Electron Spin Relaxation Time Research Articles

Spin Readout of a CMOS Quantum Dot by Gate Reflectometry and Spin-Dependent Tunneling

Silicon spin qubits are promising candidates for realizing large-scale quantum processors, benefitting from a magnetically quiet host material and the prospects of leveraging the mature silicon device fabrication industry. We report the measurement of an electron spin in a singly occupied gate-defined quantum dot, fabricated using CMOS-compatible processes at the 300-mm wafer scale. For readout, we employ spin-dependent tunneling combined with a low-footprint single-lead quantum-dot charge sensor, measured using rf gate reflectometry. We demonstrate spin readout in two devices using this technique, obtaining valley splittings in the range 0.5–0.7 meV using excited-state spectroscopy, and measure a maximum electron-spin relaxation time (T1) of 9±3 s at 1 T. These long lifetimes indicate the silicon-nanowire geometry and fabrication processes employed here show a great deal of promise for qubit devices, while the spin-readout method demonstrated here is well suited to a variety of scalable architectures.4 MoreReceived 16 May 2020Revised 12 October 2020Accepted 24 February 2021DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PRXQuantum.2.010353Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.Published by the American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasQuantum computationPhysical SystemsQuantum dotsCondensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Spin Dynamics of the Radicals Produced from Methane Sulfonic Acid and Acetic Acid by Hydroxyl Radicals in Aqueous Solution Studied by Means of Time-Resolved Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy.

Fundamental information on the reactions of ·OH radical with alkyl sulfonic acid and carboxylic acid is important for understanding the degradation of the polymer electrolytes for fuel cells. In the present research, the spin dynamics of the organic radicals generated by the ·OH radical was investigated by means of a time-resolved electron spin resonance (TR-ESR) method with the pulsed laser irradiation on H2O2 in aqueous solution. The time profiles of the ESR signals of ·SO3-, ·CH2SO3-, ·CH2COOH, and ·CH2COO- have been analyzed along with the evaluation of characteristics of electron spins such as the g factor, hyperfine coupling constant A, lifetime of radicals, and electron spin relaxation time T1. The effects of the laser repetition frequency on the TR-ESR spectra, the pH dependence on the kinetic parameters, and the mechanism of chemically induced dynamic electron polarization (CIDEP) were discussed. The radical pair mechanism was suggested for the CIDEP, where the electron spins of these radicals are polarized by forming a free radical pair with another radical or the·OH radical, which have remained in the vicinity of photon absorption.

Релаксация электронного спина и резонансное охлаждение ядерных спинов в структурах GaAs : Mn

The behavior of the electron spin relaxation time in bulk GaAs layers doped with Mn was studied experimentally. We investigated the dependence of the degree of circular polarization of photoluminescence in transverse and longitudinal magnetic fields. An increase in the relaxation time of the electron spin is found from 25 ns at low pumping power to 400 ns at the threshold pumping power. The effect of resonant cooling of the nuclear spin system by optically oriented electron spins is demonstrated.

Doping and temperature dependence of nuclear spin relaxation in n -type GaAs

We investigate the strong field nuclear spin relaxation rate in $n$-type GaAs for doping densities from the quasi-insulating over the metal-to-insulator up to the quasimetallic regime. The rate measured at 6.5 K increases in the quasi-insulating regime with doping density due to nuclear spin diffusion to the donor electrons and shows a distinct maximum at the critical density of the Mott metal-to-insulator transition. The density dependence of the nuclear spin relaxation rate can be quantitatively calculated over the whole density regime taking into account the effective number of localized electrons and the interaction of free electrons via the Korringa mechanism. Only the nuclear spin relaxation rate of the very lowest doped sample shows a significant deviation from these calculations. Temperature-dependent measurements suggest in this case an additional nuclear spin relaxation channel which is negligible at higher doping densities and is linked to the electron spin relaxation time.

Room-temperature spin relaxation in a (110)-oriented GaAs/AlGaAs superlattice with tunnel-coupled quantum wells

We have investigated the electron spin relaxation time of a (110)-oriented GaAs/AlGaAs superlattice (SL) with tunnel-coupled quantum wells at room temperature. As the tunnel coupling between quantum wells increased, the spin relaxation time decreased. Even when the strength of tunnel coupling was as large as 25 meV, the spin relaxation time was 0.7 ns, about seven times longer than that of bulk GaAs which has been used as a conventional spin transport layer. This finding indicates that (110)-oriented SL structures are one of the potential candidates for spin transport in both in-plane and out-of-plane directions in semiconductor-based spintronic devices.

