Towards coherent control of single nuclear spins of ¹⁷¹Yb in YVO

Optically addressable solid-state spins are a promising platform for the development of scalable quantum technologies. Rare-earth ions in crystals are an attractive candidate for such systems due to their long optical and spin coherence lifetimes. By interfacing these ions with nanophotonic cavities, we can significantly enhance the photon-ion interaction to overcome their intrinsically weak optical transition strengths and enable detection and manipulation of single ions.

Here we describe work towards coherent control of long-lived nuclear spins of individual ¹⁷¹Yb ions coupled to a nanoscale photonic crystal cavity fabricated in the YVO host crystal. We first present results on detection and coherent optical manipulation of single ions in such a cavity. We then show that the cavity enhanced emission rate enables efficient optical pumping and spin initialization. Finally, we present initial results towards coherent microwave control of the electron and nuclear spin of single ions.