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npj Quantum Information

Storage and retrieval of microwave pulses with molecular spin ensembles

Claudio Bonizzoni, Alberto Ghirri, Fabio Santanni, Matteo Atzori, Lorenzo Sorace, Roberta Sessoli, M. Affronte

Published Aug 7, 2020• 39 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract Hybrid architectures combining complementary quantum systems will be largely used in quantum technologies and the integration of different components is one of the key issues. Thanks to their long coherence times and the easy manipulation with microwave pulses, electron spins hold a potential for the realization of quantum memories. Here, we test diluted oxovanadium tetraphenyl porphyrin (VO(TPP)) as a prototypical molecular spin system for the Storage/Retrieval of microwave pulses when embedded into planar superconducting microwave resonators. We first investigate the efficiency of several pulse sequences in addressing the spins. The Carr-Purcell and the Uhrig Dynamical Decoupling enhance the memory time up to three times with threeπpulses. We then successfully store and retrieve trains of up to 5 small pulses by using a single recovery pulse. These results demonstrate the memory capabilities of molecular spin ensembles when embedded into quantum circuits.

DOI
10.1038/s41534-020-00296-9

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Abstract Hybrid architectures combining complementary quantum systems will be largely used in quantum technologies and the integration of different components is one of the key issues. Thanks to their long coherence times and the easy manipulation with microwave pulses, electron spins hold a potential for the realization of quantum memories. Here, we test diluted oxovanadium tetraphenyl porphyrin (VO(TPP)) as a prototypical molecular spin system for the Storage/Retrieval of microwave pulses when embedded into planar superconducting microwave resonators. We first investigate the efficiency of several pulse sequences in addressing the spins. The Carr-Purcell and the Uhrig Dynamical Decoupling enhance the memory time up to three times with threeπpulses. We then successfully store and retrieve trains of up to 5 small pulses by using a single recovery pulse. These results demonstrate the memory capabilities of molecular spin ensembles when embedded into quantum circuits.
A quantum memory at microwave frequencies, able to store the state of multiple superconducting qubits for long times, is a key element for quantum information processing. Electronic and nuclear spins are natural candidates for the storage medium as their coherence time can be well above one second. Benefiting from these long coherence times requires to apply the refocusing techniques used in magnetic resonance, a major challenge in the context of hybrid quantum circuits. Here we report the first implementation of such a scheme, using ensembles of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres in diamond coupled to a superconducting resonator, in a setup compatible with superconducting qubit technology. We implement the active reset of the NV spins into their ground state by optical pumping and their refocusing by Hahn echo sequences. This enables the storage of multiple microwave pulses at the picoWatt level and their retrieval after up to 35μ35 μ35μs, a three orders of magnitude improvement compared to previous experiments.
Strong coupling between a microwave photon and electron spins, which could enable a long-lived quantum memory element for superconducting qubits, is possible using a large ensemble of spins. This represents an inefficient use of resources unless multiple photons, or qubits, can be orthogonally stored and retrieved. Here we employ holographic techniques to realize a coherent memory using a pulsed magnetic field gradient and demonstrate the storage and retrieval of up to 100 weak 10 GHz coherent excitations in collective states of an electron spin ensemble. We further show that such collective excitations in the electron spin can then be stored in nuclear spin states, which offer coherence times in excess of seconds.
Whilst quantum computing has recently taken great leaps ahead, the development of quantum memories has decidedly lagged behind. Quantum memories are essential devices in the quantum technology palette and are needed for intermediate storage of quantum bit states and as quantum repeaters in long-distance quantum communication. Current quantum memories operate at cryogenic, mostly sub-Kelvin temperatures and require extensive and costly peripheral hardware. It is demonstrated that ensembles of weakly coupled molecular spins show long coherence times and can be used to store microwave pulses of arbitrary phase. These studies exploit strong coupling of the spin ensemble to special 3D microwave resonators. Most importantly, these systems operate at room temperature.
Within the quest for solid state quantum systems to be used for fundamental as well as applied research, molecular spins have recently emerged as a versatile platform with interesting performances in terms of quantum coherence and correlation. Molecular units provide well defined environment to electronic spins and they represent elementary bricks for complex nano-architectures and nano-devices. Here we review our recent efforts and results on their efficient integration in circuit Quantum ElectroDynamics and, more specifically, in reaching their coherent coupling with microwave photons in planar resonators. To monitor molecular spin performances over a wide temperature and magnetic field range we have first developed microwave planar resonators made of high T c superconductors, obtaining excellent performances up to liquid Nitrogen temperature and in magnetic fields up to 7 Tesla. Ensembles of different molecular spins systems are then systematically tested. The regime of high spin-photon cooperativity is achieved with molecular spins diluted in non-magnetic matrix at 0.5 K, while the strong coupling regime is observed with concentrated samples of organic radicals up to 50 K. The possibility to create coherent states among distinct spin ensembles is further explored in similar spectroscopic experiments. These results show that molecular spins can be efficiently integrated in quantum devices.
This article reviews efforts to build a new type of quantum device, which combines an ensemble of electronic spins with long coherence times, and a small-scale superconducting quantum processor. The goal is to store over long times arbitrary qubit states in orthogonal collective modes of the spin-ensemble, and to retrieve them on-demand. We first present the protocol devised for such a multi-mode quantum memory. We then describe a series of experimental results using NV (as in nitrogen vacancy) center spins in diamond, which demonstrate its main building blocks: the transfer of arbitrary quantum states from a qubit into the spin ensemble, and the multi-mode retrieval of classical microwave pulses down to the single-photon level with a Hahn-echo like sequence. A reset of the spin memory is implemented in-between two successive sequences using optical repumping of the spins.
Hybrid quantum systems combining circuit QED with spin-doped solids are an attractive platform for distributed quantum information processing. There, the magnetic ions serve as coherent memory elements and reversible conversion elements of microwave to optical qubits. Among many possible spin-doped solids, erbium ions offer the unique opportunity for a coherent conversion of microwave photons into the telecom C band at $1.54\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$ employed for long distance communication. In our work, we perform a time-resolved electron spin resonance study of an Er3+:Y2SiO5{\mathrm{Er}}^{3+}:{\mathrm{Y}}_{2}{\mathrm{SiO}}_{5}Er3+:Y2​SiO5​ spin ensemble at millidegrees Kelvin temperatures and demonstrate multimode storage and retrieval of up to 16 coherent microwave pulses. The memory efficiency is measured to be ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$ at a coherence time of ${T}_{2}=5.6\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{s}$. We observe a saturation of the spin coherence time below 50 mK due to full polarization of the surrounding electronic spin bath.