Dynamic Nuclear Polarization with Vanadium(IV) Metal Centers

Summary Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) harnesses the large polarization of electron spins to dramatically increase nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) sensitivity. This study expands the scope of DNP beyond its traditional focus on hyperpolarizing the solvent network using exogenous polarizing agents (PAs). We introduce 1H DNP with endogenous V4+ centers positioned in a set of vanadyl complexes with tunable V4+-1H distances. We traced the polarization transfer from V4+ to 1H spins, specifically differentiating between direct V4+-1Hs polarization transfer and the 1H spin-diffusion-mediated bulk solvent 1H polarization buildup and illuminated the effect of the V4+-1H distance on these processes. These results deepen our understanding of polarization pathways and expand the catalog of PAs to broad-line transition metals. This study establishes crucial first steps toward employing strategically positioned endogenous paramagnetic metal centers for DNP and the conceptual framework of hyperfine DNP spectroscopy that merges both spatial and chemical diagnosis of target nuclear spins.

Longitudinal spin relaxation time of donor-bound electrons in a CdTe quantum well

We study the magnetic-field dependence of the longitudinal spin relaxation time ${T}_{1}$ of donor-bound electrons placed in the middle of an 8-nm CdTe quantum well with different doping concentrations in the range from $1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{9}$ to $2.9\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{11}$ $\mathrm{c}{\mathrm{m}}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$ and at low temperature. We use an extended photoinduced Faraday rotation technique, which expands the usual domain of the measured decays from tens of ns to $\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{s}$. As in high-purity bulk semiconductors, a maximum relaxation time of around ${T}_{1}\ensuremath{\sim}10\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{s}$ is observed for a residually doped sample at low magnetic field of $B=0.08\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{T}$. For higher doping concentrations, the magnetic-field dependence of ${T}_{1}$ shows a nonmonotonic behavior: first a rapid increase, followed by a plateau or a decrease of ${T}_{1}$. The fast increase of ${T}_{1}$ at low magnetic fields is explained by the inhibition of the mechanisms identified at zero field---hyperfine and anisotropic exchange interactions---while the behavior at high magnetic field can be succesfully explained by a mechanism proposed by Lyubinskiy and associated to electron hops [I. S. Lyubinskiy, JETP Lett. 88, 814 (2008)]. A good agreement between experiment and theory is found for samples below the metal-insulator transition, when Dresselhaus terms of spin-orbit coupling are considered to be the dominant ones in the Hamiltonian describing the system.

Electron Spin Relaxation of Tb3+ and Tm3+ Ions.

Electron spin relaxation times T1 and Tm of Tb3+ and Tm3+ in 1:1 water:ethanol and of Tb3+ doped (2%) in crystalline La2(oxalate)3 decahydrate were measured between about 4.2 and 10 K. Both cations are non-Kramers ions and have J = 6 ground states. Echo-detected spectra are compared with CW spectra and with field-stepped direct-detected EPR spectra. Due to the strong temperature dependence of T1, measurements were not made above 10 K. Between about 4.2 and 6 K T1 is strongly concentration dependent between 1 and ~50 mM. T1 values at 4.2 K are in the μs range which is orders of magnitude faster than for 3d transition metals. Phase memory times, Tm, are less than 500 ns, which is short relative to values observed for 3d transition metals and organic radicals at 4 K. Tm is longer in the oxalate lattice which is attributed to the lower proton concentration in oxalate than in the organic solvent, which decreases nuclear spin diffusion. The rigidity of the crystalline lattice also may contribute to longer Tm.

