Abstract
The global quantum internet will require long-lived, telecommunications-band photon–matter interfaces manufactured at scale1. Preliminary quantum networks based on photon–matter interfaces that meet a subset of these demands are encouraging efforts to identify new high-performance alternatives2. Silicon is an ideal host for commercial-scale solid-state quantum technologies. It is already an advanced platform within the global integrated photonics and microelectronics industries, as well as host to record-setting long-lived spin qubits3. Despite the overwhelming potential of the silicon quantum platform, the optical detection of individually addressable photon–spin interfaces in silicon has remained elusive. In this work, we integrate individually addressable ‘T centre’ photon–spin qubits in silicon photonic structures and characterize their spin-dependent telecommunications-band optical transitions. These results unlock immediate opportunities to construct silicon-integrated, telecommunications-band quantum information networks.
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Data are available on request. Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to S.S.
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Acknowledgements
We thank C. Clément from Polytechnique Montréal for rapid thermal annealing of implanted samples. This work made use of the 4D LABS and Silicon Quantum Leap facilities supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund, Western Economic Diversification Canada and Simon Fraser University. This work was supported by the Canada Research Chairs program, the New Frontiers in Research Fund: Exploration, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Quantum Information Science program and Catalyst Fund, Le Fonds de recherche du Québec: Nature et technologies and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
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A.T.K.K., D.B.H. and S.S. designed the experiment and wrote the manuscript. A.T.K.K. and D.B.H. built the apparatus, measured single-centre spectra and analysed the data. M.K. and D.B.H. measured single spin lifetimes. N.A.B., A.T.K.K. and D.B.H. measured photon correlations. C.C., D.B.H., E.R.M. and S.R. developed the samples used in the study. J.R.K., N.R.L-H., J.S., M.R. and K.J.M. assisted in experiment design. C.B., L.B., A.D., N.A.B., S.R.H., J.K., M.K., D.W.M., T.S.R. and L.A.S. contributed to code development. M.L.W.T. advised on design and analysis. All authors participated in manuscript revision.
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D.B.H., A.T.K.K., C.C., M.K., N.A.B., E.R.M., N.R.L-H., M.R., C.B., L.B., J.K., L.A.S., K.J.M., M.L.W.T. and S.S. are current or recent employees of and/or have a financial interest in Photonic Inc., a quantum technology company. J.R.K., J.S., S.R.H., D.W.M., T.S.R. and S.R. declare no competing interests.
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Extended data figures and tables
Extended Data Fig. 1 Confocal microscopy of micropucks.
(A) Confocal microscope image of micropucks, incrementing in radius from 250 nm (upper left) to 850 nm (bottom right), by integrating PL signal over λ > 1.33. (B) Simulated relative intensity (colour axis) collected by an NA = 0.7 microscope objective from a planar emitter at the micropuck centre as a function of wavelength and micropuck radius. (C) Simulated (solid) vs measured (dots) intensity of the T ZPL area (blue) and the integrated sideband intensity (red) in PL as a function of micropuck radius. Simulated data is plotted as relative intensity into the objective (right axis) and measured data is peak value normalized (left axis).
Extended Data Fig. 2 FDTD simulated emission from micropucks.
Collection efficiency (A and B), Purcell factor (C and D) and relative intensity (E and F) for a planar dipole in SOI (left column) and in a micropuck of varying radius (right column).
Extended Data Fig. 3 Single micropuck PL spectra.
The radius of each micropuck is given. Insets show zooms about the T and G centre ZPLs.
Extended Data Fig. 4 Single T centre excited state lifetime.
Fluorescence transient measured after resonant excitation. An exponential fit gives a lifetime of 802(7) ns.
Extended Data Fig. 5 FDTD simulated, spectrally weighted Purcell factor of a T centre in a micropuck.
(A) Single-wavelength Purcell factor for a planar dipole at the centre of a micropuck of varying radius, reproduced from Extended Data Fig. 2(D) for reference. (B) Purcell factor averaged over the T centre spectrum as a function of micropuck radius.
Extended Data Fig. 6 Sideband fluorescence autocorrelation measurements.
(A) Raw correlation histogram without background subtraction, normalized to the detection rate. (B) Background-subtracted correlation histogram with three fitted models.
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Higginbottom, D.B., Kurkjian, A.T.K., Chartrand, C. et al. Optical observation of single spins in silicon. Nature 607, 266–270 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04821-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04821-y
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