arXiv subjects

Muhammad Junaid Arshad

Publications and source records attributed to Muhammad Junaid Arshad.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Quantum communication networks with defects in silicon carbide

Quantum communication promises unprecedented capabilities enabled by the transmission of quantum states of light. However, current implementations face severe distance limitations due to photon loss. Silicon carbide (SiC) defects have emerged as a promising quantum device platform, offering strong optical transitions, long spin coherence lifetimes and the opportunity for integration with semiconductor devices. Some defects with optical transitions in the telecom range have been identified, allowing to interface with fiber networks without the need for wavelength conversion. These unique properties make SiC an attractive platform for the implementation of quantum nodes for quantum communication networks. We provide an overview of the most prominent defects in SiC and their implementation in spin-photon interfaces. Furthermore, we model an exemplary, memory-enhanced quantum communication protocol in order to extract the parameters required to surpass a direct point-to-point link performance. Based on these insights, we summarize the key steps required towards the deployment of SiC devices in large-scale quantum communication networks.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Bayesian quantum sensing using graybox machine learning

Quantum sensors offer significant advantages over classical devices in spatial resolution and sensitivity, enabling transformative applications across materials science, healthcare, and beyond. Their practical performance, however, is often constrained by unmodelled effects, including noise, imperfect state preparation, and non-ideal control fields. In this work, we report the first experimental implementation of a graybox modelling strategy for a solid-state open quantum system. The graybox framework integrates a physics-based system model with a data-driven description of experimental imperfections, achieving higher fidelity than purely analytical (whitebox) approaches while requiring fewer training resources than fully deep-learning blackbox models. We experimentally validate the method on the task of estimating a static magnetic field using a single-spin quantum sensor, performing Bayesian inference with a graybox model trained on prior experimental data. Using roughly 10,000 training datapoints, the graybox model yields several orders of magnitude improvement in mean squared error over the corresponding physics-only model, as well as significant improvement over a blackbox model with comparable size. These results are broadly applicable to a wide range of quantum sensing platforms, not limited to single-spin systems, and are particularly valuable for real-time adaptive protocols, where model inaccuracies can otherwise lead to suboptimal control and degraded performance.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Scalable registration of single quantum emitters within solid immersion lenses through femtosecond laser writing

The precise registration of solid-state quantum emitters to photonic structures is a major technological challenge for fundamental research (e.g. in cavity quantum electrodynamics) and applications to quantum technology. Standard approaches include the complex multi-step fabrication of photonic structures on pre-existing emitters, both registered within a grid of lithographically-defined markers. Here, we demonstrate a marker-free, femtosecond laser writing technique to generate individual quantum emitters within photonic structures. Characterization of 28 defect centers, laser-written at the centers of pre-existing solid immersion lens structures, showed offsets relative to the photonic structure's center of 260~nm in the x-direction and 60~nm in the y-direction, with standard deviations of $\pm 170$~nm and $\pm 90$~nm, respectively, resulting in an average 4.5 times enhancement of the optical collection efficiency. This method is scalable for developing integrated quantum devices using spin-photon interfaces in silicon carbide and is easily extendable to other materials.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Broadband Fourier transform spectroscopy of quantum emitters photoluminescence with sub-nanosecond temporal resolution

The spectral characterization of quantum emitter luminescence over broad wavelength ranges and fast timescales is important for applications ranging from biophysics to quantum technologies. Here we present the application of time-domain Fourier transform spectroscopy, based on a compact and stable birefringent interferometer coupled to low-dark-count superconducting single-photon detectors, to the study of quantum emitters. We experimentally demonstrate that the system enables spectroscopy of quantum emitters over a broad wavelength interval from the near-infrared to the telecom range, where grating-based spectrometers coupled to InGaAs cameras are typically noisy and inefficient. We further show that the high temporal resolution of single-photon detectors, which can be on the order of tens of picoseconds, enables the monitoring of spin-dependent spectral changes on sub-nanosecond timescales.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Real-time adaptive estimation of decoherence timescales for a single qubit

