Five-second coherence of a single spin with single-shot readout in silicon carbide.

An outstanding hurdle for defect spin qubits in silicon carbide (SiC) is single-shot readout, a deterministic measurement of the quantum state. Here, we demonstrate single-shot readout of single defects in SiC via spin-to-charge conversion, whereby the defect's spin state is mapped onto a long-lived charge state. With this technique, we achieve over 80% readout fidelity without pre- or postselection, resulting in a high signal-to-noise ratio that enables us to measure long spin coherence times.