A Frequency-Multiplexed Coherent Electro-optic Memory in Rare Earth Doped Nanoparticles.

Quantum memories for light are essential components in quantum technologies like long-distance quantum communication and distributed quantum computing. Recent studies have shown that long optical and spin coherence lifetimes can be observed in rare earth doped nanoparticles, opening exciting possibilities over bulk materials, e.g., for enhancing coupling to light and other quantum systems, and material design. Here, we report on coherent light storage in Eu3+:Y2O3 nanoparticles using the Stark echo modulation memory (SEMM) quantum protocol. We first measure a nearly constant Stark coefficient of 50 kHz/(V/cm) across a bandwidth of 15 GHz, which is promising for broadband operation. Storage of light is then demonstrated with an effective coherence lifetime of 5 µs. Pulses with two different frequencies are also stored, confirming frequency-multiplexing capability, and are used to demonstrate the memory high phase fidelity. These results open the way to nanoscale optical quantum memories with increased efficiency, bandwidth, and processing capabilities.

Initialization and Readout of Nuclear Spins via a Negatively Charged Silicon-Vacancy Center in Diamond.

In this Letter, we demonstrate initialization and readout of nuclear spins via a negatively charged silicon-vacancy (SiV) electron spin qubit. Under Hartmann-Hahn conditions the electron spin polarization is coherently transferred to the nuclear spin. The readout of the nuclear polarization is observed via the fluorescence of the SiV. We also show that the coherence time of the nuclear spin (6 ms) is limited by the electron spin-lattice relaxation due to the hyperfine coupling to the electron spin. This Letter paves the way toward realization of building blocks of quantum hardware with an efficient spin-photon interface based on the SiV color center coupled to a long lasting nuclear memory.

Defect Engineering for Quantum Grade Rare-Earth Nanocrystals.

Nanostructured systems that combine optical and spin transitions offer new functionalities for quantum technologies by providing efficient quantum light-matter interfaces. Rare-earth (RE) ion-doped nanoparticles are promising in this field as they show long-lived optical and spin quantum states. However, further development of their use in highly demanding applications, such as scalable single-ion-based quantum processors, requires controlling defects that currently limit coherence lifetimes. In this work, we show that a post-treatment process that includes multistep high-temperature annealing followed by high-power microwave oxygen plasma processing advantageously improves key properties for quantum technologies. We obtain single crystalline Eu3+:Y2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) of 100 nm diameter, presenting bulk-like inhomogeneous line widths (Γinh) and population lifetimes (T1). Furthermore, a significant coherence lifetime (T2) extension, up to a factor of 5, is successfully achieved by modifying the oxygen-related point defects in the NPs by the oxygen plasma treatment. These promising results confirm the potential of engineered RE NPs to integrate devices such as cavity-based single-photon sources, quantum memories, and processors. In addition, our strategy could be applied to a large variety of oxides to obtain outstanding crystalline quality NPs for a broad range of applications.

Fast electrical modulation of strong near-field interactions between erbium emitters and graphene.

Combining the quantum optical properties of single-photon emitters with the strong near-field interactions available in nanophotonic and plasmonic systems is a powerful way of creating quantum manipulation and metrological functionalities. The ability to actively and dynamically modulate emitter-environment interactions is of particular interest in this regard. While thermal, mechanical and optical modulation have been demonstrated, electrical modulation has remained an outstanding challenge. Here we realize fast, all-electrical modulation of the near-field interactions between a nanolayer of erbium emitters and graphene, by in-situ tuning the Fermi energy of graphene. We demonstrate strong interactions with a  >1000-fold increased decay rate for  ~25% of the emitters, and electrically modulate these interactions with frequencies up to 300 kHz - orders of magnitude faster than the emitter's radiative decay (~100 Hz). This constitutes an enabling platform for integrated quantum technologies, opening routes to quantum entanglement generation by collective plasmon emission or photon emission with controlled waveform.

Controlled size reduction of rare earth doped nanoparticles for optical quantum technologies.

Rare earth doped nanoparticles with sub-wavelength size can be coupled to optical micro- or nano-cavities to enable efficient single ion readout and control, a key requirement for quantum processors and high-fidelity single-ion quantum memories. However, producing small nanoparticles with good dispersion and exploitable optical coherence properties, another key aspect for these applications, is highly challenging by most synthesis and nano-fabrication methods. We report here on the wet chemical etching of Eu3+:Y2O3 nanoparticles and demonstrate that a controlled size reduction down to 150 nm, well below the wavelength of interest, 580 nm, can be achieved. The etching mechanism is found to proceed by reaction with grain boundaries and isolated grains, based on obtained particles size, morphology and polycrystalline structure. Furthermore, this method allows maintaining long optical coherence lifetimes (T 2): the 12.5 µs and 9.3 µs values obtained for 430 nm initial particles and 150 nm etched particles respectively, revealing a broadening of only 10 kHz after etching. These values are the longest T 2 values reported for any nanoparticles, opening the way to new rare-earth based nanoscale quantum technologies.

Thermally Stable, High Performance Transfer Doping of Diamond using Transition Metal Oxides.

We report on optimisation of the environmental stability and high temperature operation of surface transfer doping in hydrogen-terminated diamond using MoO3 and V2O5 surface acceptor layers. In-situ annealing of the hydrogenated diamond surface at 400 °C was found to be crucial to enhance long-term doping stability. High temperature sheet resistance measurements up to 300 °C were performed to examine doping thermal stability. Exposure of MoO3 and V2O5 transfer-doped hydrogen-terminated diamond samples up to a temperature of 300 °C in ambient air showed significant and irreversible loss in surface conductivity. Thermal stability was found to improve dramatically however when similar thermal treatment was performed in vacuum or in ambient air when the oxide layers were encapsulated with a protective layer of hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ). Inspection of the films by X-ray diffraction revealed greater crystallisation of the MoO3 layers following thermal treatment in ambient air compared to the V2O5 films which appeared to remain amorphous. These results suggest that proper encapsulation and passivation of these oxide materials as surface acceptor layers on hydrogen-terminated diamond is essential to maximise their environmental and thermal stability.

Reduction of Dislocations in Single Crystal Diamond by Lateral Growth over a Macroscopic Hole.

A low-dislocation diamond is obtained by homoepitaxial chemical vapor deposition on a standard moderate-quality substrate hollowed out by a large square hole. Dislocations are found to propagate vertically and horizontally from the substrate and to terminate at the top surface or at the sides of the hole, thus leaving the central part with a strongly reduced dislocation density.