Parametric Magnon Transduction To Spin Qubits
Parametric Magnon Transduction To Spin Qubits
Parametric Magnon Transduction To Spin Qubits
Min Max
B
Si
c Axis (1000)
f0 VSi(V2) C
(0, 0)
(n, m)
D
FFT magn. (arb. units)
f0 Min Max E
f−
2
(0, 12) ES f
|+3/2
1
(n, m) f+ 2
ISC
|+1/2
ZFS
|−1/2
f+ f− 1
(n, m) GS |−3/2
Fig. 1. Parametric quantum transducer based on vortex magnons. (A) Parametric generation of magnons via three-magnon splitting. The initial pump mode f0 splits
into secondary modes f+ and f− following specific selection rules. (n, m) are the radial and azimuthal indices of the quantized vortex magnons. Mdyn denotes the dynamic
component of the magnetization vector. (B) A permalloy (Py) disc with 5.1-μm diameter and 50-nm thickness on top of a SiC substrate hosting an ensemble of VSi(V2)
defects. An on-chip antenna surrounding the disc is used to excite the vortex magnons. (C) Crystallographic structure of the 4H SiC polytype showing the VSi(V2) defect
residing at the quasicubic lattice site. (D) General coupling principle. The ν1,2 resonances of the VSi(V2) cross the secondary magnon modes at two distinct field ranges
(dashed circles) allowing pure-magnon addressability of the spin qubits. The observed branching of the secondary f+ and f− modes with increasing out-of-plane field
∣B∣ corresponds to the exchange-induced splitting of the degenerate doublets as the vortex transitions into a vortex-cone state (29, 64). (E) Ground state energy level
structure and optical transitions of VSi(V2). Intersystem crossing (ISC) allows spin initialization and readout. At ∣B∣ ≠ 0, energy levels split due to Zeeman interaction. ZFS,
zero-field splitting. The spatial profiles of the modes in (A) and their FFT (fast Fourier transform) spectra in (D) were obtained using micromagnetic simulations.
with S = 3/2, split at both ground and excited states into ms = ±1/2, ±3/2 into the doublets (0, ∓12) at f = 2.55 GHz and (1, ±12) at f = 3.55 GHz
(31, 34–36). A spin-dependent intersystem crossing enables spin (see Fig. 1A) (30). Notably, as the vortex transitions into a vortex-
initialization and readout via photoluminescence (PL). At zero mag- cone state with increasing out-of-plane fields ∣B∣, the secondary
netic field, the energy levels are spin-split by the zero-field splitting modes show minimal change, facilitating frequency crossing points
of 2D = 70 MHz, where D is the crystal field constant. At ∣B∣ ≫ 2.5 mT, with the electron spin resonance of VSi(V2). At these crossings, the
the VSi(V2) spin resonance frequencies ν1,2 shift linearly with ∣B∣ VSi(V2) are degenerate only to the secondary modes, leaving the pump
due to Zeeman splitting following mode f0 and the antenna microwaves off-resonant. Figure 1D sum-
marizes this indirect coupling scheme between the secondary
ν1,2 = ν0 ± D(3cos2 θ − 1) (1) parametric magnon modes and the VSi(V2).
with ν0 = γ∣B∣, ∣γ∣ = 28 MHz/mT being the electron gyromagnetic A remarkable consequence of our coupling mechanism is that
ratio, and θ being the angle between the magnetic field and the c axis the interaction between the magnons and the VSi(V2) is unidirec-
(31, 34, 37). tional. While 3MS is itself a reversible process [three-magnon con-
At the core of this hybrid system is a “three-wave mixing” process fluence (41, 42)], the generation of the initial pump mode f0 by the
involving three vortex modes: an initial pump mode f0 with m = 0 VSi(V2) spins is not possible as it would require simultaneous excita-
and two secondary modes f+ and f− with m ≠ 0. Above a certain tion of the secondary modes which, in turn, lie at different frequen-
microwave power threshold the pump mode f0 becomes unstable cies f− and f+.
