Exploring Spin-Electric Coupling in an Electrically-Controlled Rare-Earth Molecular Qubit.

Area of Science:

• Quantum Computing
• Materials Science
• Condensed Matter Physics

Background:

• Magnetoelectric materials enable reciprocal control of charge and spin.
• Molecular qubits offer potential for quantum information processing.
• Understanding spin-electric coupling (SEC) is crucial for electric control of quantum systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate electric control of a Ce(III)-based molecular qubit.
• To characterize the spin-electric coupling (SEC) in the molecular qubit.
• To determine the feasibility of coherent electric manipulation for rare-earth quantum systems.

Main Methods:

• Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) with modulated and pulsed electric fields.
• Electric-field-modulated (EFM) continuous-wave EPR experiments.
• Computational simulations for validation.

Main Results:

• Observed linear spin-electric coupling (SEC) in a Ce(III) molecular qubit.
• Determined the SEC parameter |Txyz| to be 2.04(16) × 10^-10 m·V^-1, significantly larger than previously estimated.
• Achieved a coherence time of 24.1(13) µs at 5 K with dynamical decoupling.
• Demonstrated electric control efficiency approaching 0.1 Hz·m·V^-1.

Conclusions:

• The study provides a new method for detecting SEC in uniaxial molecules.
• Coherent electric manipulation of rare-earth molecular quantum systems is feasible.
• Results challenge conventional SEC analysis and strength estimation.