title: Chemical engineering of molecular qubits.
abstract: We show that the electron spin phase memory time, the most important property of a molecular nanomagnet from the perspective of quantum information processing, can be improved dramatically by chemically engineering the molecular structure to optimize the environment of the spin. We vary systematically each structural component of the class of antiferromagnetic Cr(7)Ni rings to identify the sources of decoherence. The optimal structure exhibits a phase memory time exceeding 15  μs.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Advanced Electron Spin Resonance, Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, OX1 3PU, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Wedge
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Timco
authors.forename: E T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Spielberg
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: George
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tuna
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rigby
authors.forename: E J L
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: McInnes
authors.forename: R E P
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Winpenny
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Blundell
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ardavan
mesh_terms: D002264:Carboxylic Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D017608:Chromium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D056831:Coordination Complexes / Q000737:chemistry; D004583:Electrons; D008024:Ligands; D059346:Magnets / Q000737:chemistry*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D009532:Nickel / Q000737:chemistry; D011789:Quantum Theory
chemical_list: D002264:Carboxylic Acids; D017608:Chromium Compounds; D056831:Coordination Complexes; D008024:Ligands; D009532:Nickel