We report on the generation of time-bin entangled photon pairs from a semiconductor quantum dot via pulsed resonant biexciton generation. Based on theoretical modeling we optimized the duration of the excitation pulse to minimize the laser-induced dephasing and increase the biexciton-to-background single exciton occupation probability. This results in a high degree of entanglement with a concurrence of up to 0.78(6) and a 0.88(3) overlap with a maximally entangled state. Theoretical simulations also indicate a power dependent nature of the dephasing during the laser excitation that limits the coherence of the excitation process.
Studying quantum properties in solid-state systems is a significant avenue for research. In this scenario, double quantum dots (DQDs) appear as a versatile platform for technological breakthroughs in quantum computation and nanotechnology. This work inspects the thermal entanglement and quantum coherence in two-coupled DODs, where the system is exposed to an external stimulus that induces an electronic transition within each subsystem. The results show that the introduction of external stimulus induces a quantum level crossing that relies upon the Coulomb potential changing the degree of quant…
A practical way to link separate nodes in quantum networks is to send photons over the standard telecom fibre network. This requires sub-Poissonian photon sources in the telecom wavelength band around 1550 nm, where the photon coherence time has to be sufficient to enable the many interference-based technologies at the heart of quantum networks. Here, we show that droplet epitaxy InAs/InP quantum dots emitting in the telecom C-band can provide photons with coherence times exceeding 1 ns even under non-resonant excitation, more than a factor two longer than values reported for shorter wavelengt…
The temperature dependence of the coherence time of hole spins confined in self-assembled (In,Ga)As/GaAs quantum dots is studied by spin mode-locking and spin echo techniques. Coherence times limited to about a μs are measured for temperatures below 8 K. For higher temperatures a fast drop occurs down to a few ns over a 10 K range. The hole-nuclear hyperfine interaction appears too weak to account for these limitations. We suggest that spin-orbit related interactions are the decisive sources for hole spin decoherence.
The coherence between quantum states with different particle numbers --- the Fock-space coherence --- qualitatively differs from the more common Hilbert-space coherence between states with equal particle numbers. For a quantum dot with multiple channels available for transport, we find the conditions for decoupling the dynamics of the Fock-space coherence from both the Hilbert-space coherence as well as the population dynamics. We further find specific energy and coupling regimes where a long-lived resonance in the Fock-space coherence of the system is realized, even where no resonances are fo…
We describe the conditional and unconditional dynamics of two coupled quantum dots when one dot is subjected to a measurement of its occupation number using a single electron transistor (SET). The measurement is made when the bare tunneling rate though the SET is changed by the occupation number of one of the dots. We show that there is a difference between the time scale for the measurement-induced decoherence between the localized states of the dots and the time scale on which the system becomes localized due to the measurement. A comparison between theory and current experiments is made.
In this paper we investigate the coherence properties of a quantum dot under two-photon resonant excitation in combination with an additional photo-neutralization laser. The photo-neutralization increases the efficiency of the excitation process and thus, the brightness of the source, by a factor of approximately 1.5 for biexciton-exciton pairs. This enhancement does not degrade the relevant coherences in the system; neither the single photon coherence time, nor the coherence of the excitation process.
We study the influence of narrowed distributions of the nuclear Overhauser field on the decoherence of a central electron spin in quantum dots. We describe the spin dynamics in quantum dots by the central spin model. We use analytic solutions for uniform couplings and the time dependent density-matrix renormalization group (tDMRG) for nonuniform couplings. With these tools we calculate the dynamics of the central spin for large baths of nuclear spins with or without external magnetic field applied to the central spin. The focus of our study is the influence of initial mixtures with narrowed di…
In the present work, the effect of resonant pumping schemes in improving the photon coherence is investigated on InAs/InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots emitting in the telecom C-band. The linewidths of transitions of multiple exemplary quantum dots are determined under above-band pumping and resonance fluorescence via Fourier-transform spectroscopy and resonance scans, respectively. The average linewidth is reduced from $9.74\,\mathrm{GHz}$ in above-band excitation to $3.50\,\mathrm{GHz}$ in resonance fluorescence underlining its superior coherence properties. Furthermore, the feasibility of coherent s…
We propose a quantum computer structure based on coupled asymmetric single-electron quantum dots. Adjacent dots are strongly coupled by means of electric dipole-dipole interactions enabling rapid computation rates. Further, the asymmetric structures can be tailored for a long coherence time. The result maximizes the number of computation cycles prior to loss of coherence.
