time scale and to develop it into a valuable tool for QIP applications are outlined.