Solid-state systems such as P donors in Si have considerable potential for realization of scalable quantum computation. Recent experimental work in this area has focused on implanted Si:P double quantum dots (DQDs) that represent a preliminary step towards the realization of single donor charge-based qubits. This paper focuses on the techniques involved in analyzing the charge transfer within such DQD devices and understanding the impact of fabrication parameters on this process. We show that misalignment between the buried dots and surface gates affects the charge transfer behavior and identify some of the challenges posed by reducing the size of the metallic dot to the few donor regime.
We show a method for implementing universal quantum computing using of a singlet and triplets of nanowire double quantum dots coupled to a one-dimensional transmission line resonator. This method is attractive for both quantum computing and quantum control with inhibition of spontaneous emission, enhanced spin qubit lifetime, strong coupling and quantum nondemolition measurements of spin qubits. We analyze the performance and stability of all required operations and emphasize that all techniques are feasible with current experimental technology.
A single electron spin in a double quantum dot in a magnetic field is considered in terms of a four-level system. By describing the electron motion between the potential minima by spin-conserving tunneling and spin flip caused by a spin-orbit coupling, we inversely engineer faster-than-adiabatic state manipulation operations based on the geometry of four-dimensional (4D) rotations. In particular, we show how to transport a qubit among the quantum dots performing simultaneously a required spin rotation.
We propose a resonator-assisted entangling gate for spin qubits with high fidelity. Each spin qubit corresponds to two electrons in a nanowire double quantum dot, with the singlet and one of the triplets as the logical qubit states. The gate is effected by virtual charge dipole transitions. We include noise in our model to show feasibility of the scheme under current experimental conditions.
We consider single-channel transmission through a double quantum dot system consisting of two single dots that are connected by a wire and coupled each to one lead. The system is described in the framework of the S-matrix theory by using the effective Hamiltonian of the open quantum system. It consists of the Hamiltonian of the closed system (without attached leads) and a term that accounts for the coupling of the states via the continuum of propagating modes in the leads. This model allows to study the physical meaning of branch points in the complex plane. They are points of coalesced eigenv…
We implement a quantum walk in phase space with a new mechanism based on the superconducting resonator-assisted double quantum dots. By analyzing the hybrid system, we obtain the necessary factors of realization of a quantum walk in phase space: the walker, coin, coin flipping and conditional phase shift. In order to implement the coin flipping operator, we add a driving field to the resonator. The interaction between the quantum dots and resonator field is used to implement conditional phase shift. Furthermore, we show with different driving fields the quantum walk in phase space exhibits a b…
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 study experimentally and theoretically the in-plane magnetic field dependence of the coupling between dots forming a vertically stacked double dot molecule. The InAsP molecule is grown epitaxially in an InP nanowire and interrogated optically at millikelvin temperatures. The strength of interdot tunneling, leading to the formation of the bonding-antibonding pair of molecular orbitals, is investigated by adjusting the sample geometry. For specific geometries, we show that the interdot coupling can be controlled in-situ using a magnetic field-mediated redistribution of interdot coupling stren…
Realization of controllable interaction between distant qubits is one of the major problems in scalable solid state quantum computing. We study a superconducting transmission line resonator (TLR) as a tunable dispersive coupler for the double-dot molecules. A general interaction Hamiltonian of $n$ two-electron spin-based qubits and the TLR is presented, where the double-dot qubits are biased at the large detuning region and the TLR is always empty and virtually excited. Our analysis o the main decoherence sources indicates that various major quantum operations can be reliably implemented with …
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…
Resonance states of a two-electron quantum dot are studied using a variational expansion with both real basis-set functions and complex scaling methods. The two-electron entanglement (linear entropy) is calculated as a function of the electron repulsion at both sides of the critical value, where the ground (bound) state becomes a resonance (unbound) state. The linear entropy and fidelity and double orthogonality functions are compared as methods for the determination of the real part of the energy of a resonance. The complex linear entropy of a resonance state is introduced using complex scali…
Quantum gates that temporarily increase singlet-triplet splitting in order to swap electronic spins in coupled quantum dots, lead inevitably to a finite double-occupancy probability for both dots. By solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for a coupled dot model, we demonstrate that this does not necessarily lead to quantum computation errors. Instead, the coupled dot ground state evolves quasi-adiabatically for typical system parameters so that the double-occupancy probability at the completion of swapping is negligibly small. We introduce a measure of entanglement which explicitly t…
We study coherent oscillations in double quantum dots tunnel-coupled to metallic leads by means of full counting statistics of electron transport. If two such systems are coupled by Coulomb interaction, there are in total six (instead of only two) oscillation modes of the entangled system with interaction-dependent oscillation frequencies. By tuning the bias voltage, one can engineer decoherence such that only one of the six modes, in which the charge oscillations in both double quantum dots become synchronized in antiphase, is singled out. We suggest to use waiting-time distributions and the …
We report the electrical induction and detection of dynamic nuclear polarization in the spin-blockade regime of double GaAs vertical quantum dots. The largest Overhauser field observed was about 4 Tesla, corresponding to a nuclear polarization of about 40% in the present device. A phenomenological model is presented to provide a qualitative understanding of our results.
