Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Physical Review B

Characterization of the hyperfine interaction in europium-doped yttrium orthosilicate and europium chloride hexahydrate

Jevon J. Longdell, A. L. Alexander, Matthew J. Sellars

Published Nov 3, 2006• 85 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present characterization of the hyperfine interaction for the europium in hydrated europium chloride and as a dopant in yttrium orthosilicate. The Zeeman and pseudoquadrupole tensors were determined by measuring the hyperfine splittings while rotating the direction of a weak $(\ensuremath{\sim}300\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{G})$ magnetic field. The hyperfine spectra were recorded using Raman-heterodyne spectroscopy, an radio-frequency optical double resonance technique. For both materials magnetic field values were identified where there is no first order Zeeman shift in a europium hyperfine transition. These field insensitive transitions will have application in achieving very long hyperfine coherence times.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.74.195101

Related papers

Characterization of the hyperfine interaction of the excited D05 state of Eu3+:Y2SiO5

Emmanuel Zambrini Cruzeiro, Jean Etesse, Alexey Tiranov +5 more

We characterize the europium $({\mathrm{Eu}}^{3+})$ hyperfine interaction of the excited state $(^{5}\mathrm{D}_{0})$ and determine its effective spin Hamiltonian parameters for the Zeeman and quadrupole tensors. An optical free induction decay method is used to measure all hyperfine splittings under a weak external magnetic field (up to 10 mT) for various field orientations. On the basis of the determined Hamiltonian, we discuss the possibility to predict optical transition probabilities between hyperfine levels for the $^{7}\mathrm{F}_{0}\ensuremath{\longleftrightarrow}^{5}\mathrm{D}_{0}$ transition. The obtained results provide necessary information to realize an optical quantum memory scheme which utilizes long spin coherence properties of $^{151}\mathrm{Eu}^{3+}:{\mathrm{Y}}_{2}{\mathrm{SiO}}_{5}$ material under external magnetic fields.

arXiv:1710.07591•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Mar 16, 2018•22 citations

Hyperfine Structure and Coherent Properties of Erbium-167-doped Yttrium Orthosilicate

Jelena V. Rakonjac

Erbium-167-doped yttrium orthosilicate (167Er3+:Y2SiO5) is a rare-earth-ion-doped crystal which possesses unique properties that would make it an ideal microwave-addressed quantum memory. It has an optical transition at 1.5 µm, which lies in the telecom C-band where much of the optical telecommunications infrastructure is already operating. It also possesses both nuclear and electron spin states, and hyperfine structure with transitions at microwave frequencies. The hyperfine structure exhibits microwave frequency transitions with or without an applied magnetic field, which would allow for a memory compatible with superconducting systems. However, the complicated hyperfine structure has prevented the transitions of 167Er3+:Y2SiO5 from being fully utilised.\nWith the recent publication of new spin Hamiltonian parameters for the ground state of 167Er3+:Y2SiO5, we can predict which transitions should have the longest coherence time at zero field. Based on calculations using these spin Hamiltonian parameters, we used Raman heterodyne spectroscopy to investigate the hyperfine structure of 167Er3+:Y2SiO5 for small magnetic fields and for energy level differences from 600 to 1200 MHz. We observed many transitions from the 4I15/2 ground state, as well as the 4I13/2 excited state that until now has had little investigation regarding its hyperfine structure.\nBy comparing our spectra to the existing ground state spin Hamiltonian parameters, and unpublished excited state parameters, we identified the origin of many of the transitions. We observed differences between the predicted transition frequencies from both sets of parameters and the experimental data. The data obtained using Raman heterodyne was used to improve both ground and excited state parameters to give a better description of the zero-field hyperfine splittings.\nIn addition, we identified transitions from both the 4I15/2 ground and 4I13/2 excited state that have a small dependence on magnetic field. These transitions, with zero field frequencies of 879.4 MHz and 896.7 MHz respectively, yielded coherence times of 67 µs and 300 µs at 3.2 K, when measured with a two-pulse spin echo sequence. By using a dynamic decoupling sequence, we extending the coherence times of the transitions at 879.4 MHz to 380 µs and for the transitions at 896.7 MHz, to 1.4 ms.\nThese coherence time measurements demonstrate an improvement of a previous zero field coherence measurement in 167Er3+:Y2SiO5. By operating at lower temperatures, reducing the 167Er3+ ion concentration or using a different transition, it should be possible to extend the coherence time of 167Er3+:Y2SiO5 even further.

