David Awschalom, Peter J. Clarke Professor of Physics and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara
Eighty years since Dirac developed the quantum theory of electron spin, contemporary information technology still relies largely on classical electronics: the charge of electrons for computation and magnetic materials for permanent storage. There is a growing interest in exploiting spins in semiconductor nanostructures for the manipulation and storage of information in emergent technologies based upon spintronics and quantum logic. Recently, localized electronic states of carbon-based systems have appeared as a unique solid state platform for fundamental studies of magnetism and quantum science at the single spin level. In diamond, the spins of individual nitrogen-vacancy color centers can be imaged and manipulated at room temperature and have remarkably long coherence times. We provide an overview of temporally- and spatially-resolved magneto-optical measurements used to generate, manipulate, and read single electron and nuclear spin states in controlled environments. Recent demonstrations including gigahertz coherent control, nuclear quantum memories, patterned spin arrays, and vector magnetometry represent progress toward the control and coupling of spins and photons for technologies beyond electronics.