Observing <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline" overflow="scroll"><mml:msup><mml:mi>Er</mml:mi><mml:mrow><mml:mn>3</mml:mn><mml:mo>+</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msup></mml:math> Sites in Si With an <i>In Situ</i> Single-Photon Detector
Ian R. Berkman, Alexey Lyasota, Gabriele G. de Boo, John G. Bartholomew, Brett C. Johnson, Jeffrey C. McCallum, Bin-Bin Xu, Shouyi Xie, Rose L. Ahlefeldt, Matthew J. Sellars, Chunming Yin, Sven Rogge
Abstract
We present a flexible method to study the optical properties of an ${\mathrm{Er}}^{3+}$ ensemble in $\mathrm{Si}$ accessed via resonant excitation and in situ single-photon detection. The technique allows an efficient resonant photoluminescence detection of optically active centers with weak oscillator strength in transparent crystals without the need for nanofabrication on the sample. We observe 70 ${\mathrm{Er}}^{3+}$ resonances in $\mathrm{Si}$, of which 62 resonances have not been observed in the literature, with optical lifetimes ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 ms. We observe inhomogeneous broadening of less than 400 MHz and an upper bound on the homogeneous linewidth of 0.75 and 1.4 MHz for two separate resonances. These narrow, stable resonances confirm ${\mathrm{Er}}^{3+}$ in $\mathrm{Si}$ as a promising quantum information candidate. We discuss the use of this technique for rapid characterization of future samples, with the aim of enhancing the prevalence of sites which are favorable for quantum information applications.