Optical Polarization of Nuclear Spins in Silicon Carbide

Falk, A. L. and Klimov, P. V. and Ivády, Viktor and Szász, Krisztián and Christle, D. J. and Gali, Ádám (2015) Optical Polarization of Nuclear Spins in Silicon Carbide. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, 114 (24). ISSN 0031-9007

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Abstract

We demonstrate optically pumped dynamic nuclear polarization of 29Si nuclear spins that are strongly coupled to paramagnetic color centers in 4H- and 6H-SiC. The 99 ± 1% degree of polarization at room temperature corresponds to an effective nuclear temperature of 5 K. By combining ab initio theory with the experimental identification of the color centers’ optically excited states, we quantitatively model how the polarization derives from hyperfine-mediated level anticrossings. These results lay a foundation for SiC-based quantum memories, nuclear gyroscopes, and hyperpolarized probes for magnetic resonance imaging.

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