•Jan 1, 2018•3 citations

Spin Hamiltonian characterization and refinement for Pr 3 + :YAlO 3 and Pr 3 + :Y 2 SiO 5

Marko Lovrić, Philipp Glasenapp, Dieter Suter

Rare-earth ions in dielectric crystals play an important role in high-resolution laser spectroscopy and are interesting candidates for storing quantum states of photons. We characterize the praseodymium hyperfine interaction of the ground-state (${}^{3}$H${}_{4}$) and one excited-state (${}^{1}$D${}_{2}$) for two important compounds: praseodymium doped in yttrium aluminum perovskite and praseodymium doped in yttrium orthosilicate. The spin Hamiltonian parameters are determined by numerical analysis of Raman-heterodyne spectra, which were collected for a range of static external magnetic field strengths and orientations. For Pr${}^{3+}$:YAlO${}_{3}$, we present a full analysis without restrictions for the Zeeman and quadrupole tensors, and our new characterization for Pr${}^{3+}$:Y${}_{2}$SiO${}_{5}$ resolves a controversy in the literature.

Physical Review B•Jan 24, 2012•24 citations

High-resolution optical spectroscopy of europium nitrate hexahydrate crystals

F. Chiossi, Diana Serrano, Alexey Tiranov +1 more

We report the optical study of europium nitrate hexahydrate crystals Eu(NO 3 ) ⋅ 3 6H 2 O and their deuterated version Eu(NO 3 ) ⋅ 3 6D 2 O conducted at 50 mK. The crystals show sub-GHz inhomogeneous linewidths for the F 0 7 ↔ 5 D 0 transition and optical coherence times up to 136 μs for the non-deuterated crystal and 750 μs for the deuterated one. In addition, using the spectral hole burning technique, the hyperfine splittings in the absence of an external field have been estimated for the ground and optical levels. These results suggest that rare-earth nitrate crystals could represent a promising class of materials for quantum information applications as well as for fundamental physics experiments requiring narrow optical transitions and good coherence properties. • Deuterated and non-deuterated europium nitrate crystals were grown using the slow-cooling method. • Optical coherence times up to 0.75 ms were measured at 50 mK using the photon echo technique. • Sub-GHz optical inhomogeneous linewidths were observed. • The hyperfine splittings of the ground and optical states were assessed via spectral hole burning.

Journal of Luminescence•Sep 5, 2025•0 citations

Spin echoes in the ground and an optically excited state of $^{167}$Er$^{3+}$:Y$_2$SiO$_5$ at near-zero magnetic fields using Raman heterodyne spectroscopy

Jelena V. Rakonjac, Yuhui Chen, Sebastian P. Horvath +1 more

Erbium-167-doped yttrium orthosilicate is an ideal candidate for a microwave-addressed quantum memory due to its telecom wavelength optical transition and hyperfine structure with and without an applied magnetic field. However, to date there has been little investigation in coherence times for transitions around zero magnetic field, or for hyperfine structure other than from the ground state. Through the use of Raman heterodyne spectroscopy, we have identified transitions at zero magnetic field with a small dependence on field that are suitable for detecting spin echoes for both the ground and excited state. We measured coherence times of transitions at 879.4 MHz and 896.7 MHz as 370 $\mu$s and 1.4 ms respectively at 3.2 K. This is a 100-fold increase in coherence time compared to previous measurements at the same dopant concentration and 200 times greater than the even isotopes of erbium-doped yttrium orthosilicate previously used to demonstrate a microwave memory.

•Feb 12, 2018•0 citations

Hyperfine characterization and spin coherence lifetime extension in Pr 3 + :La 2 (WO 4 ) 3

Marko Lovrić, Philipp Glasenapp, Dieter Suter +6 more

Rare-earth ions in dielectric crystals are interesting candidates for storing quantum states of photons. A limiting factor on the optical density and thus the conversion efficiency is the distortion introduced in the crystal by doping elements of one type into a crystal matrix of another type. Here we investigate the system Pr${}^{3+}$:La${}_{2}$(WO${}_{4}$)${}_{3}$, where the similarity of the ionic radii of Pr and La minimizes distortions due to doping. We characterize the praseodymium hyperfine interaction of the ground-state (${}^{3}$$H$${}_{4}$) and one excited state (${}^{1}$$D$${}_{2}$) and determine the spin Hamiltonian parameters by numerical analysis of Raman-heterodyne spectra, which were collected for a range of static external magnetic-field strengths and orientations. On the basis of a crystal-field analysis, we discuss the physical origin of the experimentally determined quadrupole and Zeeman tensor characteristics. We show the potential for quantum memory applications by measuring the spin coherence lifetime in a magnetic field that is chosen such that additional magnetic fields do not shift the transition frequency in first order. Experimental results demonstrate a spin coherence lifetime of 158 ms --- almost 3 orders of magnitude longer than in zero field.

