Quantum optics and spin physics with solid-state defect centres

电子或原子核的微小磁矩--自旋--提供了一个物理系统，可以在极长的时间尺度上表现出量子力学行为；在某些情况下，它们可以表现出几秒钟、几分钟甚至几个小时的连贯演化。如果信息被编码成这种自旋的状态，它们的长期相干可以成为未来计算或密码系统的资源，这些系统的计算能力或信息安全从根本上是基于量子力学定律的。同时，自旋的量子态可以成为对其周围环境极其敏感的探测器，为研究其局部环境的性质或高精度测量外部电磁场创造了机会。为了实现基于自旋的量子设备，人们必须找到控制自旋的方法，准备和检测它们的状态，并在不牺牲量子相干特性的情况下设计它们之间的相互作用。晶体主体中的光学活性缺陷最近已经成为一种很有前途的平台，可以在坚固的固态设备中访问单个电子和核自旋。NSERC的这笔赠款将支持使用缺陷中心探索剩余挑战的研究：在不同自旋之间创建门(受控相互作用)。关键的想法是识别和研究相互作用机制，这些机制可以扩展到大规模量子系统，用于计算或密码学应用。利用钻石中缺陷的磁性和光学特性，以及探索新的材料和设备几何形状，拟议的项目将探索以纳米级和宏观距离分隔的长寿命固态自旋之间的量子门。此外，这项研究还将影响使用自旋制造精密磁传感器的近期应用。这笔发现基金还将支持对几名学生研究人员的培训和指导，塑造他们未来的职业生涯，并增加加拿大高素质的科学家和研究人员队伍。

The tiny magnetic moments of electrons or nuclei - spins - offer a physical system that can behave quantum mechanically over extraordinarily long timescales; in some cases they can exhibit coherent evolution for seconds, minutes, or even hours. If information is encoded into the state of such spins, their long-lived coherence can become a resource for future computing or cryptography systems whose computational power or information security is fundamentally based on the laws of quantum mechanics. At the same time, the quantum states of spins can be exquisitely sensitive probes of their surroundings, creating opportunities to study the nature of their local environment or measure external electromagnetic fields with high precision. To realize spin-based quantum devices, one must find ways to control spins, prepare and detect their states, and engineer interactions between them without sacrificing their coherent quantum character. Optically-active defects in crystalline hosts have recently emerged as a promising platform for accessing individual electronic and nuclear spins in a robust solid-state device. This NSERC grant will support research that uses defect centres to explore a remaining challenge: creating gates (controlled interactions) between different spins. The critical idea is to identify and study interaction mechanisms that could be extended to large-scale quantum systems for applications in computing or cryptography. Using magnetic and optical properties of defects in diamond, as well as exploring new materials and device geometries, the proposed projects will pursue quantum gates between long-lived solid-state spins separated by nanoscale and macroscopic distances. Additionally, this research will impact near-term applications using spins for precision magnetic sensors. This Discovery grant will also support the training and guidance of several student researchers, shaping their future careers and increasing the pool of highly-qualified scientists and researchers in Canada.