Nuclear spin coherence properties of 151Eu3+ and 153Eu3+ in a Y2O3 transparent ceramic

We have measured inhomogeneous linewidths and coherence times (T₂) of nuclear spin transitions in a Eu³⁺:Y₂O₃ transparent ceramic by an all-optical spin echo technique. The nuclear spin echo decay curves showed a strong modulation which was attributed to interaction with Y nuclei in the host. The coherence time of the 29 MHz spin transition in ¹⁵¹Eu³⁺ was 16 ms in a small applied magnetic field. Temperature dependent measurements showed that the coherence time was constant up to 18 K and was limited by spin-lattice relaxation for higher temperatures. Nuclear spin echoes in ¹⁵³Eu³⁺ gave much weaker signals than for the case of ¹⁵¹Eu³⁺. The spin coherence time for the 73 MHz spin transition in ¹⁵³Eu³⁺ was estimated to 14 ms in a small magnetic field. The study shows that the spin transitions of ceramic Eu³⁺:Y₂O₃ have coherence properties comparable to the best rare-earth-doped materials available.

These results have been highlighted in JPhys+, news and views from the Journal of Physics series (IOP): https://jphysplus.iop.org/2017/02/09/long-spin-coherence-lifetime-in-eu3y2o3-ceramic/