arXiv subjects

R. Hanson

Publications and source records attributed to R. Hanson.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2012

Comparison of dynamical decoupling protocols for a nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond

We perform a detailed theoretical-experimental study of the dynamical decoupling (DD) of the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond. We investigate the DD sequences applied to suppress the dephasing of the electron spin of the NV center induced by the coupling to a spin bath composed of the substitutional nitrogen atoms. The decoupling efficiency of various DD schemes is studied, including both periodic and periodic pulse sequences. For ideal control pulses, we find that the DD protocols with the Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) timing of the pulses provides best performance. We show that, as the number of control pulses increases, the decoupling fidelity scaling differs qualitatively from the predictions of the Magnus expansion, and explain the origin of this difference. In particular, more advanced symmetrized or concatenated protocols do not improve the DD performance. Next, we investigate the impact of the systematic instrumental pulse errors in different periodic and aperiodic pulse sequences. The DD protocols with the single-axis control do not preserve all spin components in the presence of the pulse errors, and the two-axis control is needed. We demonstrate that the two-axis control sequence with the CPMG timing is very robust with respect to the pulse errors. The impact of the pulse errors can be diminished further by symmetrizing this protocol. For all protocols studied here, we present a detailed account of the pulse error parameters which make strongest impact on the DD performance. In conclusion, we give specific recommendations about choosing the decoupling protocol for the system under investigation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2011

Deterministic nano-assembly of a coupled quantum emitter - photonic crystal cavity system

The interaction of a single quantum emitter with its environment is a central theme in quantum optics. When placed in highly confined optical fields, such as those created in optical cavities or plasmonic structures, the optical properties of the emitter can change drastically. In particular, photonic crystal (PC) cavities show high quality factors combined with an extremely small mode volume. Efficiently coupling a single quantum emitter to a PC cavity is challenging because of the required positioning accuracy. Here, we demonstrate deterministic coupling of single Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) centers to high-quality gallium phosphide PC cavities, by deterministically positioning their 50 nm-sized host nanocrystals into the cavity mode maximum with few-nanometer accuracy. The coupling results in a 25-fold enhancement of NV center emission at the cavity wavelength. With this technique, the NV center photoluminescence spectrum can be reshaped allowing for efficient generation of coherent photons, providing new opportunities for quantum science.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2011

Single-spin magnetometry with multi-pulse sensing sequences

We experimentally demonstrate single-spin magnetometry with multi-pulse sensing sequences. The use of multi-pulse sequences can greatly increase the sensing time per measurement shot, resulting in enhanced ac magnetic field sensitivity. We theoretically derive and experimentally verify the optimal number of sensing cycles, for which the effects of decoherence and increased sensing time are balanced. We perform these experiments for oscillating magnetic fields with fixed phase as well as for fields with random phase. Finally, by varying the phase and frequency of the ac magnetic field, we measure the full frequency-filtering characteristics of different multi-pulse schemes and discuss their use in magnetometry applications.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Universal dynamical decoupling of a single solid-state spin from a spin bath

Controlling the interaction of a single quantum system with its environment is a fundamental challenge in quantum science and technology. We dramatically suppress the coupling of a single spin in diamond with the surrounding spin bath by using double-axis dynamical decoupling. The coherence is preserved for arbitrary quantum states, as verified by quantum process tomography. The resulting coherence time enhancement is found to follow a general scaling with the number of decoupling pulses. No limit is observed for the decoupling action up to 136 pulses, for which the coherence time is enhanced more than 25 times compared to spin echo. These results uncover a new regime for experimental quantum science and allow to overcome a major hurdle for implementing quantum information protocols.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2010

Bootstrap tomography of high-precision pulses for quantum control

Long-time dynamical decoupling and quantum control of qubits require high-precision control pulses. Full characterization (quantum tomography) of imperfect pulses presents a bootstrap problem: tomography requires initial states of a qubit which can not be prepared without imperfect pulses. We present a protocol for pulse error analysis, specifically tailored for a wide range of the single solid-state electron spins. Using a single electron spin of a nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond, we experimentally verify the correctness of the protocol, and demonstrate its usefulness for quantum control tasks.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2009

