Coherent Acoustic Control of a Single Silicon Vacancy Spin in Diamond

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates coherent control of a single silicon vacancy spin in diamond using acoustic waves, enabling efficient spin manipulation and paving the way for hybrid quantum systems involving phonons.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method for low-power acoustic control of SiV spins, exploiting their strain susceptibility for quantum information applications.

Findings

Achieved coherent acoustic control of a single SiV spin.

Performed acoustically driven Ramsey interferometry.

Showed potential for strong spin-phonon coupling.

Abstract

Phonons are considered to be universal quantum transducers due to their ability to couple to a wide variety of quantum systems. Among these systems, solid-state point defect spins are known for being long-lived optically accessible quantum memories. Recently, it has been shown that inversion-symmetric defects in diamond, such as the negatively charged silicon vacancy center (SiV), feature spin qubits that are highly susceptible to strain. Here, we leverage this strain response to achieve coherent and low-power acoustic control of a single SiV spin, and perform acoustically driven Ramsey interferometry of a single spin. Our results demonstrate a novel and efficient method of spin control for these systems, offering a path towards strong spin-phonon coupling and phonon-mediated hybrid quantum systems.