The Zeeman-split spin-states of a single electron confined in a self-assembled quantum dot provide an optically-accessible spin qubit. For III-V materials the nuclear spins of the solid-state host provide an intrinsic noise source, resulting in electron-spin dephasing times of few nanoseconds. While a comprehensive study of electron-spin dynamics at low magnetic field has recently been carried out, what limits the electron coherence in these systems remains unclear, in part due to the dominant effect of measurement-induced dynamic polarisation of the nuclear bath. We develop an all-optical met…
Multi-photon entangled states are a crucial resource for many applications in quantum information science. Semiconductor quantum dots offer a promising route to generate such states by mediating photon-photon correlations via a confined electron spin, but dephasing caused by the host nuclear spin environment typically limits coherence (and hence entanglement) between photons to the spin $T_2^*$ time of a few nanoseconds. We propose a protocol for the deterministic generation of multi-photon entangled states that is inherently robust against the dominating slow nuclear spin environment fluctuat…
We study the steady-state characteristics and the transient behavior of the nonequilibrium double-dot Aharonov-Bohm interferometer using analytical tools and numerical simulations. Our simple setup includes noninteracting degenerate quantum dots that are coupled to two biased metallic leads at the same strength. A magnetic flux $Φ$ is piercing the setup perpendicularly. As we tune the degenerate dots energies away from the symmetric point we observe four nontrivial magnetic flux control effects: (i) flux dependency of the dots occupation, (ii) magnetic flux induced occupation difference betwee…
Based on an idea that spatial separation of charge states can enhance quantum coherence, we propose a scheme for quantum computation with quantum bit (qubit) constructed from two coupled quantum dots. Quantum information is stored in electron-hole pair state with the electron and hole locating in different dots, which enables the qubit state being very long-lived. Universal quantum gates involving any pair of qubits are realized by coupling the quantum dots through cavity photon which is a hopeful candidate to transfer long-range information. Operation analysis is carried out by estimating the…
Single nuclear spins in the solid state have long been envisaged as a platform for quantum computing, due to their long coherence times and excellent controllability. Measurements can be performed via localised electrons, for example those in single atom dopants or crystal defects. However, establishing long-range interactions between multiple dopants or defects is challenging. Conversely, in lithographically-defined quantum dots, tuneable interdot electron tunnelling allows direct coupling of electron spin-based qubits in neighbouring dots. Moreover, compatibility with semiconductor fabricati…
We show that quantum coherence can enhance the performance of a continuous quantum heat engine in the Lindblad description. We investigate the steady-state solutions of the particle-exchanging quantum heat engine, composed of degenerate double quantum dots coupled to two heat baths in parallel, where quantum coherence may be induced due to interference between relaxation channels. We find that the engine power can be enhanced by the coherence in the nonlinear response regime, when the symmetry of coupling configurations between dots and two baths is broken. In the symmetric case, the coherence…
We show how two qubits encoded in the orbital states of two quantum dots can be entangled or disentangled in a controlled way through their interaction with a weak electron current. The transmission/reflection spectrum of each scattered electron, acting as an entanglement mediator between the dots, shows a signature of the dot-dot entangled state. Strikingly, while few scattered carriers produce decoherence of the whole two-dots system, a larger number of electrons injected from one lead with proper energy is able to recover its quantum coherence. Our numerical simulations are based on a real-…
We revisit Mandel's notion that the degree of coherence equals the degree of indistinguishability by performing Hong-Ou-Mandel- (HOM-)type interferometry with single photons elastically scattered by a cw resonantly driven excitonic transition of an InAs/GaAs epitaxial quantum dot. We present a comprehensive study of the temporal profile of the photon coalescence phenomenon which shows that photon indistinguishability can be tuned by the excitation laser source, in the same way as their coherence time. A new figure of merit, the coalescence time window, is introduced to quantify the delay below…
Non-equilibrium physics is a particularly fascinating field of current research. Generically, driven systems are gradually heated up so that quantum effects die out. In contrast, we show that a driven central spin model including controlled dissipation in a highly excited state allows us to distill quantum coherent states, indicated by a substantial reduction of entropy. The model is experimentally accessible in quantum dots or molecules with unpaired electrons. The potential of preparing and manipulating coherent states by designed driving potentials is pointed out.