Decay of Rabi oscillations by dipolar-coupled dynamical spin environments

We investigate the Rabi oscillations decay of a spin decohered by a spin bath whose internal dynamics is caused by dipolar coupling between the bath spins. The decay form and rate as a function of the intra-bath coupling is studied analytically, and confirmed numerically. The decay in general has neither exponential/Gaussian or power-law form, and changes non-monotonically with the intra-bath coupling, decelerating for both slow and fast baths. The form and rate of Rabi oscillations decay can be used to experimentally determine the intra-bath coupling strength for a broad class of solid-state systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Nanopositioning of a diamond nanocrystal containing a single NV defect center

Precise control over the position of a single quantum object is important for many experiments in quantum science and nanotechnology. We report on a technique for high-accuracy positioning of individual diamond nanocrystals. The positioning is done with a home-built nanomanipulator under real-time scanning electron imaging, yielding an accuracy of a few nanometers. This technique is applied to pick up, move and position a single NV defect center contained in a diamond nanocrystal. We verify that the unique optical and spin properties of the NV center are conserved by the positioning process.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2009

Generation and transport of photoexcited electrons in single-crystal diamond

We report time-dependent photocurrent and transport measurements of sub-bandgap photoexcited carriers in nitrogen-rich (type Ib), single-crystal diamond. Transient carrier dynamics are characteristic of trapping conduction with long charge storage lifetimes of ~3 hours. By measuring the photoexcited Hall effect we confirm that the charge carriers are electrons and by varying the excitation energy we observe a strong turn-on in the photoconduction at ~1.9 eV. These findings shed new light on sub-bandgap states in nitrogen doped single-crystal diamond.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2008

Single-atom doping for quantum device development in diamond and silicon

The ability to inject dopant atoms with high spatial resolution, flexibility in dopant species and high single ion detection fidelity opens opportunities for the study of dopant fluctuation effects and the development of devices in which function is based on the manipulation of quantum states in single atoms, such as proposed quantum computers. We describe a single atom injector, in which the imaging and alignment capabilities of a scanning force microscope (SFM) are integrated with ion beams from a series of ion sources and with sensitive detection of current transients induced by incident ions. Ion beams are collimated by a small hole in the SFM tip and current changes induced by single ion impacts in transistor channels enable reliable detection of single ion hits. We discuss resolution limiting factors in ion placement and processing and paths to single atom (and color center) array formation for systematic testing of quantum computer architectures in silicon and diamond.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2008

Excited-state spectroscopy using single-spin manipulation in diamond

We use single-spin resonant spectroscopy to study the spin structure in the orbital excited-state of a diamond nitrogen-vacancy center at room temperature. We find that the excited state spin levels have a zero-field splitting that is approximately half of the value of the ground state levels, a g-factor similar to the ground state value, and a hyperfine splitting ~20x larger than in the ground state. In addition, the width of the resonances reflects the electronic lifetime in the excited state. We also show that the spin-splitting can significantly differ between NV centers, likely due to the effects of local strain, which provides a pathway to control over the spin Hamiltonian and may be useful for quantum information processing.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2007

Spins in few-electron quantum dots

This review describes the physics of spins in quantum dots containing one or two electrons, from an experimentalist's viewpoint. Various methods for extracting spin properties from experiment are presented, restricted exclusively to electrical measurements. Furthermore, experimental techniques are discussed that allow for: (1) the rotation of an electron spin into a superposition of up and down, (2) the measurement of the quantum state of an individual spin and (3) the control of the interaction between two neighbouring spins by the Heisenberg exchange interaction. Finally, the physics of the relevant relaxation and dephasing mechanisms is reviewed and experimental results are compared with theories for spin-orbit and hyperfine interactions. All these subjects are directly relevant for the fields of quantum information processing and spintronics with single spins (i.e. single-spintronics).

