Precise coherent control of the individual electronic spins associated with atom-like impurities in the solid state is essential for applications in quantum information processing and quantum metrology. We demonstrate all-optical initialization, fast coherent manipulation, and readout of the electronic spin of the negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV$^-$) center in diamond at T$sim$7K. We then present the observation of a novel double-dark resonance in the spectroscopy of an individual NV center. These techniques open the door for new applications ranging from robust manipulation of spin states using geometric quantum gates to quantum sensing and information processing.
The silicon-vacancy center in diamond offers attractive opportunities in quantum photonics due to its favorable optical properties and optically addressable electronic spin. Here, we combine both to achieve all-optical coherent control of its spin states. We utilize this method to explore spin dephasing effects in an impurity-rich sample beyond the limit of phonon-induced decoherence: Employing Ramsey and Hahn-echo techniques at 12mK base temperature we identify resonant coupling to a substitutional nitrogen spin bath as the limiting decoherence source for the electron spin.
Lifetime limited optical excitation lines of single nitrogen vacancy (NV) defect centers in diamond have been observed at liquid helium temperature. They display unprecedented spectral stability over many seconds and excitation cycles. Spectral tuning of the spin selective optical resonances was performed via the application of an external electric field (i.e. the Stark shift). A rich variety of Stark shifts were observed including linear as well as quadratic components. The ability to tune the excitation lines of single NV centers has potential applications in quantum information processing.
Phonons are considered to be universal quantum transducers due to their ability to couple to a wide variety of quantum systems. Among these systems, solid-state point defect spins are known for being long-lived optically accessible quantum memories. Recently, it has been shown that inversion-symmetric defects in diamond, such as the negatively charged silicon vacancy center (SiV), feature spin qubits that are highly susceptible to strain. Here, we leverage this strain response to achieve coherent and low-power acoustic control of a single SiV spin, and perform acoustically driven Ramsey interferometry of a single spin. Our results demonstrate a novel and efficient method of spin control for these systems, offering a path towards strong spin-phonon coupling and phonon-mediated hybrid quantum systems.
High-fidelity projective readout of a qubits state in a single experimental repetition is a prerequisite for various quantum protocols of sensing and computing. Achieving single-shot readout is challenging for solid-state qubits. For Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) centers in diamond, it has been realized using nuclear memories or resonant excitation at cryogenic temperature. All of these existing approaches have stringent experimental demands. In particular, they require a high efficiency of photon collection, such as immersion optics or all-diamond micro-optics. For some of the most relevant applications, such as shallow implanted NV centers in a cryogenic environment, these tools are unavailable. Here we demonstrate an all-optical spin readout scheme that achieves single-shot fidelity even if photon collection is poor (delivering less than 10$^3$ clicks/second). The scheme is based on spin-dependent resonant excitation at cryogenic temperature combined with spin-to-charge conversion, mapping the fragile electron spin states to the stable charge states. We prove this technique to work on shallow implanted NV centers as they are required for sensing and scalable NV-based quantum registers.
Single particle interference lies at the heart of quantum mechanics. The archetypal double-slit experiment has been repeated with electrons in vacuum up to the more massive $C_{60}$ molecules. Mesoscopic rings threaded by a magnetic flux provide the solid-state analogous. Intra-molecular interference has been recently discussed in molecular junctions. Here we propose to exploit interference to achieve all-electrical control of a single electron spin in quantum dots, a highly desirable property for spintronics and spin-qubit applications. The device consists of an interference single electron transistor (ISET), where destructive interference between orbitally degenerate electronic states produces current blocking at specific bias voltages. We show that in the presence of parallel polarized ferromagnetic leads the interplay between interference and the exchange coupling on the system generates an effective energy renormalization yielding different blocking biases for majority and minority spins. Hence, by tuning the bias voltage full control over the spin of the trapped electron is achieved.