Strongly anisotropic spin relaxation in the neutral silicon vacancy center in diamond
At a Glance
Section titled āAt a Glanceā| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2018-12-20 |
| Journal | Physical review. B./Physical review. B |
| Authors | Brendon C. Rose, GergÅ Thiering, Alexei M. Tyryshkin, Andrew M. Edmonds, Matthew Markham |
| Institutions | HUN-REN Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics |
| Citations | 23 |
Abstract
Section titled āAbstractāColor centers in diamond are a promising platform for quantum technologies, and understanding their interactions with the environment is crucial for these applications. We report a study of spin- lattice relaxation (T1) of the neutral charge state of the silicon vacancy center in diamond. Above 20 K, T1 decreases rapidly with a temperature dependence characteristic of an Orbach process, and is strongly anisotropic with respect to magnetic field orientation. As the angle of the magnetic field is rotated relative to the symmetry axis of the defect, T1 is reduced by over three orders of magnitude. The electron spin coherence time (T2) follows the same temperature dependence but is drastically shorter than T1. We propose that these observations result from phonon-mediated transitions to a low lying excited state that are spin conserving when the magnetic field is aligned with the defect axis, and we discuss likely candidates for this excited state.