Coupling of a locally implanted rare-earth ion ensemble to a superconducting micro-resonator

We demonstrate the coupling of rare-earth ions locally implanted in a substrate (Gd$^{3+}$ in Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$) to a superconducting NbN lumped-element micro-resonator. The hybrid device is fabricated by a controlled ion implantation of rare-earth ions in well-defined micron-sized areas, aligned to lithographically defined micro-resonators. The technique does not degrade the internal quality factor of the resonators which remain above $10^{5}$. Using microwave absorption spectroscopy we observe electron-spin resonances in good agreement with numerical modelling and extract corresponding coupling rates of the order of $1$ MHz and spin linewidths of $50 - 65$ MHz.Comment: 4 pages, 2 Figure

Angle-Dependent Microresonator ESR Characterization of Locally Doped Gd3+:Al2O3

Interfacing rare-earth-doped crystals with superconducting circuit architectures provides an attractive platform for quantum memory and transducer devices. Here, we present the detailed characterization of such a hybrid system: a locally implanted rare-earth Gd3+ in Al2O3 spin system coupled to a superconducting microresonator. We investigate the properties of the implanted spin system through angular-dependent microresonator electron spin resonance (micro-ESR) spectroscopy. We find, despite the high-energy near-surface implantation, the resulting micro-ESR spectra to be in excellent agreement with the modeled Hamiltonian, supporting the integration of dopant ions into their relevant lattice sites while maintaining crystalline symmetries. Furthermore, we observe clear contributions from individual microwave field components of our microresonator, emphasizing the need for controllable local implantation

Coupling of erbium-implanted silicon to a superconducting resonator

Erbium-implanted silicon is promising for both photonic and quantum-technology platforms, since it possesses both telecommunications and integrated-circuit processing compatibility. However, several different Er centers are generated during the implantation and annealing process, the presence of which could hinder the development of these applications. When Si is coimplanted with 10 17 cm − 3 Er and 10 20 cm − 3 O ions, and the appropriate annealing process is used, one of these centers, which is present at higher Er concentrations, can be eliminated. Characterization of samples with Er concentrations of < 10 17 cm − 3 is limited by the sensitivity of standard electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) instruments. The collective coupling strength between a superconducting (SC) Nb N lumped-element resonator and a 10 17 cm − 3 Er -implanted Si sample at 20 mK is measured to be about 1 MHz, which provides a basis for the characterization of low-concentration Er -implanted Si and for future networks of hybrid quantum systems that exchange quantum information over the telecommunication network. Of six known Er -related EPR centers, only one trigonal center couples to the SC resonator

Controlling spin relaxation with a cavity

Spontaneous emission of radiation is one of the fundamental mechanisms by which an excited quantum system returns to equilibrium. For spins, however, spontaneous emission is generally negligible compared to other non-radiative relaxation processes because of the weak coupling between the magnetic dipole and the electromagnetic field. In 1946, Purcell realized that the spontaneous emission rate can be strongly enhanced by placing the quantum system in a resonant cavity -an effect which has since been used extensively to control the lifetime of atoms and semiconducting heterostructures coupled to microwave or optical cavities, underpinning single-photon sources. Here we report the first application of these ideas to spins in solids. By coupling donor spins in silicon to a superconducting microwave cavity of high quality factor and small mode volume, we reach for the first time the regime where spontaneous emission constitutes the dominant spin relaxation mechanism. The relaxation rate is increased by three orders of magnitude when the spins are tuned to the cavity resonance, showing that energy relaxation can be engineered and controlled on-demand. Our results provide a novel and general way to initialise spin systems into their ground state, with applications in magnetic resonance and quantum information processing. They also demonstrate that, contrary to popular belief, the coupling between the magnetic dipole of a spin and the electromagnetic field can be enhanced up to the point where quantum fluctuations have a dramatic effect on the spin dynamics; as such our work represents an important step towards the coherent magnetic coupling of individual spins to microwave photons.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl

Genetic background influences age-related decline in visual and nonvisual retinal responses, circadian rhythms, and sleep.

The circadian system is entrained to the environmental light/dark cycle via retinal photoreceptors and regulates numerous aspects of physiology and behavior, including sleep. These processes are all key factors in healthy aging showing a gradual decline with age. Despite their importance, the exact mechanisms underlying this decline are yet to be fully understood. One of the most effective tools we have to understand the genetic factors underlying these processes are genetically inbred mouse strains. The most commonly used reference mouse strain is C57BL/6J, but recently, resources such as the International Knockout Mouse Consortium have started producing large numbers of mouse mutant lines on a pure genetic background, C57BL/6N. Considering the substantial genetic diversity between mouse strains we expect there to be phenotypic differences, including differential effects of aging, in these and other strains. Such differences need to be characterized not only to establish how different mouse strains may model the aging process but also to understand how genetic background might modify age-related phenotypes. To ascertain the effects of aging on sleep/wake behavior, circadian rhythms, and light input and whether these effects are mouse strain-dependent, we have screened C57BL/6J, C57BL/6N, C3H-HeH, and C3H-Pde6b+ mouse strains at 5 ages throughout their life span. Our data show that sleep, circadian, and light input parameters are all disrupted by the aging process. Moreover, we have cataloged a number of strain-specific aging effects, including the rate of cataract development, decline in the pupillary light response, and changes in sleep fragmentation and the proportion of time spent asleep

PC2: Identifying noise processes in superconducting resonators

Extensive studies of dielectric loss due to two level fluctuators (TLFs) in superconducting resonators have provided routes for low loss resonators. The research is motivated not only by the use of resonators as detectors and in quantum information processing, but more generally due to TLFs being a source of noise and decoherence in all quantum devices. In this work a frequency locked loop was used to measure frequency fluctuations at timescales in excess of 104 seconds, thereby accurately probing the TLF induced low- frequency noise of the resonator. Our measurement method lead to very high statistical confidence even for very long timescales, and here we can therefore present results explicitly identifying power dependent flicker frequency noise (S = 1/fa where a=1) persisting down to the mHz level