Spin treacle in a frustrated magnet observed with spin current

By means of spin current, the flow of spin angular momentum, we find a regime of "spin treacle" in a frustrated magnetic system. To establish its existence, we have performed spin transport measurements in nanometer-scale spin glasses. At temperatures high enough that the magnetic moments fluctuate at high frequencies, the spin Hall angle, the conversion yield between spin current and charge current, is independent of temperature. The spin Hall angle starts to decrease at a certain temperature $T^{*}$ and completely vanishes at a lower temperature. We argue that the latter corresponds to the spin freezing temperature $T_{\rm f}$ of the nanometer-scale spin glass, where the direction of conduction electron spin is randomized by the exchange coupling with the localized moments. The present experiment \textit{quantitatively} verifies the existence of a distinct "spin treacle" between $T_{\rm f}$ and $T^{*}$. We have also quantified a time scale of fluctuation of local magnetic moments in the spin treacle from the spin relaxation time of conduction electrons.

Optical detection of electron spin dynamics driven by fast variations of a magnetic field: a simple method to measure T_1, T_2, and T_2^* in semiconductors

We develop a simple method for measuring the electron spin relaxation times T_1, T_2 and T_2^* in semiconductors and demonstrate its exemplary application to n-type GaAs. Using an abrupt variation of the magnetic field acting on electron spins, we detect the spin evolution by measuring the Faraday rotation of a short laser pulse. Depending on the magnetic field orientation, this allows us to measure either the longitudinal spin relaxation time T_1 or the inhomogeneous transverse spin dephasing time T_2^*. In order to determine the homogeneous spin coherence time T_2, we apply a pulse of an oscillating radiofrequency (rf) field resonant with the Larmor frequency and detect the subsequent decay of the spin precession. The amplitude of the rf-driven spin precession is significantly enhanced upon additional optical pumping along the magnetic field.

13C isotope enrichment of the central trityl carbon decreases fluid solution electron spin relaxation times

Electron spin relaxation times for perdeuterated Finland trityl 99% enriched in 13C at the central carbon (13C1-dFT) were measured in phosphate buffered saline (pH = 7.2) (PBS) solution at X-band. The anisotropic 13C1 hyperfine (Ax = Ay = 18 ± 2, Az = 162 ± 1 MHz) and g values (2.0033, 2.0032, 2.00275) in a 9:1 trehalose:sucrose glass at 293 K and in 1:1 PBS:glycerol at 160 K were determined by simulation of spectra at X-band and Q-band. In PBS at room temperature the tumbling correlation time, τR, is 0.29 ± 0.02 ns. The linewidths are broadened by incomplete motional averaging of the hyperfine anisotropy and T2 is 0.13 ± 0.02 µs, which is shorter than the T2 ~ 3.8 µs for natural abundance dFT at low concentration in PBS. T1 for 13C1-dFT in deoxygenated PBS is 5.9 ± 0.5 µs, which is shorter than for natural abundance dFT in PBS (16 µs) but much longer than in air-saturated solution (0.48 ± 0.04 µs). The tumbling dependence of T1 in PBS, 3:1 PBS:glycerol (τR = 0.80 ± 0.05 ns, T1 = 9.7 ± 0.7 µs) and 1:1 PBS:glycerol (τR = 3.4 ± 0.3 ns, T1 = 12.0 ± 1.0 µs) was modeled with contributions to the relaxation predominantly from modulation of hyperfine anisotropy and a local mode. The 1/T1 rate for the 1% 12C1-dFT in the predominantly 13C labeled sample is about a factor of 6 more strongly concentration dependent than for natural abundance 12C1-trityl, which reflects the importance of Heisenberg exchange with molecules with different resonance frequencies and faster relaxation rates. In glassy matrices at 160 K, T1 and Tm for 13C1-dFT are in good agreement with previously reported values for 12C1-dFT consistent with the expectation that modulation of nuclear hyperfine does not contribute to electron spin relaxation in a rigid lattice.

Suppression of thermally excited electron-spin relaxation in InGaAs quantum dots using p-doped capping layers toward enhanced room-temperature spin polarization

The suppression of a thermally excited electron-spin relaxation in InGaAs quantum dots (QDs) using p-doped capping layers toward enhanced room-temperature (RT) spin polarization has been demonstrated, in which the electron-spin polarization in QD excited states (ESs) was measured through time-resolved spin-dependent photoluminescence. We revealed that the p-doping of QDs can enhance the emission intensity of QD-ES by approximately twofold to threefold over a wide temperature range. An electron-spin relaxation time of 106 ps was observed at 293 K for p-doped QDs, which is approximately three times longer than the radiative lifetime of 36 ps, relative to the shorter electron-spin relaxation time of 71 ps for undoped QDs. The increased electron-spin lifetime was mainly attributed to the suppressed relaxation of the electron spin reinjected from the p-doped capping barrier after thermal escape from an ES, where the D'yakonov-Perel' spin relaxation in the barrier was potentially weakened through impurity scattering. These results suggest that InGaAs QDs with p-doped capping layers have a significant advantage for use in spin-functional optical active layers with a higher spin polarization toward RT.

