The Zeeman and hyperfine interactions of a single $^{167}Er^{3+}$ ion in Si

TL;DR

This study measures the Zeeman and hyperfine interactions of a single 167Er3+ ion in silicon, revealing highly anisotropic tensors and potential for decoherence reduction in quantum applications.

Contribution

First measurement of Zeeman and hyperfine tensors of a single 167Er3+ ion in silicon, providing detailed anisotropic interaction data.

Findings

Tensors are highly anisotropic with principal axes aligned

Trace of the g-tensor is approximately 17.78

Zero first-order-Zeeman (ZEFOZ) fields identified for decoherence reduction

Abstract

Er-doped Si is a promising candidate for quantum information applications due to its telecom wavelength optical transition and its compatibility with Si nanofabrication technologies. Recent spectroscopic studies based on photoluminescence excitation have shown multiple well-defined lattice sites that Er occupies in Si. Here we report the first measurement of the Zeeman and hyperfine tensors of a single 167Er3+ ion in Si. All the obtained tensors are highly anisotropic with the largest value principal axes aligning in nearly the same direction, and the trace of the lowest crystal field level g-tensor is 17.78$\pm$0.40. The results indicate that this specific Er site is likely to be a distorted cubic site that exhibits monoclinic (C1) symmetry. Finally, zero first-order-Zeeman (ZEFOZ) fields are identified for this site and could be used to reduce decoherence of hyperfine spin states in future experiments.