Deconvolving Contributions to Decoherence in Molecular Electron Spin Qubits: A Dynamic Ligand Field Approach

Abstract

In the past decade, transition metal complexes have gained momentum as electron spin‐based quantum bit (qubit) candidates due to their synthetic tunability and long achievable coherence times. The decoherence of magnetic quantum states imposes a limit on the use of these qubits for quantum information technologies, such as quantum computing, sensing, and communication. With rapid recent development in the field of molecular quantum information science, a variety of chemical design principles for prolonging coherence in molecular transition metal qubits have been proposed. Here we delineate the spin‐spin, motional, and spin‐phonon regimes of decoherence, outlining design principles for each. We show how dynamic ligand field models can provide insights into the intramolecular vibrational contributions in the spin‐phonon decoherence regime. This minireview aims to inform the development of molecular quantum technologies tailored for different environments and conditions.