We show that singlet-triplet superpositions of two-electron spin states in a double quantum dot undergo a phonon-induced pure dephasing which relies only on the tunnel coupling between the dots and on the Pauli exclusion principle. As such, this dephasing process is independent of spin-orbit coupling or hyperfine interactions. The physical mechanism behind the dephasing is elastic phonon scattering, which persists to much lower temperatures than real phonon-induced transitions. Quantitative calculations performed for a lateral GaAs/AlGaAs gate-defined double quantum dot yield micro-second deph…
We investigate phonon-induced spin and charge relaxation mediated by spin-orbit and hyperfine interactions for a single electron confined within a double quantum dot. A simple toy model incorporating both direct decay to the ground state of the double dot and indirect decay via an intermediate excited state yields an electron spin relaxation rate that varies non-monotonically with the detuning between the dots. We confirm this model with experiments performed on a GaAs double dot, demonstrating that the relaxation rate exhibits the expected detuning dependence and can be electrically tuned ove…
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 …
We show that the exchange interaction of a singlet-triplet spin qubit confined in double quantum dots, when being controlled by the barrier method, is insensitive to a charged impurity lying along certain directions away from the center of the double-dot system. These directions differ from the polar axis of the double dots by the magic angle, equaling $\arccos\left(1/\sqrt{3}\right)\approx 54.7^\circ$, a value previously found in atomic physics and nuclear magnetic resonance. This phenomenon can be understood from an expansion of the additional Coulomb interaction created by the impurity, but…
We investigate the competition between pair entanglement of two spin qubits in double quantum dots attached to leads with various topologies and the separate entanglement of each spin with nearby electrodes. Universal behavior of entanglement is demonstrated in dependence on the mutual interactions between the spin qubits, the coupling to their environment, temperature and magnetic field. As a consequence of quantum phase transition an abrupt switch between fully entangled and unentangled states takes place when the dots are coupled in parallel.
We study electron-phonon interaction induced decoherence between two-electron singlet and triplet states in a semiconductor double quantum dot using a spin-boson model. We investigate the onset and time evolution of this dephasing, and study its dependence on quantum dot parameters such as dot size and double dot separations, as well as the host materials (GaAs and Si). At the short time limit, electron-phonon interaction only causes an incomplete initial Gaussian decay of the off-diagonal density matrix element in the singlet-triplet Hilbert space. A complete long-time exponential decay due t…
We study the time-dependent properties of double quantum dots coupled to two reservoirs using the nonequilibrium Green function method. For an arbitrary time-dependent bias, we derive an expression for the time-dependent electron density of a dot and several currents, including the current between the dots in the wide-band-limit approximation. For the special case of a constant bias, we calculate the electron density and the currents numerically. As a result, we find that these quantities oscillate and that the number of crests in a single period of the current from a dot changes with the bias…
We study entanglement of charge qubits in a vertical tunnel-coupled double quantum dot containing two interacting electrons. Exact diagonalization is used to compute the negativity characterizing entanglement. We find that entanglement can be efficiently generated and controlled by sidegate voltages, and describe how it can be detected. For large enough tunnel coupling, the negativity shows a pronounced maximum at an intermediate interaction strength within the Wigner molecule regime.
We theoretically investigate transport signatures of quantum interference in highly symmetric double quantum dots in a parallel geometry and demonstrate that extremely weak symmetry-breaking effects can have a dramatic influence on the current. Our calculations are based on a master equation where quantum interference enters as non-diagonal elements of the density matrix of the double quantum dots. We also show that many results have a physically intuitive meaning when recasting our equations as Bloch-like equations for a pseudo spin associated with the dot occupation. In the perfectly symmetr…
Quantum measurements disturb the quantum system being measured, and this is known as measurement-induced backaction. In this work, we consider a double quantum dot monitored by a nearby quantum point contact where the measurement-induced backaction plays an important role. Taking advantage of the quantum master equation approach, we calculate the tunnelling current, and propose a simple feedbackcontrol law to realize and stabilize the tunnelling current. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations show that the feedback control law can make the current quickly convergent to the desired valu…
In this letter, we have considered an electron in a double quantum dot system interacting with a detector represented by a point contact. We present a dynamical model for the gradual decoherence of the density matrix due to the interaction with the detector. The interaction of the qubit (quantum system) on the quantum point contact (environment) leads to a discrete set of pointer states of the double quantum dot (apparatus). The necessary time for the qubit decoherence process (measurement time) has been calculated through this model. The existence of a minimum time for the quantum measurement…
Electron-phonon coupling is known to play an important role in the charge dynamics of semiconductor quantum dots. Here we explore its role in the combined charge-photon dynamics of cavity-coupled double quantum dots. Previous work on these systems has shown that strong electron-phonon coupling leads to a large contribution to photoemission and gain from phonon-assisted emission and absorption processes. We compare the effects of this phonon sideband in three commonly investigated gate-defined quantum dot material systems: InAs nanowires and GaAs and Si two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs). W…
A quantum dot proposal for the implementation of topological quantum computation is presented. The coupling of the electron charge to an external magnetic field via the Aharonov-Bohm effect, combined with the control dynamics of a double dot, results in a two-qubit control phase gate. The physical mechanisms of the system are analysed in detail and the conditions for performing quantum computation resilient to control errors are outlined and found to be realisable with present technology.