Characterising the time over which quantum coherence survives is critical for any implementation of quantum bits, memories and sensors. The usual method for determining a quantum system's decoherence rate involves a suite of experiments probing the entire expected range of this parameter, and extracting the resulting estimation in post-processing. Here we present an adaptive multi-parameter Bayesian approach, based on a simple analytical update rule, to estimate the key decoherence timescales ($T_1$, $T_2^*$ and $T_2$) and the corresponding decay exponent of a quantum system in real time, using information gained in preceding experiments. This approach reduces the time required to reach a given uncertainty by a factor up to an order of magnitude, depending on the specific experiment, compared to the standard protocol of curve fitting. A further speed-up of a factor $\sim 2$ can be realised by performing our optimisation with respect to sensitivity as opposed to variance.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Ultra-narrow inhomogeneous spectral distribution of telecom-wavelength vanadium centres in isotopically-enriched silicon carbide

Spin-active quantum emitters have emerged as a leading platform for quantum technologies. However, one of their major limitations is the large spread in optical emission frequencies, which typically extends over tens of GHz. Here, we investigate single V4+ vanadium centres in 4H-SiC, which feature telecom-wavelength emission and a coherent S=1/2 spin state. We perform spectroscopy on single emitters and report the observation of spin-dependent optical transitions, a key requirement for spin-photon interfaces. By engineering the isotopic composition of the SiC matrix, we reduce the inhomogeneous spectral distribution of different emitters down to 100 MHz, significantly smaller than any other single quantum emitter. Additionally, we tailor the dopant concentration to stabilise the telecom-wavelength V4+ charge state, thereby extending its lifetime by at least two orders of magnitude. These results bolster the prospects for single V emitters in SiC as material nodes in scalable telecom quantum networks.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Real-time frequency estimation of a qubit without single-shot-readout

Quantum sensors can potentially achieve the Heisenberg limit of sensitivity over a large dynamic range using quantum algorithms. The adaptive phase estimation algorithm (PEA) is one example that was proven to achieve such high sensitivities with single-shot readout (SSR) sensors. However, using the adaptive PEA on a non-SSR sensor is not trivial due to the low contrast nature of the measurement. The standard approach to account for the averaged nature of the measurement in this PEA algorithm is to use a method based on `majority voting'. Although it is easy to implement, this method is more prone to mistakes due to noise in the measurement. To reduce these mistakes, a binomial distribution technique from a batch selection was recently shown theoretically to be superior, as all ranges of outcomes from an averaged measurement are considered. Here we apply, for the first time, real-time non-adaptive PEA on a non-SSR sensor with the binomial distribution approach. We compare the mean square error of the binomial distribution method to the majority-voting approach using the nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond at ambient conditions as a non-SSR sensor. Our results suggest that the binomial distribution approach achieves better accuracy with the same sensing times. To further shorten the sensing time, we propose an adaptive algorithm that controls the readout phase and, therefore, the measurement basis set. We show by numerical simulation that adding the adaptive protocol can further improve the accuracy in a future real-time experiment.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Scalable fabrication of hemispherical solid immersion lenses in silicon carbide through grayscale hard-mask lithography

Grayscale lithography allows the creation of micrometer-scale features with spatially-controlled height in a process that is fully compatible with standard lithography. Here, solid immersion lenses are demonstrated in silicon carbide using a novel fabrication protocol combining grayscale lithography and hard-mask techniques to allow nearly hemispherical lenses of 5 $μ$m radius to be etched into the substrate. The technique is highly scalable and compatible with CMOS technology, and device aspect ratios can be tuned after resist patterning by controlling the chemistry of the subsequent dry etch. These results provide a low-cost, high-throughput and industrially-relevant alternative to focused ion beam milling for the creation of high-aspect-ratio, rounded microstructures.

physics.optics↗