Coherent control of single spins in silicon carbide at room temperature

Matthias Widmann, Sang-Yun Lee, Torsten Rendler, Nguyen Tien Son, Helmut Fedder, Seoyoung Paik, Nan Zhao, Sen Yang, Ian Booker, Andrej Denisenko, Mohammad Jamali, Seyed Ali Momenzadeh, Takeshi Ohshima, Adam Gali, Erik Janzén, Jörg Wrachtrup

Published 2014-07-01, updated 2014-10-31Version 2

Spins in solids are cornerstone elements of quantum spintronics. Leading contenders such as defects in diamond, or individual phosphorous dopants in silicon have shown spectacular progress but either miss established nanotechnology or an efficient spin-photon interface. Silicon carbide (SiC) combines the strength of both systems: It has a large bandgap with deep defects and benefits from mature fabrication techniques. Here we report the characterization of photoluminescence and optical spin polarization from single silicon vacancies in SiC, and demonstrate that single spins can be addressed at room temperature. We show coherent control of a single defect spin and find long spin coherence time under ambient conditions. Our study provides evidence that SiC is a promising system for atomic-scale spintronics and quantum technology.