Spatially Resolved Decoherence of Donor Spins in Silicon Strained by a Metallic Electrode

Electron spins are amongst the most coherent solid-state systems known. However, to be used in devices for quantum sensing and information processing applications, they must typically be placed near interfaces. Understanding and mitigating the impacts of such interfaces on the coherence and spectral properties of electron spins is critical to realizing such applications, but it is also challenging: Inferring such data from single-spin studies requires many measurements to obtain meaningful results, while ensemble measurements typically give averaged results that hide critical information. Here, we report a comprehensive study of the coherence of near-surface bismuth donor spins in 28-silicon at millikelvin temperatures. In particular, we use strain-induced frequency shifts caused by a metallic electrode to infer spatial maps of spin coherence as a function of position relative to the electrode. By measuring magnetic-field-insensitive clock transitions, we separate magnetic noise caused by surface spins from charge noise. Our results include quantitative models of the strain-split spin resonance spectra and extraction of paramagnetic impurity concentrations at the silicon surface. The interplay of these decoherence mechanisms for such near-surface electron spins is critical for their application in quantum technologies, while the combination of the strain splitting and clock transition extends the coherence lifetimes by up to 2 orders of magnitude, reaching up to 300 ms at a mean depth of only 100 nm. The technique we introduce here to spatially map coherence in near-surface ensembles is directly applicable to other spin systems of active interest, such as defects in diamond, silicon carbide, and rare earth ions in optical crystals.

Automated summary

Electron spins are highly coherent solid-state systems that are crucial for quantum sensing and information processing applications. This study focuses on near-surface bismuth donor spins in silicon, investigating their coherence behavior through strain-induced frequency shifts and clock transition measurements. The findings include quantitative models of strain-split spin resonance spectra and extraction of paramagnetic impurity concentrations at the silicon surface, demonstrating the potential extension of coherence lifetimes by up to two orders of magnitude.