High-throughput spin-bath characterization of spin-defects in semiconductors

TL;DR

This paper introduces a rapid, Bayesian-based method for characterizing the atomic environment of spin-defects in semiconductors, significantly improving scalability for quantum sensing applications.

Contribution

It develops a trans-dimensional Bayesian approach that efficiently recovers nuclear spin positions and couplings from sparse data, enabling high-throughput defect screening.

Findings

Successfully characterizes nuclear environments within hours

Guides experimental design for targeted hyperfine detection

Lays groundwork for digital twin models of spin-defects

Abstract

Detailed knowledge of the local environments of spin-defects in semiconductors, such as nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond or divacancies in silicon carbide, is crucial for optimizing control and entanglement protocols in quantum sensing and information applications. However, a direct experimental characterization of individual defect environments is not scalable, as spin bath measurements are extremely time consuming. In this work, we address the ill-posed inverse problem of recovering the atomic positions and hyperfine couplings of random nuclei surrounding spin-defects from sparse experimental coherence signals, which can be obtained in hours. To address the challenge to determine the number of isotopic nuclear spins along with their hyperfine couplings, we employ a trans-dimensional Bayesian approach that incorporates ab initio data. This approach provides posterior distributions of the numbers, hyperfine couplings, and locations of nuclear spins present in the sample. In addition to enabling high-throughput screening of spin-defects, we demonstrate how this trans-dimensional Bayesian approach can guide experimental design for dynamical decoupling experiments to detect nuclear spins within targeted hyperfine coupling regimes. While the primary focus is on accelerating spin-defect characterization, this Bayesian approach also lays the foundation for digital twin studies of spin-defects, where a virtual model of the spin-defect system evolves in real time with ongoing experimental measurements. Together, the set of tools we designed and applied paves the way for scalable deployment of spin-defects in semiconductors for quantum sensing and information applications.