Spin-echo of a single electron spin in a quantum dot

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the measurement and extension of the electron spin coherence time in a quantum dot using spin-echo techniques, revealing a decay time of approximately 0.5 microseconds.

Contribution

It reports the first measurement of spin-echo decay of a single electron spin in a quantum dot, showing significant extension of coherence time through echo pulses.

Findings

Spin-echo extends electron spin coherence time to about 0.5 microseconds.

Dephasing occurs in 37 ns due to nuclear spin fluctuations.

Results align with theoretical predictions of electron-nuclear spin dynamics.

Abstract

We report a measurement of the spin-echo decay of a single electron spin confined in a semiconductor quantum dot. When we tip the spin in the transverse plane via a magnetic field burst, it dephases in 37 ns due to the Larmor precession around a random effective field from the nuclear spins in the host material. We reverse this dephasing to a large extent via a spin-echo pulse, and find a spin-echo decay time of about 0.5 microseconds at 70 mT. These results are in the range of theoretical predictions of the electron spin coherence time governed by the dynamics of the electron-nuclear system.