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arXiv:2607.26716

Coherent electric field manipulation of nuclear spin qudit

Sumin Lim, Mikhail V. Vaganov, Niccolo Fontana, Junjie Liu, Arzhang Ardavan

quant-phSubmitted Jul 29, 2026• Announced Jul 30, 2026
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Abstract

Spins in condensed matter, especially well-isolated nuclear spins, offer attractive quantum degrees of freedom for computing, sensing, and networking because of their long coherence times. The possibility of electric-field control is an important feature for practical scalable quantum technologies, but, typically, nuclear spins couple only weakly to electric fields in conventional semiconductor hosts, limiting operation efficiency. Here we show that a choice of a highly polarizable oxide host can overcome this bottleneck. In Mn2+ doped ZnO, electric-field modulation of the spin Hamiltonian is amplified by hyperfine-coupled electron spins, and offers efficient electric-field manipulation of an I = 5/2 nuclear spin qudit, in a manner analogous to the hyperfine enhancement of conventional nuclear magnetic resonance. We demonstrate both resonant and non-resonant coherent manipulation using a single uniaxial electric field applied along the crystalline c-axis, the polarization axis of ZnO. This approach allows universal single-qudit gate operations with efficiencies comparable to or exceeding those of conventional magnetic-field driving. These results support the deployment of doped oxides as active host materials for electrically controllable spin qubits, highlighting the importance of materials design in developing scalable quantum technologies.

Comments
15 pages, 3 figures

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Spins in condensed matter, especially well-isolated nuclear spins, offer attractive quantum degrees of freedom for computing, sensing, and networking because of their long coherence times. The possibility of electric-field control is an important feature for practical scalable quantum technologies, but, typically, nuclear spins couple only weakly to electric fields in conventional semiconductor hosts, limiting operation efficiency. Here we show that a choice of a highly polarizable oxide host can overcome this bottleneck. In Mn2+ doped ZnO, electric-field modulation of the spin Hamiltonian is amplified by hyperfine-coupled electron spins, and offers efficient electric-field manipulation of an I = 5/2 nuclear spin qudit, in a manner analogous to the hyperfine enhancement of conventional nuclear magnetic resonance. We demonstrate both resonant and non-resonant coherent manipulation using a single uniaxial electric field applied along the crystalline c-axis, the polarization axis of ZnO. This approach allows universal single-qudit gate operations with efficiencies comparable to or exceeding those of conventional magnetic-field driving. These results support the deployment of doped oxides as active host materials for electrically controllable spin qubits, highlighting the importance of materials design in developing scalable quantum technologies.
The nuclear spin of a phosphorus atom in silicon is considered as a promising quantum information carrier for quantum computing due to its long coherence time. Coherent control of the nuclear spin is typically realized using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). In this work, we theoretically propose that with the aid of hyperfine interactions and magnetic field gradients, fast electric-dipole-induced nuclear electric resonance (EDNER) can be achieved. The stronger EDNER (compared with NMR) arises from the combined effects of hyperfine interaction between the nuclear and electron spins and coupling between the electron spin and charge degrees of freedom mediated by magnetic field gradients in this scheme. By operating at specific working points, the nuclear-spin splitting becomes less sensitive to electrical noise, enabling long coherence times and high-fidelity quantum operations. All elctrical, addressable control of nuclear spins paves the way for scalable silicon-based quantum computing.
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Nuclear spins in certain solids couple weakly to their environment, making them attractive candidates for quantum information processing and inertial sensing. When coupled to the spin of an optically active electron, nuclear spins can be rapidly polarized, controlled, and read via lasers and radio-frequency (rf) fields. Possessing typical coherence times of several milliseconds at room temperature, nuclear spins hosted by a nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond are thus intriguing systems to observe how classical physical rotation at quantum timescales affects a quantum system. In this work, we demonstrate optical nuclear-spin polarization and rapid quantum control of nuclear spins in a diamond physically rotating at 1kHz1\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{kHz}1kHz, faster than the nuclear-spin coherence time. Free from the need to maintain strict field alignment, we are able to measure and control nuclear spins in the presence of a large, time-varying magnetic field that makes an angle of more than ${100}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ to the nitrogen-lattice vacancy axis. The field induces spin mixing between the electron and nuclear states of the qubits, decoupling them from oscillating rf fields. We are able to demonstrate that coherent spin state control is possible at any point of the rotation. We combine continuous dynamical decoupling with feed-forward control to eliminate decoherence induced by imperfect mechanical rotation. Our work liberates a previously inaccessible degree of freedom of the NV nuclear spin, unlocking new approaches to quantum control and rotation sensing.