and spontaneously splits into the two secondary modes (38, 39). The
selection rules of this three-magnon splitting (3MS) process require Magnon-driven VSi spins
the secondary magnon modes to have opposite azimuthal index m, We start by experimentally demonstrating the driving of VSi(V2) spins
but different radial indices n which, in return, leads to distinct fre- by the parametric magnons in the vortex disc. Given the magnon-
quencies f− = f0/2 − Δf and f+ = f0/2 + Δf (40, 41). For the particular driven regime occurs at the two crossing points between the VSi(V2)
case of the 5.1-μm-diameter vortex disc, it was shown that high- resonances and the f− and f+ modes (dashed circles in Fig. 1D), we
power microwave excitation at fexc = 6.1 GHz results in the sponta- use the magnetic field as an independent parameter to tune the
neous splitting of the directly-excited pump mode with indices (0, 0) VSi(V2) into and out of resonance with these modes while tracking
the PL from the defects through optically detected magnetic reso- We attribute this downconversion to the parametric generation of
nance (ODMR) at room temperature. As a reference experiment, we secondary magnons in the disc via the 3MS process detailed in the
first exclude the influence of magnons on the ODMR spectra by col- previous section. In good agreement with the simulation data shown
lecting the PL of VSi(V2) located at the center of an empty antenna, in Fig. 1D, the parametric magnon modes, with frequencies f− and
i.e., without the vortex disc. The resulting ODMR spectra, shown in f+, are resonant to the spin defects at ∣B∣ = 90 mT and ∣B∣ = 115 mT,
Fig. 2A, display the expected linear field dependence of the VSi(V2) respectively, and couple to the VSi(V2) with a spin-magnon coupling
spin resonances as previously described by Eq. 1 for θ = 0, i.e., with strength g. The absence of a level anti-crossing around fexc ∼ 6 GHz
out-of-plane magnetic fields. reveals that the intrinsic decoherence mechanisms from the ma-
The ODMR spectra of VSi(V2) defects below the vortex disc are gnons, κm, and from the VSi ensembles, κq, overcome the coupling
shown in Fig. 2B. Here, we distinguish two distinct resonances of strength, κm, κq > g, putting the system in the weak coupling regime.
different origins: the resonances increasing linearly with the field 4g 2
This regime is defined by cooperativities C < 1, with C ≡ κ κ .
and the off-diagonal resonances around fexc ∼ 6 GHz. The linear m q
The large ODMR linewidth observed at fexc ∼ 6 GHz in Fig. 2C
resonances show similarities with the antenna-driven resonances in
can have multiple causes. On one hand, the 9 dBm of microwave
Fig. 2A, however, are a result of the combined action of the micro-
power used to drive the 3MS is sufficiently high to broaden the
wave antenna fields and the dynamic stray fields from the linear vor-
ODMR linewidth and distort its lineshape (fig. S6). On the other
tex dynamics. Given that the microwave power delivered by the
hand, the counter-propagating secondary modes can induce Doppler
antenna is kept constant, the increase of the ODMR intensity along
broadening, as has been observed with whispering gallery modes
the diagonal is an indication of the concomitant increase of the dy-
coupled to atoms (43). In addition, inhomogeneous broadening
namic stray fields, which together result in overall larger microwave
caused by the interaction with the thermal-magnon bath could also
driving fields. This increase in dynamic stray fields occurs because
play an important role.
A B C
E (GHz)
fexc
f f+ f0
5.9
3MS
g
2.5
f VSi
Purely magnon
driven
E (GHz)
ve n fexc
- dri ri ven
f exc + f 0-d g
f exc 2.5
f0 VSi
B (mT) B (mT)
Fig. 2. Optical detection of magnon-driven VSi(V2) spin transitions. (A) Reference ODMR spectra as a function of the external magnetic field ∣B∣ measured at the cen-
ter of a microwave antenna without the vortex disc (see inset). The diagonal ΔPL/PL intensity corresponds to the field-dependent VSi(V2) resonances. The discrete-like
resonances are due to coarse increments in the applied magnetic field (see the Supplementary Materials). (B) ODMR spectra as a function of external magnetic field
∣B∣ for VSi(V2) ensembles below the vortex disc (see inset). The off-diagonal signal around fexc ∼ 6 GHz results from VSi(V2) spin transitions purely driven by the parametric
magnon modes f− and f+. (C) ODMR spectrum at ∣B∣ = 90 mT, as extracted along the dashed line in (B). The energy diagram illustrates the origin of the two distinct features
in the spectrum. g denotes the spin-magnon coupling strength. The spectra in (A) and (B) were both obtained by applying 9 dBm of microwave power. 3MS, three-
magnon splitting.
