Two-photon-transition superadiabatic passage in a nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond

Reaching a given target quantum state with high fidelity and fast operation speed close to the quantum limit represents an important goal in quantum information science. Here we experimentally demonstrate superadiabatic quantum driving to achieve population transfer in a three-level solid-state spin system at ambient conditions. Starting from traditional stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP), our approach implements superadiabatic corrections to the STIRAP Hamiltonian with several pulse shapes, including the paradigmatic Gaussian shapes and trigonometric pulse shapes that guarantee an operation speed equal to the quantum limit. It requires no intense microwave pulses or long transfer times and shows an enhanced robustness against pulse imperfections. Thereby, these results might provide a useful tool for quantum information processing and the coherent manipulation of quantum systems.