Mechanically-Mediated Spin Entanglement in Diamond

量子系统可能会出现不寻常的现象，如量子纠缠。量子力学的这一奇特方面可以被用来解决或模拟用标准的经典计算机无法解决或不可能解决的计算问题。这项工作将研究其他经典机械振荡器的量子行为，如钻石悬臂或钻石纳米梁。机械振荡器的运动将通过它与钻石中的电子的相互作用来控制。这些类型的纳米机械系统有可能实现量子纠缠的奇异行为，并成为基于钻石芯片的量子计算机的构建块。该项目还将为教育和人力资源做出贡献，在科学和技术重要领域为研究生和本科生提供出色的培训。该项目将研究钻石中的电子自旋和钻石纳米机械振荡器的机械运动之间的耦合。自旋-声子耦合将通过非共振拉曼跃迁到金刚石中氮空位中心的激发态来调节。实验工作将集中在制造金刚石纳米机械振荡器，产生自旋驱动的相干机械运动，以及通过耦合到单电子自旋来冷却纳米机械振荡器。这些努力的成功实施应该使我们能够追求电子自旋之间的机械介导的量子纠缠。索伦森-莫尔默纠缠方案对热机械运动具有较强的抵抗力，将用于产生最大纠缠的自旋态。更长期的目标是实现囚禁离子系统的固态模拟。

A quantum system can feature unusual phenomena such as quantum entanglement. This exotic aspect of quantum mechanics can be exploited to solve or model computational problems that are impractical or impossible to solve with standard, classical computers. This work will investigate the quantum behaviors of an otherwise classical mechanical oscillator, such as a diamond cantilever or a diamond nanobeam. The motion of the mechanical oscillator will be controlled through its interactions with an electron in diamond. These types of nano-mechanical systems have the potential to realize the exotic behavior of quantum entanglement and become a building block in a diamond-chip based quantum computer. This project will also make contributions to education and human resource by providing excellent training to graduate and undergraduate students in areas of both scientific and technological importance.This project will investigate the coupling between an electron spin in diamond and the mechanical motion of a diamond nanomechanical oscillator. The spin-phonon coupling will be mediated through off-resonant Raman transitions to the excited states of a nitrogen vacancy center in diamond. Experimental efforts will focus on the fabrication of diamond nanomechanical oscillators, the generation of spin-driven coherent mechanical motion, and the cooling of the nanomechanical oscillator through its coupling to a single electron spin. The successful implementation of these efforts should enable us to pursue mechanically-mediated quantum entanglement between electron spins. The Sorensen-Molmer entanglement scheme, which is relatively robust against thermal mechanical motion, will be explored for the generation of a maximally-entangled spin state. The longer term goal is to realize a solid-state analog of the trapped ion system.