Coherent Control of a Single Silicon-29 Nuclear Spin Qubit

TL;DR

This paper reports the first experimental detection and control of a single $^{29}$Si nuclear spin in silicon, demonstrating its potential as a qubit resource with long coherence times and high-fidelity readout.

Contribution

It introduces the first single-shot, quantum non-demolition readout of a $^{29}$Si nuclear spin and characterizes its coherence properties in silicon.

Findings

Successful single-shot readout of a $^{29}$Si nuclear spin

Measured coherence time of approximately 6.3 ms

Identified potential lattice sites for the $^{29}$Si atom

Abstract

Magnetic fluctuations caused by the nuclear spins of a host crystal are often the leading source of decoherence for many types of solid-state spin qubit. In group-IV materials, the spin-bearing nuclei are sufficiently rare that it is possible to identify and control individual host nuclear spins. This work presents the first experimental detection and manipulation of a single $^{29}$Si nuclear spin. The quantum non-demolition (QND) single-shot readout of the spin is demonstrated, and a Hahn echo measurement reveals a coherence time of $T_2 = 6.3(7)$ ms - in excellent agreement with bulk experiments. Atomistic modeling combined with extracted experimental parameters provides possible lattice sites for the $^{29}$Si atom under investigation. These results demonstrate that single $^{29}$Si nuclear spins could serve as a valuable resource in a silicon spin-based quantum computer.