Toward Molecular 4f Single-Ion Magnet Qubits

Quantum coherence is detected in the 4f single-ion magnet (SIM) Yb­(trensal), by isotope selective pulsed EPR spectroscopy on an oriented single crystal. At X-band, the spin–lattice relaxation (T 1) and phase memory (T m) times are found to be independent of the nuclei bearing, or not, a nuclear spin. The observation of Rabi oscillations of the spin echo demonstrates the possibility to coherently manipulate the system for more than 70 rotations. This renders Yb­(trensal), a sublimable and chemically modifiable SIM, an excellent candidate for quantum information processing.