Line Broadening and Decoherence of Electron Spins in Phosphorus-Doped Silicon Due to Environmental 29^Si Nuclear Spins

TL;DR

This study investigates how environmental 29Si nuclear spins influence electron spin decoherence and line broadening in phosphorus-doped silicon, revealing a strong dependence on isotope concentration and crystal orientation.

Contribution

It provides systematic experimental data and theoretical analysis on the impact of 29Si nuclear spins on electron spin coherence in silicon.

Findings

Linewidth varies with 29Si concentration and matches theoretical predictions.

Phase memory time T_M depends on isotope concentration and crystal orientation.

Environmental nuclear spins significantly affect electron spin decoherence.

Abstract

Phosphorus-doped silicon single crystals with 0.19 % <= f <= 99.2 %, where f is the concentration of 29^Si isotopes, are measured at 8 K using a pulsed electron spin resonance technique, thereby the effect of environmental 29^Si nuclear spins on the donor electron spin is systematically studied. The linewidth as a function of f shows a good agreement with theoretical analysis. We also report the phase memory time T_M of the donor electron spin dependent on both f and the crystal axis relative to the external magnetic field.