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Broadband electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy of Er167:LiYF47 at millikelvin temperatures

Ana Strinić1,2,3,*, Patricia Oehrl1,2,3, Achim Marx1, Pavel A. Bushev4, Hans Huebl1,2,3, Rudolf Gross1,2,3, and Nadezhda Kukharchyk1,2,3,†

  • *Contact author: Ana.Strinic@wmi.badw.de
  • †Contact author: Nadezhda.Kukharchyk@wmi.badw.de

Phys. Rev. B 111, 214430 – Published 20 June, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/5j7f-wfyl

Abstract

Rare-earth spin ensembles are a promising platform for microwave quantum memory applications due to their hyperfine transitions, which can exhibit exceptionally long coherence times when using an operation point with zero first-order Zeeman (ZEFOZ) shift. In this work, we use broadband electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy on Er167:LiYF47 single crystals at subkelvin temperatures. By fitting the spin Hamiltonian to the zero-field spectrum, we obtain refined parameters of the magnetic field-independent interactions, such as the hyperfine and quadrupole interaction. We also study the influence of the quadrupole interaction on the hyperfine splitting in the zero and low magnetic field range by analyzing EPR spectra between 0mT and 50mT. Our findings highlight the broadband EPR spectroscopy approach as a powerful tool for the precise determination of the spin Hamiltonian parameters and for the characterization of hyperfine transitions in terms of their selection rules and linewidth.

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