arXiv:1107.2274•Physical Review B•Sep 12, 2011•54 citations
We present characterization of the hyperfine interaction for the europium in hydrated europium chloride and as a dopant in yttrium orthosilicate. The Zeeman and pseudoquadrupole tensors were determined by measuring the hyperfine splittings while rotating the direction of a weak (\ensuremath∼300G)(\ensuremath{\sim}300\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{G})(\ensuremath∼300G) magnetic field. The hyperfine spectra were recorded using Raman-heterodyne spectroscopy, an radio-frequency optical double resonance technique. For both materials magnetic field values were identified where there is no first order Zeeman shift in a europium hyperfine transition. These field insensitive transitions will have application in achieving very long hyperfine coherence times.
We characterize the europium (Eu3+)({\mathrm{Eu}}^{3+})(Eu3+) hyperfine interaction of the excited state (5D0)(^{5}\mathrm{D}_{0})(5D0​) and determine its effective spin Hamiltonian parameters for the Zeeman and quadrupole tensors. An optical free induction decay method is used to measure all hyperfine splittings under a weak external magnetic field (up to 10 mT) for various field orientations. On the basis of the determined Hamiltonian, we discuss the possibility to predict optical transition probabilities between hyperfine levels for the $^{7}\mathrm{F}_{0}\ensuremath{\longleftrightarrow}^{5}\mathrm{D}_{0}$ transition. The obtained results provide necessary information to realize an optical quantum memory scheme which utilizes long spin coherence properties of 151Eu3+:Y2SiO5^{151}\mathrm{Eu}^{3+}:{\mathrm{Y}}_{2}{\mathrm{SiO}}_{5}151Eu3+:Y2​SiO5​ material under external magnetic fields.
Erbium-167-doped yttrium orthosilicate (167Er3+:Y2SiO5) is a rare-earth-ion-doped crystal which possesses unique properties that would make it an ideal microwave-addressed quantum memory. It has an optical transition at 1.5 µm, which lies in the telecom C-band where much of the optical telecommunications infrastructure is already operating. It also possesses both nuclear and electron spin states, and hyperfine structure with transitions at microwave frequencies. The hyperfine structure exhibits microwave frequency transitions with or without an applied magnetic field, which would allow for a memory compatible with superconducting systems. However, the complicated hyperfine structure has prevented the transitions of 167Er3+:Y2SiO5 from being fully utilised.\nWith the recent publication of new spin Hamiltonian parameters for the ground state of 167Er3+:Y2SiO5, we can predict which transitions should have the longest coherence time at zero field. Based on calculations using these spin Hamiltonian parameters, we used Raman heterodyne spectroscopy to investigate the hyperfine structure of 167Er3+:Y2SiO5 for small magnetic fields and for energy level differences from 600 to 1200 MHz. We observed many transitions from the 4I15/2 ground state, as well as the 4I13/2 excited state that until now has had little investigation regarding its hyperfine structure.\nBy comparing our spectra to the existing ground state spin Hamiltonian parameters, and unpublished excited state parameters, we identified the origin of many of the transitions. We observed differences between the predicted transition frequencies from both sets of parameters and the experimental data. The data obtained using Raman heterodyne was used to improve both ground and excited state parameters to give a better description of the zero-field hyperfine splittings.\nIn addition, we identified transitions from both the 4I15/2 ground and 4I13/2 excited state that have a small dependence on magnetic field. These transitions, with zero field frequencies of 879.4 MHz and 896.7 MHz respectively, yielded coherence times of 67 µs and 300 µs at 3.2 K, when measured with a two-pulse spin echo sequence. By using a dynamic decoupling sequence, we extending the coherence times of the transitions at 879.4 MHz to 380 µs and for the transitions at 896.7 MHz, to 1.4 ms.\nThese coherence time measurements demonstrate an improvement of a previous zero field coherence measurement in 167Er3+:Y2SiO5. By operating at lower temperatures, reducing the 167Er3+ ion concentration or using a different transition, it should be possible to extend the coherence time of 167Er3+:Y2SiO5 even further.