We studied the quantum correlations between the nodes in a quantum neural network built of an array of quantum dots with dipole-dipole interaction. By means of the quasiadiabatic path integral simulation of the density matrix evolution in a presence of the common phonon bath we have shown the coherence in such system can survive up to the liquid nitrogen temperature of 77K and above. The quantum correlations between quantum dots are studied by means of calculation of the entanglement of formation in a pair of quantum dots with the typical dot size of a few nanometers and the interdot distance …
Single photons produced by fundamentally dissimilar physical processes will in general not be indistinguishable. We show how photons produced from a quantum dot and by parametric down-conversion in a nonlinear crystal can be manipulated to be indistinguishable. The measured two-photon coalescence probability is 16%, and is limited by quantum-dot decoherence. Temporal filtering to the quantum dot coherence time and accounting for detector time response increases this to 61% while retaining 25% of the events. This technique can connect different elements in a scalable quantum network.
Understanding the decoherence of electron spins in semiconductors due to their interaction with nuclear spins is of fundamental interest as they realize the central spin model and of practical importance for using electron spins as qubits. Interesting effects arise from the quadrupolar interaction of nuclear spins with electric field gradients, which have been shown to suppress diffusive nuclear spin dynamics. One might thus expect them to enhance electron spin coherence. Here we show experimentally that for gate-defined GaAs quantum dots, quadrupolar broadening of the nuclear Larmor precessio…
We present measurements of the second-order coherence function on emission from single GaN quantum dots. In some cases a large degree of photon antibunching is observed, demonstrating isolation of a single quantum system. For a selected quantum dot, we study the dependence of photon antibunching on excitation power and temperature. Using pulsed excitation, we demonstrate an ultraviolet triggered single-photon source operating at a wavelength of 358 nm.
Photonic quantum technology provides a viable route to quantum communication, quantum simulation, and quantum information processing. Recent progress has seen the realisation of boson sampling using 20 single-photons and quantum key distribution over hundreds of kilometres. Scaling the complexity requires architectures containing multiple photon-sources, photon-counters, and a large number of indistinguishable single photons. Semiconductor quantum dots are bright and fast sources of coherent single-photons. For applications, a significant roadblock is the poor quantum coherence upon interferin…
We analyze the decoherence of charge states in double quantum dots due to cotunneling. The system is treated using the Bloch-Redfield generalized master equation for the Schrieffer-Wolff transformed Hamiltonian. We show that the decoherence, characterized through a relaxation $τ_{r}$ and a dephasing time $τ_ϕ$, can be controlled through the external voltage and that the optimum point, where these times are maximum, is not necessarily in equilibrium. We outline the mechanism of this nonequilibrium-induced enhancement of lifetime and coherence. We discuss the relevance of our results for recent …
Nonlinear optical response and optical coherence of excitons in semiconductor dense quantum dots in GaAs single quantum wells has been studied by using photon echo techniques. At low temperatures, the optical coherence is estimated to be 2 ns from the decay curve in the photon echo signal. Rabi oscillations are also observed. Unlike the results for a single quantum dot in the literature to date, the oscillation shows nonlinear behavior affected strongly by the pre-excited carrier density. The results can be explained by the theory of the local field correction originating from exciton-exciton …
We demonstrate how non-Abelian geometric phases can be used to universally process a spin qubit in heavy hole quantum dots in the absence of magnetic fields. A time dependent electric quadrupole field is used to perform any desired single qubit operation by virtue of non-Abelian holonomy. During the proposed operations, the degeneracy of the time dependent two level system representing the qubit is not split. Since time reversal symmetry is preserved and hyperfine coupling is known to be weak in spin qubits based on heavy holes, we expect very long coherence times in the proposed setup.
