Electrically detected spin echoes of donor nuclei in silicon

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates electrical detection of nuclear spin echoes in silicon, revealing phase coherence times over 2 ms, but limited by electron lifetime, advancing solid-state quantum sensing.

Contribution

It extends electrical readout to coherent nuclear spin states in silicon using modified Hahn echo sequences, highlighting coherence times and limitations.

Findings

Nuclear spins have phase coherence times over 2 ms.

Electron lifetime limits the nuclear spin coherence.

Electrical detection of spin echoes is feasible in silicon.

Abstract

The ability to probe the spin properties of solid state systems electrically underlies a wide variety of emerging technology. Here, we extend electrical readout of the nuclear spin states of phosphorus donors in silicon to the coherent regime with modified Hahn echo sequences. We find that, whilst the nuclear spins have electrically detected phase coherence times exceeding 2 ms, they are nonetheless limited by the artificially shortened lifetime of the probing donor electron.