Electric-field Manipulation of Spin-defects in Ferroelectrics

A key advantage of spin-defect based quantum technologies is the potential to engineer the defect properties by modifying the atomic environment. Systems which exhibit coupling between magnetic and electric degrees of freedom provide a route to manipulate spins by applying an electric-field, suggesting the prospect of localized spin-control via electrostatic gating.<br/><br/>We have elucidated the fundamental limit of magnetoelectric coupling by electric-field control of magnetic dopants in ferroelectric hosts, demonstrating through combined first principles calculations and electron-paramagnetic resonance measurements that the spin directionality evolves following a switching path coupled to polarization switching.[1]<br/><br/>We further leverage the versatility of the ferroelectric oxide platform by modifying the crystal field environment of the defect through epitaxial strain, low symmetry hosts and emergent topological polarization textures. Results demonstrating spin-control in these systems provide an enhanced understanding of spin-charge coupling in defect systems and offer novel routes to tailored spin-control in ferroelectric crystals.<br/><br/>[1] J. Liu, V. V. Laguta, K. Inzani, W. Huang, S. Das, R. Chatterjee, E. Sheridan, S. M. Griffin, A. Ardavan, R. Ramesh, Coherent electric field manipulation of Fe³⁺ spins in PbTiO₃. <i>Science Advances</i>, <b>7</b> : eabf8103 (2021).