Abstract
We explore optical coherence and spin dynamics of an isotopically purified 166Er:7LiYF4 crystal below 1 K and at weak magnetic fields < 0.3T. Crystals were grown in our lab and demonstrate narrow inhomogeneous optical broadening down to 16 MHz. Solid-state atomic ensembles with such narrow linewidths are very attractive for implementing of off-resonant Raman quantum memory and for the interfacing of superconducting quantum circuits and telecom C-band optical photons. Both applications require a low magnetic field of ∼10 mT. However, at conventional experimental temperatures T > 1.5 K, optical coherence of Er:LYF crystal attains time scale only at strong magnetic fields above 1.5 T. In the present work, we demonstrate that the deep freezing of Er:LYF crystal below 1 K results in the increase of optical coherence time to at weak fields.
Highlights
Rare-earth (RE) doped solids represent today one of the widely exploited materials for the modern laser and telecommunication industry
We explore optical coherence and spin dynamics of isotopically purified 166Er:7LiYF4 crystal below 1 Kelvin and at weak magnetic fields
We found that at moderate magnetic field, and ultra low temperatures optical dephasing time attains ∼ 10 − 100 μs
Summary
Rare-earth (RE) doped solids represent today one of the widely exploited materials for the modern laser and telecommunication industry. At weak magnetic fields and conventional temperatures of T > 1.5 K, large electronic spins mediate a rapid spin-lattice relaxation process which limits the spin coherence time. In order to attain long coherence time, high magnetic field up to 7 T and low temperatures of 1.5 K are used to polarize an electronic spin bath. By following this prescription the longest optical coherence time of 4.4 ms among solid state systems has been demonstrated for 0.001% Er3+:Y2SiO5 (Er:YSO) [4]. In our previous microwave experiments with erbium doped crystals, it was shown that at sub-Kelvin temperatures substantial polarization of electronic spin bath can be attained already at moderate fields of ∼ 0.1 T. We show how contribution to decoherence of electronic spins depends on magnetic field and temperature
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