The desire to have a source of single entangled photon pairs can be satisfied using single quantum dots as emitters. However, we are not bound to pursue only polarization entanglement, but can also exploit other degrees of freedom. In this chapter we focus on the time degree of freedom, to achieve so-called time-bin entanglement. This requires that we prepare the quantum dot coherently into the biexciton state and also build special interferometers for analysis. Finally this technique can be extended to achieve time-bin and polarization hyper-entanglement from a suitable quantum dot.
We present a method of obtaining information about spin lifetimes in quantum dots from measurements of electrical transport. The dot is under resonant microwave irradiation and at temperatures comparable to or larger than the Zeeman energy. We find that the ratio of the spin coherence times T_{1}/T_{2} can be deduced from a measurement of current through the quantum dot as a function the applied magnetic field. We calculate the noise power spectrum of the dot current and show that a dip occurs at the Rabi frequency with a line width given by 1/T_{1}+1/T_{2}.
We present an all-electron calculation of the hyperfine parameters for conduction electrons in Si, showing that: (i) all parameters scale linearly with the spin density at a $^{29}$Si site; (ii) the isotropic term is over 30 times larger than the anisotropic part; (iii) conduction electron charge density at a Si nucleus is consistent with experimental estimates; (iv) Overhauser fields in natural Si quantum dots (QDs) are two orders of magnitude smaller than in GaAs QDs. This reinforces the outstanding performance of Si in keeping spin coherence and opens access to reliable quantitative informa…
We address the interaction-time optimization for frequency estimation in a two-level system. The goal is to estimate with maximum precision a stochastic perturbation. Our approach is valid for any figure of merit used to define optimality, and is illustrated for the variance and entropy. For the entropy, we clarify the connection to maximum-likelihood estimation. We devise novel estimation protocols with and without feedback. They outperform common protocols given in the literature. We design a probabilistic self-consistent protocol as an optimal estimation without feedback. It can improve cur…
Generation and manipulation of the quantum state of a single photon is at the heart of many quantum information protocols. There has been growing interest in using phase modulators as quantum optics devices that preserve coherence. In this Letter, we have used an electro-optic phase modulator to shape the state vector of single photons emitted by a quantum dot to generate new frequency components (modes) and explicitly demonstrate that the phase modulation process agrees with the theoretical prediction at a single photon level. Through two-photon interference measurements we show that for an o…
We propose an implementation of quantum neural networks using an array of quantum dots with dipole-dipole interactions. We demonstrate that this implementation is both feasible and versatile by studying it within the framework of GaAs based quantum dot qubits coupled to a reservoir of acoustic phonons. Using numerically exact Feynman integral calculations, we have found that the quantum coherence in our neural networks survive for over a hundred ps even at liquid nitrogen temperatures (77 K), which is three orders of magnitude higher than current implementations which are based on SQUID-based …
A spin qubit in semiconductor quantum dots holds promise for quantum information processing for scalability and long coherence time. An important semiconductor qubit system is a double quantum dot trapping two electrons or holes, whose spin states encode either a singlet-triplet qubit or two single-spin qubits coupled by exchange interaction. In this article, we report progress on spin dephasing of two exchange-coupled spins in a double quantum dot. We first discuss the schemes of two-qubit gates and qubit encodings in gate-defined quantum dots or donor atoms based on the exchange interaction.…
We present a set of concrete and realistic ideas for the implementation of a small-scale quantum computer using electron spins in lateral GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots. Initialization is based on leads in the quantum Hall regime with tunable spin-polarization. Read-out hinges on spin-to-charge conversion via spin-selective tunneling to or from the leads, followed by measurement of the number of electron charges on the dot via a charge detector. Single-qubit manipulation relies on a microfabricated wire located close to the quantum dot, and two-qubit interactions are controlled via the tunnel barrie…
