MRI/RUI: Acquisition of an Optically Detected Electron Spin Echo System for T2 Measurements in GaAs, AlGaAs, and InGaAs Layers and Quantum Wells

MRI/RUI：获取光学检测电子自旋回波系统，用于 GaAs、AlGaAs 和 InGaAs 层以及量子阱中的 T2 测量

• 批准号: 0419501
• 负责人: John Colton
• 金额: $ 30.79万
• 依托单位: University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-08-01 至 2008-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0419501&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; RUI; Acquisition; Optically; Detected

"Spin-based quantum computing" is a proposed method of doing numerical computations by manipulating the spin of particles such as electrons in semiconductors. Spin is an intrinsic property of electrons (and other fundamental particles) like charge or mass, and behaves in many ways similar to the angular momentum of a spinning object-hence the name. The spin of an electron has a direction associated with it, and may interact with its environment by changing its direction. Environmental factors which may affect spins include magnetic fields, the spin of other particles, and collective vibrations of atoms in a solid material. In order to be useful for quantum computing, the spins inside a material must be controllable-that is to say, the spins must not change direction accidentally, or at least the time scale of such accidental changes must be much larger than the time scale of the computing operations. The "spin dephasing" or "spin coherence time" (T2) is an important parameter to describe the rate at which a collection of spins stay pointed in the same direction, and is an important parameter for quantum computation-T2 times at least as long as microseconds are likely necessary to make possible spin-based quantum computing in the important semiconductor gallium arsenide (GaAs). The project proposes to measure T2 spin coherence times in GaAs and related materials through an optically detected spin echo experimental technique.This project will study electron spin coherence (T2) times in n-GaAs and related materials. Research on electron spin lifetimes is of timely interest due to quantum computing proposals in which the spin of electrons in semiconductors is used as a quantum bit. In order for spin-based quantum computer schemes to work, they must be implemented in materials which have relatively long spin coherence lifetimes. This project will measure T2 times via optically detected spin echoes. The initial experiments will involve measuring time resolved photoluminescence polarization in a novel way where pump and probe optical pulses are applied by modulating a diode laser with an electron pulse sequence generator. That provides a way to measure the spin-flip time, T1-an upper bound for T2. The second set of experiments will be to perform magnetic resonance on the samples, by first optically polarizing the electron spins, and then optically detecting the change in polarization while a magnetic field is swept through resonance (as microwaves are applied at a constant frequency). The third set of experiments will be to combine the first two experiments in this fashion: (1) time-resolved pump and probe optical pulses are applied as in the first experiment, and (2) the microwave frequencies and magnetic field are held fixed at the resonant position and the microwaves are modulated by the electronic pulse generator to get a spin echo sequence of coherent p/4 and p/2 pulses, from which T2 can be deduced by making an optical measurement of the final spin state as a function of microwave pulse delays.

“基于自旋的量子计算”是一种通过操纵半导体中电子等粒子的自旋来进行数值计算的方法。自旋是电子（和其他基本粒子）的一种内在属性，就像电荷或质量一样，在许多方面表现得与旋转物体的角动量相似，因此得名。电子的自旋有一个与之相关的方向，并且可以通过改变其方向与其环境相互作用。可能影响自旋的环境因素包括磁场、其他粒子的自旋和固体材料中原子的集体振动。为了对量子计算有用，材料内部的自旋必须是可互换的，也就是说，自旋不能意外地改变方向，或者至少这种意外变化的时间尺度必须远远大于计算操作的时间尺度。“自旋退相”或“自旋相干时间”（T2）是描述自旋集合保持指向相同方向的速率的重要参数，并且是量子计算的重要参数-至少与微秒一样长的T2时间可能需要在重要的半导体砷化镓（GaAs）中进行基于自旋的量子计算。本项目拟通过光学探测自旋回波实验技术测量GaAs及相关材料中的T2自旋相干时间，研究n-GaAs及相关材料中的电子自旋相干（T2）时间。电子自旋寿命的研究是及时的兴趣，由于量子计算的建议，其中电子在半导体中的自旋被用作量子比特。为了使基于自旋的量子计算机方案工作，它们必须在具有相对长的自旋相干寿命的材料中实现。该项目将通过光学检测自旋回波测量T2时间。最初的实验将涉及测量时间分辨光致发光偏振的一种新的方式，其中泵和探测光脉冲通过调制二极管激光器与电子脉冲序列发生器。这提供了一种测量自旋翻转时间T1的方法--T2的上限。第二组实验将对样品进行磁共振，首先对电子自旋进行光学极化，然后在磁场扫描共振时（当微波以恒定频率施加时）光学检测极化的变化。第三组实验将是以这种方式将前两个实验联合收割机结合起来：（1）如第一实验中那样施加时间分辨的泵浦和探测光脉冲，以及（2）微波频率和磁场保持固定在谐振位置并且微波由电子脉冲发生器调制以得到相干p/4和p/2脉冲的自旋回波序列，通过对作为微波脉冲延迟的函数的最终自旋状态进行光学测量，可以从中推导出T2。