Description
Coherent control of nuclear spins is traditionally achieved through nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). In semiconductor quantum devices, where nuclear spins are used for quantum information processing, NMR pulses are delivered via microwave antennas [1].
In our group, high nuclear-spin qudits have demonstrated an additional control mechanism: nuclear electric resonance (NER), whereby electrical modulation of the nuclear quadrupole tensor drives spin transitions [2]. Here, we examine a third mechanism of coherent nuclear control – using strain to drive nuclear acoustic resonance (NAR) [3].
We present a silicon-based device capable of driving NAR in a single ¹²³Sb donor, using the oscillating strain produced by an aluminium nitride piezoelectric actuator fabricated directly onto the substrate of a donor spin device [4].
This novel platform enables direct addressing of nuclear spins using an acoustic drive, a step toward a coherent spin-phonon interface in silicon. Future devices will couple nuclear spins to quantised acoustic excitations (phonons) in resonant structures, to explore the quantum behaviour of massive objects entangled with atomic nuclei.
[1] J.J. Pla et al., Nature 496, 334–338 (2013)
[2] S. Asaad et al., Nature 579, 205 (2020)
[3] W.G. Proctor and W.H. Tanttila, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 1854 (1955)
[4] L. A. O’Neill et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 119, 174001 (2021)
| I am the presenting author | Yes |
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