Calculation of impurity density and electron-spin relaxation times in p-type GaAs:Mn

Magnetic semiconductors have aroused interest due to their various functionalities related to spintronic devices. Manganese (Mn) as a substitutional impurity in A3B5 semiconductors supplies not only holes, but also localized spins. The ejection of Mn atoms with an uncompensated magnetic moment leads to the appearance of ferromagnetic properties. The most suitable material characterized by long-term spin dynamics is n-type GaAs. In p-type GaAs, the spin relaxation time of electrons is generally much shorter. For purposes of this research, electron-spin relaxation times in 3D and 2D p-type GaAs were studied. Calculation of impurity densities and charge state of magnetic acceptors demonstrate the essential composition of the material. Comparison of theoretical and experimental data in optical-spin orientation of electrons reveal the longest spin relaxation time of 77 ns in 2D GaAs:Mn, less than twice the best time in the p-type 3D GaAs material.

Study of Electron Spin Diffusion and Relaxation Dynamics by Diffraction of transient spin grating in an Intrinsic GaAs/AlGaAs Quantum Well

In this paper, the transient spin grating method was used to measure the attenuation rate of the diffraction signals of the intrinsic spin gratings of the intrinsic GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells in different periods at room temperature, and the electron spin diffusion coefficient Ds = 121±6cm2/s was obtained. The electron spin diffusion coefficients of GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well were in good agreement with that of p-type GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well, indicating that the doping type for GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well has no significant effect on the diffusion rate of spin-polarized electrons. In this paper, the widely used formula of transient spin grating diffraction signal attenuation rate was used to fit the diffraction experimental results of the transient spin grating in the intrinsic GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well. The measured electron spin relaxation time was much shorter than that measured by the saturation absorption method. The reason for the deviation in the measured spin relaxation time was analyzed. The dynamic law of transient spin grating modulation attenuation over time was derived. The decay rate formula was modified, and the modified formula was used to fit the experimental data in the transient spin grating diffraction to obtain the spin relaxation time τs = 123 ps. The result was consistent with the measured electron spin relaxation time by the saturation absorption method.

Electron spin relaxation time of Ni(II) ion in hexapyrazole zinc(II) dinitrate at 300 K.

Understanding the electron spin relaxation properties of paramagnetic species is a fundamental requirement to use them as a probe to measure distances between sites in biomolecules by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Even though Ni(II) ion is an essential trace element for many species, relaxation properties are not well understood. Herein, the polycrystalline sample of Ni(II) ion magnetically diluted in Zn(Pyrazole)6 (NO3 )2 (Ni/ZPN) has been studied in detail by EPR spectroscopy to explore the electron spin relaxation time. Progressive continuous-wave (CW) EPR power saturation study on Ni/ZPN at 300 K yielded 907 mW as the P1/2 value. The cavity constant (KQ ) has been calculated using tempol in PVA-BA glass matrix and the product of electron spin-lattice relaxation time (T1 ) and spin-spin relaxation time (T2 ) for Ni/ZPN at 300 K has been reported for the first time.

Room Temperature Electrically Detected Nuclear Spin Coherence of NV Centres in Diamond

We demonstrate electrical detection of the 14N nuclear spin coherence of NV centres at room temperature. Nuclear spins are candidates for quantum memories in quantum-information devices and quantum sensors, and hence the electrical detection of nuclear spin coherence is essential to develop and integrate such quantum devices. In the present study, we used a pulsed electrically detected electron-nuclear double resonance technique to measure the Rabi oscillations and coherence time (T2) of 14N nuclear spins in NV centres at room temperature. We observed T2 ≈ 0.9 ms at room temperature, however, this result should be taken as a lower limit due to limitations in the longitudinal relaxation time of the NV electron spins. Our results will pave the way for the development of novel electron- and nuclear-spin-based diamond quantum devices.