Achieving low-error, exchange-interaction operations in quantum dots for quantum computing imposes simultaneous requirements on the exchange energy's dependence on applied voltages. A double quantum dot (DQD) qubit, approximated with a quadratic potential, is solved using a full configuration interaction method. This method is more accurate than Heitler-London and Hund-Mulliken approaches and captures new and significant qualitative behavior. We show that multiple regimes can be found in which the exchange energy's dependence on the bias voltage between the dots is compatible with current quan…
An interaction of electromagnetic field with a nanostructure composed of two quantum dots is studied theoretically. An effect of a resonant electron transfer between the localized low-lying states of quantum dots is predicted. A necessary condition for such an effect is the existence of an excited bound state whose energy lies close to the top of the barrier separating the quantum dots. This effect may be used to realize the reversible quantum logic gate NOT if the superposition of electron states in different quantum dots is viewed as the superposition of bits 0 and 1.
This paper presents a conceptual design for quantum heat machines using a pair of coupled double quantum dots (DQDs), each DQD with an excess electron to interact, as an working substance. We define a compression ratio as the ratio between the Coulomb couplings which describes the interaction between the electrons during the isochoric processes of the quantum Otto cycle and then we analyse the arising of different regimes of operations of our thermal machine. We also show how we can achieve a classically inconceivable Otto engine, when considering the effects due to the parameters related to t…
We use electric dipole spin resonance to measure dynamic nuclear polarization in InAs nanowire quantum dots. The resonance shifts in frequency when the system transitions between metastable high and low current states, indicating the presence of nuclear polarization. We propose that the low and the high current states correspond to different total Zeeman energy gradients between the two quantum dots. In the low current state, dynamic nuclear polarization efficiently compensates the Zeeman gradient due to the $g$-factor mismatch, resulting in a suppressed total Zeeman gradient. We present a the…
We study theoretically fast transfer of excitons between pairs of coupled quantum dots driven by the optical Stark effect that is produced by a short nonresonant laser pulse. The Schrödinger equation, in which the relative position of energy levels of quantum dot subsystems is time-dependent, is solved numerically. Computer simulation shows a way to achieve efficient excitation transfer by the action of a picosecond laser pulse with a rectangular envelope function.
The cluster state quantum computation is a versatile approach to build a scalable quantum computer. In this thesis we theoretically demonstrate that a one dimensional array of double quantum dots with long spin relaxation time can evolve to a cluster state via capacitive coupling to a transmission line resonator. By applying an oscillating voltage to gates of the double quantum dots, we prove that the evolution operator for such interaction is an Ising-like operator. Subsequently, the interacting qubits will become highly entangled that we realize a cluster state. Furthermore, we propose an ex…
We theoretically study the dynamic polarization of lattice nuclear spins in GaAs double quantum dots containing two electrons. In our prior work [Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 226807 (2010)] we identified three regimes of long-term dynamics, including the build up of a large difference in the Overhauser fields across the dots, the saturation of the nuclear polarization process associated with formation of so-called "dark states," and the elimination of the difference field. In particular, when the dots are different sizes we found that the Overhauser field becomes larger in the smaller dot. Here we pr…
The author analyzes quantum computation with the hybrid qubit (HQ) that is encoded using the three-electron configuration of a double quantum dot. All gate operations are controlled with electric signals, while the qubit remains at an optimal operation point that is insensitive to noise. An effective single-qubit description is derived, and two-qubit interactions are suggested using Coulomb and exchange interactions. Universal quantum control is described and numerically simulated using realistic parameters for HQs in Si and GaAs. High-fidelity quantum computing at the threshold of quantum err…
We theoretically study the nuclear spin dynamics driven by electron transport and hyperfine interaction in an electrically-defined double quantum dot (DQD) in the Pauli-blockade regime. We derive a master-equation-based framework and show that the coupled electron-nuclear system displays an instability towards the buildup of large nuclear spin polarization gradients in the two quantum dots. In the presence of such inhomogeneous magnetic fields, a quantum interference effect in the collective hyperfine coupling results in sizable nuclear spin entanglement between the two quantum dots in the ste…
