No Arabic abstract
Decoherence largely limits the physical realization of qubits and its mitigation is critical to quantum science. Here, we construct a robust qubit embedded in a decoherence-protected subspace, obtained by hybridizing an applied microwave drive with the ground-state electron spin of a silicon carbide divacancy defect. The qubit is protected from magnetic, electric, and temperature fluctuations, which account for nearly all relevant decoherence channels in the solid state. This culminates in an increase of the qubits inhomogeneous dephasing time by over four orders of magnitude (to > 22 milliseconds), while its Hahn-echo coherence time approaches 64 milliseconds. Requiring few key platform-independent components, this result suggests that substantial coherence improvements can be achieved in a wide selection of quantum architectures.
Quantum control of solid-state spin qubits typically involves pulses in the microwave domain, drawing from the well-developed toolbox of magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Driving a solid-state spin by optical means offers a high-speed alternative, which in the presence of limited spin coherence makes it the preferred approach for high-fidelity quantum control. Bringing the full versatility of magnetic spin resonance to the optical domain requires full phase and amplitude control of the optical fields. Here, we imprint a programmable microwave sequence onto a laser field and perform electron spin resonance in a semiconductor quantum dot via a two-photon Raman process. We show that this approach yields full SU(2) spin control with over 98% pi-rotation fidelity. We then demonstrate its versatility by implementing a particular multi-axis control sequence, known as spin locking. Combined with electron-nuclear Hartmann-Hahn resonances which we also report in this work, this sequence will enable efficient coherent transfer of a quantum state from the electron spin to the mesoscopic nuclear ensemble.
Defects with associated electron and nuclear spins in solid-state materials have a long history relevant to quantum information science going back to the first spin echo experiments with silicon dopants in the 1950s. Since the turn of the century, the field has rapidly spread to a vast array of defects and host crystals applicable to quantum communication, sensing, and computing. From simple spin resonance to long-distance remote entanglement, the complexity of working with spin defects is fast advancing, and requires an in-depth understanding of their spin, optical, charge, and material properties in this modern context. This is especially critical for discovering new relevant systems dedicated to specific quantum applications. In this review, we therefore expand upon all the key components with an emphasis on the properties of defects and the host material, on engineering opportunities and other pathways for improvement. Finally, this review aims to be as defect and material agnostic as possible, with some emphasis on optical emitters, providing a broad guideline for the field of solid-state spin defects for quantum information.
Solid-state electronic spin systems such as nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond are promising for applications of quantum information, sensing, and metrology. However, a key challenge for such solid-state systems is to realize a spin coherence time that is much longer than the time for quantum spin manipulation protocols. Here we demonstrate an improvement of more than two orders of magnitude in the spin coherence time ($T_2$) of NV centers compared to previous measurements: $T_2 approx 0.5$ s at 77 K, which enables $sim 10^7$ coherent NV spin manipulations before decoherence. We employed dynamical decoupling pulse sequences to suppress NV spin decoherence due to magnetic noise, and found that $T_2$ is limited to approximately half of the longitudinal spin relaxation time ($T_1$) over a wide range of temperatures, which we attribute to phonon-induced decoherence. Our results apply to ensembles of NV spins and do not depend on the optimal choice of a specific NV, which could advance quantum sensing, enable squeezing and many-body entanglement in solid-state spin ensembles, and open a path to simulating a wide range of driven, interaction-dominated quantum many-body Hamiltonians.
Spins associated to single defects in solids provide promising qubits for quantum information processing and quantum networks. Recent experiments have demonstrated long coherence times, high-fidelity operations and long-range entanglement. However, control has so far been limited to a few qubits, with entangled states of three spins demonstrated. Realizing larger multi-qubit registers is challenging due to the need for quantum gates that avoid crosstalk and protect the coherence of the complete register. In this paper, we present novel decoherence-protected gates that combine dynamical decoupling of an electron spin with selective phase-controlled driving of nuclear spins. We use these gates to realize a 10-qubit quantum register consisting of the electron spin of a nitrogen-vacancy center and 9 nuclear spins in diamond. We show that the register is fully connected by generating entanglement between all 45 possible qubit pairs, and realize genuine multipartite entangled states with up to 7 qubits. Finally, we investigate the register as a multi-qubit memory. We show coherence times up to 63(2) seconds - the longest reported for a single solid-state qubit - and demonstrate that two-qubit entangled states can be stored for over 10 seconds. Our results enable the control of large quantum registers with long coherence times and therefore open the door to advanced quantum algorithms and quantum networks with solid-state spin qubits.
A controlled quantum system can alter its environment by feedback, leading to reduced-entropy states of the environment and to improved system coherence. Here, using a quantum dot electron spin as control and probe, we prepare the quantum dot nuclei under the feedback of coherent population trapping and measure the evolution from a thermal to a reduced-entropy state, with the immediate consequence of extended qubit coherence. Via Ramsey interferometry on the electron spin, we directly access the nuclear distribution following its preparation, and measure the emergence and decay of correlations within the nuclear ensemble. Under optimal feedback, the inhomogeneous dephasing time of the electron, $T_2^*$, is extended by an order of magnitude to $39$~ns. Our results can be readily exploited in quantum information protocols utilizing spin-photon entanglement, and represent a step towards creating quantum many-body states in a mesoscopic nuclear spin ensemble.