Electron spin lifetime of a single antimony donor in silicon

Abstract

We present measurements of the electron spin lifetime (T1) of a single Sb donor in Si. For a magnetic field (B) oriented along the [100] Si crystal direction and low temperature (T) such that kT≪gμB, we find T1−1=KB5, where K=1.7×10−3 Hz T−5. The T1−1∝B5 dependence is expected for donor electron spin relaxation due to g-factor dependence on crystal strain. The magnitude of T1 is within a factor of two of theoretical estimates and is in close agreement with values obtained for bulk donor ensembles.