Impact of transition metal ion doping on electron spin relaxation time in CdSe/ZnSe quantum dots

Theoretical calculations of spin relaxation time (SRT) of conduction electrons have been carried out considering the relaxation mediated by acoustic phonons using k.p perturbation theory and envelope function approximation in a transition metal doped II-VI semiconductor quantum dot under the strong confinement regime. In this calculation, we are considering the transitions in the Zeeman sublevels arising due to magnetic impurity doping and applied magnetic field in a Mn doped CdSe/ZnSe quantum dots. The occurrence of spin polarization switching at moderately low applied magnetic field is established in Cd1−xMnxSe/ZnSe quantum dots. The spin relaxation times have been found to be considerably longer with a higher dopant concentration in small magnetic fields (B < 2T) and at very low temperature (T < 50 K) regime. The results may help to demonstrate that, such small quantum dots can successfully be used as polarization switch in different spintronic nano-device.

Temperature dependence of the spin relaxation time of donor-bound electrons immersed in a CdTe quantum well

The behavior of the spin relaxation time of electrons bound to donors immersed in the middle of a CdTe quantum well was measured in the range of temperatures 10--80 K, by using picosecond pump-probe Kerr rotation. Different doping concentrations spanning from isolated donors up to a concentration beyond the metal-insulator transition were considered at a fixed magnetic field; at very low temperature, in insulating regime all electrons are bound to donors but for one high concentration we had to consider that a fraction of electrons is in conduction states. By increasing the temperature, the number of conduction electrons increases. The experimental temperature dependences were explained by invoking spin exchange between electron spins localized on donors and the spin of electrons promoted to conduction states. A good agreement between experiment and theory was found and allowed us to conclude that, while the spin of localized electrons undergoes the effect of both hyperfine and anisotropic exchange interactions, the D'yakonov-Perel' mechanism governs the spin relaxation of the conduction electrons for the whole range of the studied doping concentrations. Moreover, we identified the scattering mechanisms possibly undergone by the conduction electrons at low temperature.

Spin relaxation time of donor-bound electrons in a CdTe quantum well

Low-temperature spin relaxation time of electrons localized on iodine donors placed in the middle of a 8-nm CdTe quantum well is studied by using the photoinduced Faraday rotation technique, for donor concentrations in the range from $1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{9}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{c}{\mathrm{m}}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$ to $3.6\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{11}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{c}{\mathrm{m}}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$. A maximum relaxation time of the order of 20 ns is found at a doping concentration near the metal-insulator transition. Adapting the theoretical description developed for bulk GaAs [R. I. Dzhioev et al., Phys. Rev. B 66, 245204 (2002)] to a quantum well, we have fitted the experimental results taking as a parameter the spin-orbit constant in CdTe. A satisfactory fit is obtained with ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{so}=0.079\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.011,$ which is also very close to the calculated theoretical value. A comparison of the experimental spin relaxation times measured previously in bulk CdTe to those predicted by the theory is done. Finally, we compare the predicted spin relaxation times in bulk CdTe to those predicted in one of the most studied bulk semiconductor materials: GaAs, and in (less studied) ZnSe.

Detection of optically injected spin polarized electrons in the L-valley of AlGaAs through polarization resolved photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy

GaAs/AlGaAs multi quantum well (QW) architecture is employed to study the optical injection of spin polarized electrons in Al0.22Ga0.78As material over the excitation energy range of 1.85–3.4 eV. By analyzing the degree of circular polarization (DCP) of photoluminescence from QW, it is seen that though the magnitude of DCP is affected by the QW thickness, its spectral dependence is mainly governed by the barrier layer. In addition to a usual maximum in DCP near Γ-point, a local maximum at 3.2 eV is also observed. This is identified as a signature of optical spin orientation in the L-valley of AlGaAs. The comparison of DCP spectra with that of a ZrO2 coated structure confirms that its origin is deep rooted in the bulk material and is therefore robust against surface treatments. A two level model for the transfer of spin polarized electrons from L to Γ valley is proposed to estimate the spin relaxation time of electrons which is found to be large in the L-valley of AlGaAs when compared with GaAs. This could be an interesting aspect for the fabrication of AlGaAs based spintronic devices. Further the QW architecture proposed here is useful for studying the injection of spin polarized carriers in indirect bandgap semiconductors.