Electric field control of interaction between magnons and quantum spin defects*

The coupling between quantum spin defects and magnons could enable unique quantum information devices and sensors. Magnons resonantly enhance microwave fields at the nanoscale, providing a coherent interface for the readout and manipulation of spin defects. Reciprocally, this coupling can be harnessed to probe magnetism with nanoscale resolution using single spins. Tuning the interaction between spin defects and magnons via electric fields would allow to coherently drive and entangle spin defects locally, with minimal power. Here, we leverage the electric polarization control of magnetic anisotropy in ferromagnet-ferroelectric multiferroics to modulate the interaction between magnons and nitrogen vacancy (NV) center spins in a nanodiamond, changing the NV spin relaxation time by 400%. Our results constitute a first step towards exploiting multiferroics for creating electrically tunable spin-based quantum devices. These results could also pave the way for improved quantum sensing of electric field and strain as well as enable the probing of multiferroic order using spin defect.