Control and coherence of Loss-DiVincenzo qubits in Si/SiGe quantum dots

Electron spins in Si/SiGe quantum dots are one of the most promising candidates for a quantum bit for their potential to scale up and their long dephasing time. We report for the first time the experimental realization of single electron spin rotations in a single quantum dot (QD) defined in a Si/SiGe 2D electron gas. The electron spin is read out in single-shot mode by a QD charge sensor. Spin rotations are achieved by applying microwave excitation to one of the gates, which oscillates the electron wave function back and forth in the gradient field produced by cobalt micro-magnets fabricated near the dot. By measuring the electron spin resonance frequency as a function of the external magnetic field, the electron g-factor of 1.994 +/- 0.007 is determined. A dephasing time of T2* =850 ns, about 20 times longer than that in GaAs quantum dots, is extracted from the linewidth of the electron spin resonance peak. We observe spin Rabi oscillations with Rabi frequencies up to 5 MHz. Because the coherence time can be longer than the spin manipulation time, we are able to rotate the electron spin even when detuned in frequency, giving the typical chevron pattern when sweeping detuning and microwave burst time. We also realized Ramsey interference experiments, giving a free induction decay T2* = 800 ns. Looking closely, all these data exhibit interference patterns resulting from the contribution of two resonances separated by a frequency difference Δf =2-4 MHz. We tentatively interpret these two resonances as intra-valley spin resonance for two different valley states. Due to the valley-orbit mixing, the orbital wavefunction of each valley state is slightly different, which yields a different Zeeman splitting for each valley state. Finally, we perform Hahn-echo measurement and deduce, for the first time in Si/SiGe, a single spin T2 =37 μs.

Gate fidelity and coherence of an electron spin in an Si/SiGe quantum dot with micromagnet

Pasquale Scarlino

The gate fidelity and the coherence time of a quantum bit (qubit) are important benchmarks for quantum computation. We construct a qubit using a single electron spin in an Si/SiGe quantum dot and control it electrically via an artificial spin-orbit field from a micromagnet. We measure an average single-qubit gate fidelity of ∼99% using randomized benchmarking, which is consistent with dephasing from the slowly evolving nuclear spins in the substrate. The coherence time measured using dynamical decoupling extends up to ∼400 μs for 128 decoupling pulses, with no sign of saturation. We find evidence that the coherence time is limited by noise in the 10-kHz to 1-MHz range, possibly because charge noise affects the spin via the micromagnet gradient. This work shows that an electron spin in an Si/SiGe quantum dot is a good candidate for quantum information processing as well as for a quantum memory, even without isotopic purification.

2016

Valley dependent anisotropic spin splitting in silicon quantum dots

Pasquale Scarlino

Spin qubits hosted in silicon (Si) quantum dots (QD) are attractive due to their exceptionally long coherence times and compatibility with the silicon transistor platform. To achieve electrical control of spins for qubit scalability, recent experiments have utilized gradient magnetic fields from integrated micro-magnets to produce an extrinsic coupling between spin and charge, thereby electrically driving electron spin resonance (ESR). However, spins in silicon QDs experience a complex interplay between spin, charge, and valley degrees of freedom, influenced by the atomic scale details of the confining interface. Here, we report experimental observation of a valley dependent anisotropic spin splitting in a Si QD with an integrated micro-magnet and an external magnetic field. We show by atomistic calculations that the spin-orbit interaction (SOI), which is often ignored in bulk silicon, plays a major role in the measured anisotropy. Moreover, inhomogeneities such as interface steps strongly affect the spin splittings and their valley dependence. This atomic-scale understanding of the intrinsic and extrinsic factors controlling the valley dependent spin properties is a key requirement for successful manipulation of quantum information in Si QDs.

2018

Dissipation as a resource in circuit quantum electromechanics

László Dániel Tóth

A primary challenge in quantum science and technology is to isolate the fragile quantum states from their environment in order to prevent the irreversible leakage of energy and information which causes decoherence. In the late 1990s, however, a new paradigm emerged, in which the environment itself, as well as the coupling to this environment of the quantum state, are engineered in ways which, counterintuitively, facilitate the creation and stabilization of desired quantum properties. This paradigm, coined reservoir engineering, has been pursued experimentally in various implementations, in which the states of trapped ions, atomic clouds or artificial atoms based on superconducting circuits were driven into a desired target state using a dissipative reservoir. In all these cases, the cold electromagnetic environment served as the engineered reservoir, capitalizing on the tremendous progress in the ability to shape the modes of the electromagnetic field using masers and lasers. In optomechanics, which is the study of the coupling between light and mechanical motion, a similar scenario has been prevalent. Light is used to read out and control the mechanical motion, and in the past few years, various optomechanical architectures both in the optical and microwave domain have enabled to push mechanical systems into the quantum regime. These results can be interpreted in the context of reservoir engineering: cooling and many other optomechanical phenomena exploit the cold, dissipative nature of light. This thesis reports on the development of a multimode superconducting circuit with a mechanically compliant element - fitting into the field of circuit cavity electromechanics -, with which we pursue two themes. In the first set of experiments, reversing the roles of dissipation described above, we engineer the mechanical oscillator into a cold, dissipative environment for microwave light. The mechanical element is the fundamental mode of a free-standing top electrode of a capacitor, 100 nm thick and 32 micron in diameter made of aluminum with an effective mass of around 170 pg, vibrating at a resonance frequency of 5.5 MHz. The dissipative mechanical reservoir is prepared using an auxiliary microwave mode with engineered parameters.We utilize it to control the properties - in particular, the susceptibility - of the electromagnetic field and to perform low-noise amplification close to the quantum limit. The noise analysis reveals that the reservoir is close to its quantum ground state with a mean thermal occupation number well below 1, demonstrating its utility as a resource in the quantum regime. We also show that the system can be driven to the parametric instability threshold, above which self-sustained oscillations of the microwave field (masing) is observed. Finally, we demonstrate injection locking of the maser using an external seed pump. In a second set of experiments, a similar electromechanical circuit is used to implement a microwave isolator based on optomechanical interactions. The overarching theme is that dissipation of the mechanical oscillator, albeit intrinsic and not engineered via an auxiliary mode s a key ingredient for the device to function as a nonreciprocal frequency converter and isolator. In these experiments, an additional mechanical mode is used, such that a 4-mode optomechanical plaquette is realized.

EPFL2018

Dissipation as a resource in circuit quantum electromechanics

László Dániel Tóth

EPFL2018