Ramsey interferometry provides a natural way to determine the coherence time of most qubit systems. Recent experiments on quantum dots however, demonstrated that dynamical nuclear spin polarization can strongly influence the measurement process, making it difficult to extract the $T_2^*$ coherence time using optical Ramsey pulses. Here, we demonstrate an alternative method for spin coherence measurement that is based on first-order coherence of photons generated in spin-flip Raman scattering. We show that if a quantum emitter is driven by a weak monochromatic laser, Raman coherence is determin…
Quantum dots are both excellent single-photon sources and hosts for single spins. This combination enables the deterministic generation of Raman-photons -- bandwidth-matched to an atomic quantum-memory -- and the generation of photon cluster states, a resource in quantum communication and measurement-based quantum computing. GaAs quantum dots in AlGaAs can be matched in frequency to a rubidium-based photon memory, and have potentially improved electron spin coherence compared to the widely used InGaAs quantum dots. However, their charge stability and optical linewidths are typically much worse…
Coherence of spins of electrons confined in III-V quantum dots is strongly affected by their hyperfine interaction with the nuclei. In this paper an introduction to this subject will be given. Some theoretical approaches to the problem will be outlined. Most attention will be given to the Quasi-Static Bath Approximation, to the cluster expansion theories of dephasing due to the nuclear dynamics induced by the dipolar interactions (spectral diffusion), and to the effective Hamiltonian based theory of dephasing due to hyperfine-mediated interactions. The connections between the theoretical resul…
Magnetic-field gradients are important for single-site addressability and electric-dipole spin resonance of spin qubits in semiconductor devices. We show that these advantages are offset by a potential reduction in coherence time due to the non-uniformity of the magnetic field experienced by a nuclear-spin bath interacting with the spin qubit. We theoretically study spins confined to quantum dots or at single donor impurities, considering both free-induction and spin-echo decay. For quantum dots in GaAs, we find that, in a realistic setting, a magnetic-field gradient can reduce the Hahn-echo c…
The rise of graphene opens a new door to qubit implementation, as discussed in the recent proposal of valley pair qubits in double quantum dots of gapped graphene (Wu et al., arXiv: 1104.0443 [cond-mat.mes-hall]). The work here presents the comprehensive theory underlying the proposal. It discusses the interaction of electrons with external magnetic and electric fields in such structures. Specifically, it examines a strong, unique mechanism, i.e., the analogue of the 1st-order relativistic effect in gapped graphene. This mechanism is state mixing free and allows, together with the electrically…
We demonstrate the extension of coherence between all four two-electron spin ground states of an InAs quantum dot molecule (QDM) via non-local suppression of nuclear spin fluctuations in both constituent quantum dots (QDs), while optically addressing only the upper QD transitions. Long coherence times are revealed through dark-state spectroscopy as resulting from nuclear spin locking mediated by the exchange interaction between the QDs. Lineshape analysis provides the first measurement of the quieting of the Overhauser field distribution correlating with reduced nuclear spin fluctuations.
We theoretically demonstrate coherent control over propagation of surface plasmon polaritons(SPP), at both telecommunication and visible wavelengths, on a metallic surface adjacent to quantum coherence (phaseonium) medium composed of three-level quantum emitters (semiconductor quantum dots, atoms, rare-earth ions, etc.) embedded in a dielectric host. The coherent drive allows us to provide sufficient gain for lossless SPP propagation and also lowers the pumping requirements. In case of lossy propagation, an order of magnitude enhancement in propagation length can be achieved. Optical control o…