0.07 dow centered at fexc = 6.24 GHz and identify three separate power
ranges: (I) below threshold, (II) above threshold, and (III) saturation
(Fig. 3B). For each range, Fig. 3 (C and D) shows the average ΔPL/
PL of the VSi(V2) spins and the average μBLS spectrum from the
0 B = 99 mT disc, respectively. Below threshold (I), there is no change in the PL
from the VSi(V2) spins as there is no magnon mode at the VSi(V2)
B resonance frequencies. In this regime, only the pump mode f0, which
is nonresonant to the VSi(V2) spins, is present. Above threshold (II),
fexc = 6.24 GHz there is a nonzero μBLS signal intensity at the resonance frequency
of the secondary magnon f− (Fig. 3D). As the magnon mode f−
matches the VSi(V2) resonance frequencies, it drives VSi(V2) spin
I II III
g/2 (MHz)
A Py B C Hz D
Hz M
3
M 3 f+
B
Hz Hz
M M
3 3
z z = −17
5 nm
f
y x f f+
g/2 (MHz)
E Py F G H
q = 15 M
B Hz
q = 15 M Hz
f−
z f
3M
q
y=0
y x f f+
Fig. 4. Room-temperature coupling between the vortex magnons and the VSi(V2) spins. (A) Schematic depicting plane located 175-nm below the bottom surface of
the disc, where the spin-magnon coupling strength is calculated. (B and C) Coupling strength g for the parametric modes f− and f+ at ∣B∣ = 90mT and ∣B∣ = 130mT, re-
spectively, at the plane shown in (A). (D) Coupling strength extracted along x = 0 μm from the intensity maps shown in (B) and (C). (E) Schematic depicting cross-sectional
plane located at y = 0 μm starting 25nm below the disc. (F and G) Coupling strength g for the parametric magnons f− and f+ at ∣B∣ = 90mT and ∣B∣ = 130mT, respec-
tively, at the plane shown in (E). (H) Coupling strength for the f− and f+ modes along x = −1.05 μ m and x = 0.6 μm as extracted from (F) and (G), respectively.
cross-sectional plane in Fig. 4E) and compare it with the intrinsic DISCUSSION
decoherence rates of the system. We estimate κq = 2π × 15 MHz for In summary, the hybrid quantum transducer presented in this work
the spin ensemble, and κm,− = 2π × 89 MHz and κm,+ = 2π × 73 MHz exploits magnon nonlinearities to enhance microwave transduction
for the damping rates of the f− and f+ modes, correspondingly (see the to spin qubits. The resulting spin-magnon coupling scheme points
Supplementary Materials). Here, it is evident that the spin-magnon to a transduction behavior different from the one observed in hy-
coupling strengths at the depth of the VSi-rich layer are smaller than brid systems with linearly-excited magnons. Whereas the dipolar
the decoherence rates from the magnons and from the spin ensemble, coupling between the spin centers and the linear magnons is always
confirming that the system is in the weak coupling regime. None- “on,” the parametric processes at the core of our hybrid system rep-
theless, we can also observe an important consequence of the pure resent a way to selectively tune the spin-magnon coupling “on” and
magnon-spin coupling mechanism. As the antenna microwaves are “off ”. With such control of the coupling, it would be possible to pro-
off-resonant to the spin defects, the microwave driving fields are of tect the spin centers against any resonant magnon noise-induced
purely magnonic origin. These magnon stray fields decay quickly in decoherence. Moreover, given the nature of the resulting coupling is
space with a 1/r3 dependence, confining the microwave control to a purely of magnonic origin, the microwave driving fields are con-
submicrometer volume below the disc. This is in stark contrast to fined to submicrometer volumes, in stark contrast with the micro-
the ∼1-mm3-sized volumes typically achieved with transmission wave fields from antennas, which typically extend over hundreds of
line microwave antennas (9). As shown in Fig. 4 (F and G), the ma- micrometers on the sample plane (51). Looking forward, this could
gnon stray fields result in g/2π > 15 MHz confined to the top ∼100 nm be an interesting path toward reducing the spillover cross-talk (52)
close to the disc. To expand on this microwave confinement, in as the number of qubits scales in future quantum chips.
