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arXiv:1712.00435 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Coherent spin dynamics of ytterbium ions in yttrium orthosilicate

Hee‐Jin Lim, Sacha Welinski, Alban Ferrier, Philippe Goldner, John J. L. Morton

Published Feb 14, 2018• 49 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Rare-earth spins in optical crystals like yttrium orthosilicate (YSO) are of much interest for providing coherent interfaces with both microwave and optical photons. Here, the authors study the spin dynamics of a new system, Yb in YSO, which has favorable optical properties and strong hyperfine coupling to the ${}^{171}$Yb (spin-1/2) and ${}^{173}$Yb (spin-5/2) isotopes. The results demonstrate long coherence times for both the electron and nuclear spins (~1 ms). Employing a range of pulsed electron spin resonance measurements as well as comparison with relevant theory, the study elucidates a number of spin relaxation and decoherence mechanisms at work.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.97.064409

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Rare-earth spins in optical crystals like yttrium orthosilicate (YSO) are of much interest for providing coherent interfaces with both microwave and optical photons. Here, the authors study the spin dynamics of a new system, Yb in YSO, which has favorable optical properties and strong hyperfine coupling to the 171{}^{171}171Yb (spin-1/2) and 173{}^{173}173Yb (spin-5/2) isotopes. The results demonstrate long coherence times for both the electron and nuclear spins (~1 ms). Employing a range of pulsed electron spin resonance measurements as well as comparison with relevant theory, the study elucidates a number of spin relaxation and decoherence mechanisms at work.
Optical coherence and spin population dynamics in 171^{171}171Yb3+^{3+}3+:Y2_22​SiO5_55​ single crystals
171^{171}171Yb3+^{3+}3+-doped Y2_22​SiO5_55​ crystals are a promising platform for optical quantum memories in long-distance quantum communications. The relevance of this material lies in 171^{171}171Yb long optical and spin coherence times, along with a large hyperfine splitting, enabling long quantum storage over large bandwidths. Mechanisms affecting the optical decoherence are however not precisely known, especially since low-temperature measurements have so far focused on the 2 to 4 K range. In this work, we performed two- and three-pulse photon echoes and spectral hole burning to determine optical homogeneous linewidths in two 171 Yb:YSO crystals doped at 2 and 10 ppm. Experiments were performed in the 40 mK to 18 K temperature range, leading to linewidths between 320 Hz, among the narrowest reported for rare-earth ions, and several MHz. Our results show that above 6 K the homogeneous linewidth is mainly due to an elastic two-phonon process which results in a slow broadening with temperature, the homogeneous linewidth reaching only 25 kHz at 10 K. At lower temperatures, interactions with 89^{89}89Yb nuclear spin-flips, paramagnetic defects or impurities, and also Yb-Yb interactions for the higher concentrated crystal, are likely the main limiting factor to the homogeneous linewidth. In particular, we conclude that the direct effect of spin and optical excited state lifetime is a minor contribution to optical decoherence in the whole temperature range studied. Our results indicate possible paths and regimes for further decreasing the homogeneous linewidths or maintaining narrow lines at higher 171^{171}171Yb concentration.
Rare earth doped crystals are a promising platform for long-distance quantum communications, where they can perform quantum light storage. Among different systems, 171{}^{171}171Yb3+{}^{3+}3+-doped Y2{}_{2}2​SiO5{}_{5}5​ (YSO) crystals stand out because of long optical and spin coherence times, and large hyperfine splitting, enabling long-time storage over large bandwidths. Here, the authors study the mechanisms affecting the optical decoherence in a broad range of temperatures (40 mK to 18 K) using high-resolution spectroscopic techniques, and identify ways to further improve the crystal's properties.
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Interfacing between various elements of a computer--from memory to processors to long range communication--will be as critical for quantum computers as it is for classical computers today. Paramagnetic rare-earth doped crystals, such as Nd(3+):Y2SiO5(YSO), are excellent candidates for such a quantum interface: they are known to exhibit long optical coherence lifetimes (for communication via optical photons), possess a nuclear spin (memory), and have in addition an electron spin that can offer hybrid coupling with superconducting qubits (processing). Here we study two of these three elements, demonstrating coherent storage and retrieval between electron and (145)Nd nuclear spin states in Nd(3+):YSO. We find nuclear spin coherence times can reach 9 ms at ∼5 K, about 2 orders of magnitude longer than the electron spin coherence, while quantum state and process tomography of the storage or retrieval operation between the electron and nuclear spin reveal an average state fidelity of 0.86. The times and fidelities are expected to further improve at lower temperatures and with more homogeneous radio-frequency excitation.
Rare-earth ions in crystals are useful in precision measurements and quantum information science because of their exceptional optical and spin coherence properties. We show that the nuclear spin coherence time of 153Eu3+^{153}\mathrm{Eu}^{3+}153Eu3+ ions doped into yttrium orthosilicate can be significantly enhanced by driving the environmental nuclear spins in the host crystal. This method of enhancing the spin coherence time can lead to improved precision measurements using rare-earth-doped crystals.
Rare-earth ion-doped crystals are promising systems for quantum communication and quantum information processing. In particular, paramagnetic rare-earth centers can be utilized to realize quantum coherent interfaces simultaneously for optical and microwave photons. In this paper, we study hyperfine and magnetic properties of a Y2SiO5{\mathrm{Y}}_{2}{\mathrm{SiO}}_{5}Y2​SiO5​ crystal doped with 171Yb3+^{171}\mathrm{Yb}^{3+}171Yb3+ ions. This isotope is particularly interesting since it is the only rare--earth ion having electronic spin S=12S=\frac{1}{2}S=21​ and nuclear spin I=12I=\frac{1}{2}I=21​, which results in the simplest possible hyperfine level structure. In this work, we determine the hyperfine tensors for the ground and excited states on the optical $^{2}\mathrm{F}_{7/2}(0)\ensuremath{\longleftrightarrow}^{2}\mathrm{F}_{5/2}(0)$ transition by combining spectral hole burning and optically detected magnetic resonance techniques. The resulting spin Hamiltonians correctly predict the magnetic-field dependence of all observed optical-hyperfine transitions, from zero applied field up to fields where the Zeeman interaction is dominating the hyperfine interaction. Using the optical absorption spectrum, we can also determine the order of the hyperfine levels in both states. These results pave the way for realizing solid-state optical and microwave quantum memories based on a 171Yb3+:Y2SiO5^{171}\mathrm{Yb}^{3+}:{\mathrm{Y}}_{2}{\mathrm{SiO}}_{5}171Yb3+:Y2​SiO5​ crystal.