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Room-temperature manipulation and decoherence of a single spin in diamond

We report on room-temperature coherent manipulation of the spin of a single nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond and a study of its coherence as a function of magnetic field. We use magnetic resonance to induce Rabi nutations, and apply a Hahn spin echo to remove the effect of low-frequency dephasing. A sharp rise in the decoherence rate is observed at magnetic fields where the nitrogen-vacancy center spin couples resonantly to substitutional nitrogen spins via the magnetic dipolar coupling. Finally, we find evidence that away from these energy resonances spin flips of nitrogen electrons are the main source of decoherence.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2006

Experimental signature of phonon-mediated spin relaxation

We observe an experimental signature of the role of the phonons in spin relaxation between triplet and singlet states in a two-electron quantum dot. Using both the external magnetic field and the electrostatic confinement potential, we change the singlet-triplet energy splitting from 1.3 meV to zero and observe that the spin relaxation time depends non-monotonously on the energy splitting. A simple theoretical model is derived to capture the underlying physical mechanism. The present experiment confirms that spin-flip energy is dissipated in the phonon bath.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2006

Polarization and readout of coupled single spins in diamond

We study the coupling of a single nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond to a nearby single nitrogen defect at room temperature. The magnetic dipolar coupling leads to a splitting in the electron spin resonance frequency of the nitrogen-vacancy center, allowing readout of the state of a single nitrogen electron spin. At magnetic fields where the spin splitting of the two centers is the same we observe a strong polarization of the nitrogen electron spin. The amount of polarization can be controlled by the optical excitation power. We combine the polarization and the readout in time-resolved pump-probe measurements to determine the spin relaxation time of a single nitrogen electron spin. Finally, we discuss indications for hyperfine-induced polarization of the nitrogen nuclear spin.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2005

Control and Detection of Singlet-Triplet Mixing in a Random Nuclear Field

We observe mixing between two-electron singlet and triplet states in a double quantum dot, caused by interactions with nuclear spins in the host semiconductor. This mixing is suppressed by applying a small magnetic field, or by increasing the interdot tunnel coupling and thereby the singlet-triplet splitting. Electron transport involving transitions between triplets and singlets in turn polarizes the nuclei, resulting in striking bistabilities. We extract from the fluctuating nuclear field a limitation on the time-averaged spin coherence time T2* of 25 ns. Control of the electron-nuclear interaction will therefore be crucial for the coherent manipulation of individual electron spins.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2005

Spin filling of a quantum dot derived from excited-state spectroscopy

We study the spin filling of a semiconductor quantum dot using excited-state spectroscopy in a strong magnetic field. The field is oriented in the plane of the two-dimensional electron gas in which the dot is electrostatically defined. By combining the observation of Zeeman splitting with our knowledge of the absolute number of electrons, we are able to determine the ground state spin configuration for one to five electrons occupying the dot. For four electrons, we find a ground state spin configuration with total spin S=1, in agreement with Hund's first rule. The electron g-factor is observed to be independent of magnetic field and electron number.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2005

Single-shot readout of electron spin states in a quantum dot using spin-dependent tunnel rates

We present a method for reading out the spin state of electrons in a quantum dot that is robust against charge noise and can be used even when the electron temperature exceeds the energy splitting between the states. The spin states are first correlated to different charge states using a spin dependence of the tunnel rates. A subsequent fast measurement of the charge on the dot then reveals the original spin state. We experimentally demonstrate the method by performing read-out of the two-electron spin states, achieving a single-shot visibility of more than 80%. We find very long triplet-to-singlet relaxation times (up to several milliseconds), with a strong dependence on in-plane magnetic field.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2004

Semiconductor few-electron quantum dot operated as a bipolar spin filter

We study the spin states of a few-electron quantum dot defined in a two-dimensional electron gas, by applying a large in-plane magnetic field. We observe the Zeeman splitting of the two-electron spin triplet states. Also, the one-electron Zeeman splitting is clearly resolved at both the zero-to-one and the one-to-two electron transition. Since the spin of the electrons transmitted through the dot is opposite at these two transitions, this device can be employed as an electrically tunable, bipolar spin filter. Calculations and measurements show that higher-order tunnel processes and spin-orbit interaction have a negligible effect on the polarization.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