Electrically-triggered spin-photon devices in silicon

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates electrically-triggered single-photon emission and spin initialization from silicon T centres, advancing scalable quantum technology platforms with integrated optoelectronic devices.

Contribution

It introduces the first electrically-injected single-photon source and spin control method in silicon T centres, enabling scalable quantum networks and processors.

Findings

Single-photon electroluminescence observed with g^{(2)}(0)=0.05(2)

Achieved 92(8)% fidelity in spin state initialization

Demonstrated electrically-triggered emission in silicon T centres

Abstract

Quantum networking and computing technologies demand scalable hardware with high-speed control for large systems of quantum devices. Solid-state platforms have emerged as promising candidates, offering scalable fabrication for a wide range of qubits. Architectures based on spin-photon interfaces allow for highly-connected quantum networks over photonic links, enabling entanglement distribution for quantum networking and distributed quantum computing protocols. With the potential to address these demands, optically-active spin defects in silicon are one proposed platform for building quantum technologies. Here, we electrically excite the silicon T centre in integrated optoelectronic devices that combine nanophotonic waveguides and cavities with p-i-n diodes. We observe single-photon electroluminescence from a cavity-coupled T centre with $g^{(2)}(0)=0.05(2)$. Further, we use the electrically-triggered emission to herald the electron spin state, initializing it with $92(8)\%$ fidelity. This shows, for the first time, electrically-injected single-photon emission from a silicon colour centre and a new method of electrically-triggered spin initialization. These findings present a new telecommunications band light source for silicon and a highly parallel control method for T centre quantum processors, advancing the T centre as a versatile defect for scalable quantum technologies.