Interstitial Aluminum in Silicon for Quantum Technologies

ORAL

Abstract

Defects in silicon are a promising platform for quantum devices due to their compatibility with existing silicon nanophotonics, microelectronics, and commercial foundry processes. We explore the viability of interstitial aluminum (Ali) in the singly ionized charge state (Ali+) as a single-photon source or spin-photon interface. It is both stable at room temperature and easy to form. The earliest study on Ali was performed by ESR in 1964 [1] and there has been only one prior study of its optical properties [2]. We perform absorption spectroscopy of Ali+ and identify the first two excited states as a spin triplet (1s:3T2) and singlet (1s:1T2) in contrast with [2]. These states emit within the L and C telecommunication bands suitable for low-loss, long-distance communication. We further investigate the fine structure and spin-orbit coupling within the long-lived 1s:3T2 state and show that its lifetime exceeds several milliseconds. We conclude by proposing a brokered entanglement scheme with Ali+, mediated by a hyperfine interaction within the metastable state.

[1] G. D. Watkins, “Radiation damage in semiconductors,” Dunod, Paris, 1964

[2] Y. I. Latushko and V. V. Petrov, “IR Studies of Electron-Irradiated Aluminum-Doped Silicon” Defects in Semiconductors (1979) p. 1269




*This work is supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF), the Canada research chair program (CRC), the Canada Foundation of Innovation (CFI), the B.C. Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF), and the Quantum Information Science program at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR).

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Publication: A. Woolverton, N. Brunelle, M. Keshavarz, E. MacQuarrie, N. Abrosimov, M. Gascoine, Y. Ackermann, D. B. Higginbottom, M. L. W. Thewalt, and S. Simmons, "New Interpretations of Aluminum Related Defects in Isotopically Enriched Silicon," (In preparation)

Presenters

  • Austin D Woolverton

    • Simon Fraser University

Authors

  • Austin D Woolverton

    • Simon Fraser University

  • Nicholas Brunelle

    • Simon Fraser University

  • M. Mehdi Keshavarz

    • Simon Fraser University

  • Evan R MacQuarrie

    • Photonic Inc.
    • Photonic, Inc.

  • Nikolay (N.V.) Abrosimov

    • Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung

  • Melanie Gascoine

    • Simon Fraser University
    • Simon Fraser University, Photonic Inc.

  • Yehudah Achermann

    • Simon Fraser University

  • Daniel Higginbottom

    • Simon Fraser University
    • Simon Fraser University, Photonic Inc.

  • Michael Thewalt

    • Simon Fraser University

  • Stephanie Simmons

    • Simon Fraser University