Helium-ion-induced radiation damage in LiNbO₃ thin-film electro-optic modulators

Helium-ion-induced radiation damage in a LiNbO₃-thin-film (10 μm-thick) modulator is experimentally investigated. The results demonstrate a degradation of the device performance in the presence of He⁺ irradiation at doses of ≥ 1016 cm⁻². The experiments also show that the presence of the He⁺ stopping region, which determines the degree of overlap between the ion-damaged region and the guided optical mode, plays a major role in determining the degree of degradation in modulation performance. Our measurements showed that the higher overlap can lead to an additional ~5.5 dB propagation loss. The irradiation-induced change of crystal-film anisotropy(nₒ−nₑ )of ~36% was observed for the highest dose used in the experiments. The relevant device extinction ratio, VπL, and device insertion loss, as well the damage mechanisms of each of these parameters are also reported and discussed

On the limits to Ti incorporation into Si using pulsed laser melting

Fabrication of p-Si(111) layers with Ti levels well above the solid solubility limit was achieved via ion implantation of 15 keV 48Ti+ at doses of 1012 to 1016 cm−2 followed by pulsed laser melting using a Nd:YAG laser (FWHM = 6 ns) operating at 355 nm. All implanted layers were examined using cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, and only the 1016 cm−2 Ti implant dose showed evidence of Ti clustering in a microstructure with a pattern of Ti-rich zones. The liquid phase diffusivity and diffusive velocity of Ti in Si were estimated to be 9 × 10−4 cm2/s and (2 ± 0.5) × 104 m/s, respectively. Using these results the morphological stability limit for planar resolidification of Si:Ti was evaluated, and the results indicate that attaining sufficient concentrations of Ti in Si to reach the nominal Mott transition in morphologically stable plane-front solidification should occur only for velocities so high as to exceed the speed limits for crystalline regrowth in Si(111).Engineering and Applied Science

Lead-related quantum emitters in diamond

We report on quantum emission from Pb-related color centers in diamond following ion implantation and high-temperature vacuum annealing. First-principles calculations predict a negatively charged Pb-vacancy (PbV) center in a split-vacancy configuration, with a zero-phonon transition around 2.4 eV. Cryogenic photoluminescence measurements performed on emitters in nanofabricated pillars reveal several transitions, including a prominent doublet near 520 nm. The splitting of this doublet, 5.7 THz, exceeds that reported for other group-IV centers. These observations are consistent with the PbV center, which is expected to have a combination of narrow optical transitions and stable spin states, making it a promising system for quantum network nodes.U.S. Army Research Laboratory. Center for Distributed Quantum InformationNational Science Foundation (U.S.). Graduate Research Fellowship ProgramNational Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant DMR-1231319)United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Space Technology Research Fellowship)MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms MIT International Science and Technology Initiativ

Transform-limited photons from a coherent tin-vacancy spin in diamond

Solid-state quantum emitters that couple coherent optical transitions to long-lived spin qubits are essential for quantum networks. Here we report on the spin and optical properties of individual tin-vacancy (SnV) centers in diamond nanostructures. Through cryogenic magneto-optical and spin spectroscopy, we verify the inversion-symmetric electronic structure of the SnV, identify spin-conserving and spin-flipping transitions, characterize transition linewidths, measure electron spin lifetimes and evaluate the spin dephasing time. We find that the optical transitions are consistent with the radiative lifetime limit even in nanofabricated structures. The spin lifetime is phononlimited with an exponential temperature scaling leading to $T_1$ $>$ 10 ms, and the coherence time, $T_2$ reaches the nuclear spin-bath limit upon cooling to 2.9 K. These spin properties exceed those of other inversion-symmetric color centers for which similar values require millikelvin temperatures. With a combination of coherent optical transitions and long spin coherence without dilution refrigeration, the SnV is a promising candidate for feasable and scalable quantum networking applications