Fig. 4H, we plot the spatial decay of the coupling strength at x = Our proposed system represents a departure from the traditional
–1.05 μm (for f−; Fig. 4F) and at x = 0.6 μm (for f+; Fig. 4G). Al- NV/YIG composition by using permalloy and silicon vacancies in sili-
though spin defects at z = –175 nm (like the defects in our sample) con carbide, two materials highly compatible with industry-standard
experience coupling strengths in the range of 5 to 7 MHz, there is a fabrication protocols and easier integrability into heterogeneous quan-
broad depth-range to engineer defects with stronger coupling. Precise tum architectures (53–55). Despite the large spin-magnon coupling
control of the implantation energies allows the creation of defects closer strengths calculated, our system is not in the strong coupling regime,
to the surface to achieve large spin-m agnon coupling strengths due to the large damping rates from the vortex magnons and the VSi
but still deep enough to avoid detrimental surface effects (50). spin ensemble. We expect that coupling to single spin defects instead of
spin ensembles will result in C > 1 (fig. S7), therefore bringing the sys- For the ODMR measurements, the sample was placed on a sam-
tem into the strong coupling regime. Moreover, by going to cryogenic ple holder that allowed for laser illumination via the backside of the
temperatures, the damping processes intrinsic to metallic ferromag- SiC substrate, to enable probing of the VSi defects directly below the
netic thin films should be reduced (56). Another interesting perspec- permalloy disc. The ΔPL/PL signal was obtained using a lock-in de-
tive is exploiting the nonlinear 3MS process to generate squeezed tection scheme, with the photovoltage from the photodiode sampled
magnon states (57–59). Such nonclassical states have the potential to by a lock-in amplifier (Signal Recovery 7265) locked to a reference
exponentially enhance the coupling strengths and cooperativities in sinusoidal signal which modulates the amplitude of the microwaves
hybrid quantum systems (60, 61). being fed to the sample.
Quantum magnonics focused thus far on coupling long-range For both confocal and μBLS microscopes, a permanent magnet
magnon propagations to mediate microwave interactions with spin on a motorized stage is used to deliver out-of-plane magnetic fields
qubits, naturally directing research efforts into YIG-based hybrid along the crystal axis of the SiC substrate. All the experiments in this
systems due to its low damping coefficient. This, however, left a large work were performed at room temperature.
body of magnon phenomena unexplored. By introducing a nonlin-
ear magnonic system, we provide alternative perspectives for engi- Micromagnetic simulations
neering quantum interfaces to spin qubits and motivate further The micromagnetic simulations for Fig. 1 (A and D) were obtained
research into uncovering the interesting phenomena lying at the with MuMax3 (63). The disc was discretized into 512 × 512 × 1 rect-
intersection of nonlinear magnonics and quantum systems. angular cells, with lengths Δx = 10 nm, Δy = 10 nm, and Δz = 50 nm.
The standard material parameters for permalloy were used: satura-
tion magnetization MS = 810 kA/m, exchange stiffness Aex = 13 pJ/mm,
MATERIALS AND METHODS Gilbert damping parameter αG = 0.007, and gyromagnetic ratio γ =
Sample fabrication
Figs. S1 to S7 28. M. Buess, T. P. J. Knowles, R. Höllinger, T. Haug, U. Krey, D. Weiss, D. Pescia, M. R. Scheinfein,
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