Rare-earth ions in dielectric crystals play an important role in high-resolution laser spectroscopy and are interesting candidates for storing quantum states of photons. We characterize the praseodymium hyperfine interaction of the ground-state (3{}^{3}3H4{}_{4}4​) and one excited-state (1{}^{1}1D2{}_{2}2​) for two important compounds: praseodymium doped in yttrium aluminum perovskite and praseodymium doped in yttrium orthosilicate. The spin Hamiltonian parameters are determined by numerical analysis of Raman-heterodyne spectra, which were collected for a range of static external magnetic field strengths and orientations. For Pr3+{}^{3+}3+:YAlO3{}_{3}3​, we present a full analysis without restrictions for the Zeeman and quadrupole tensors, and our new characterization for Pr3+{}^{3+}3+:Y2{}_{2}2​SiO5{}_{5}5​ resolves a controversy in the literature.
We report the optical study of europium nitrate hexahydrate crystals Eu(NO 3 ) ⋅ 3 6H 2 O and their deuterated version Eu(NO 3 ) ⋅ 3 6D 2 O conducted at 50 mK. The crystals show sub-GHz inhomogeneous linewidths for the F 0 7 ↔ 5 D 0 transition and optical coherence times up to 136 μs for the non-deuterated crystal and 750 μs for the deuterated one. In addition, using the spectral hole burning technique, the hyperfine splittings in the absence of an external field have been estimated for the ground and optical levels. These results suggest that rare-earth nitrate crystals could represent a promising class of materials for quantum information applications as well as for fundamental physics experiments requiring narrow optical transitions and good coherence properties. • Deuterated and non-deuterated europium nitrate crystals were grown using the slow-cooling method. • Optical coherence times up to 0.75 ms were measured at 50 mK using the photon echo technique. • Sub-GHz optical inhomogeneous linewidths were observed. • The hyperfine splittings of the ground and optical states were assessed via spectral hole burning.
Spin echoes in the ground and an optically excited state of 167^{167}167Er3+^{3+}3+:Y2_22​SiO5_55​ at near-zero magnetic fields using Raman heterodyne spectroscopy
Erbium-167-doped yttrium orthosilicate is an ideal candidate for a microwave-addressed quantum memory due to its telecom wavelength optical transition and hyperfine structure with and without an applied magnetic field. However, to date there has been little investigation in coherence times for transitions around zero magnetic field, or for hyperfine structure other than from the ground state. Through the use of Raman heterodyne spectroscopy, we have identified transitions at zero magnetic field with a small dependence on field that are suitable for detecting spin echoes for both the ground and excited state. We measured coherence times of transitions at 879.4 MHz and 896.7 MHz as 370 μ\muμs and 1.4 ms respectively at 3.2 K. This is a 100-fold increase in coherence time compared to previous measurements at the same dopant concentration and 200 times greater than the even isotopes of erbium-doped yttrium orthosilicate previously used to demonstrate a microwave memory.
Rare-earth ions in dielectric crystals are interesting candidates for storing quantum states of photons. A limiting factor on the optical density and thus the conversion efficiency is the distortion introduced in the crystal by doping elements of one type into a crystal matrix of another type. Here we investigate the system Pr3+{}^{3+}3+:La2{}_{2}2​(WO4{}_{4}4​)3{}_{3}3​, where the similarity of the ionic radii of Pr and La minimizes distortions due to doping. We characterize the praseodymium hyperfine interaction of the ground-state (3{}^{3}3HHH4{}_{4}4​) and one excited state (1{}^{1}1DDD2{}_{2}2​) and determine the spin Hamiltonian parameters by numerical analysis of Raman-heterodyne spectra, which were collected for a range of static external magnetic-field strengths and orientations. On the basis of a crystal-field analysis, we discuss the physical origin of the experimentally determined quadrupole and Zeeman tensor characteristics. We show the potential for quantum memory applications by measuring the spin coherence lifetime in a magnetic field that is chosen such that additional magnetic fields do not shift the transition frequency in first order. Experimental results demonstrate a spin coherence lifetime of 158 ms --- almost 3 orders of magnitude longer than in zero field.