Researchers Control Single Electron Spin with Light

Complete coherent control, initialisation, manipulation, and readout of a single electron spin bound to an impurity within zinc selenide has been achieved. This enables detailed investigation of the donor’s spin dynamics including relaxation times and Rabi oscillations; it also reveals coherent population trapping, a quantum state where excitation is suppressed, and hyperfine interactions between electrons and atomic nuclei. These findings establish isolated optical donors as promising building blocks for solid-state qubits with potential applications in scalable quantum technologies. Complete light-based control over an individual electron’s spin within zinc selenide was demonstrated by both initiating and…