Phonon-Dressed States of Rare-Earth Ions Generated by Surface Acoustic Waves

Acoustically induced dressed states of long-lived erbium ions in a crystal are demonstrated. These states are formed by non-adiabatic modulation of two-level systems via strain induced by surface acoustic waves whose frequencies exceed the optical linewidth of the ion ensemble. Multiple sidebands and coherent destruction of tunneling appearing near the surface are evidence of a strong interaction between the acoustic waves and the ions. This development allows for on-chip control of long-lived ions and paves the way to highly coherent hybrid quantum systems with telecom photons, acoustic phonons, and electrons.