No Arabic abstract
Strong spin-orbit interactions make hole quantum dots central to the quest for electrical spin qubit manipulation enabling fast, low-power, scalable quantum computation. Yet it is important to establish to what extent spin-orbit coupling exposes qubits to electrical noise, facilitating decoherence. Here, taking Ge as an example, we show that group IV gate-defined hole spin qubits generically exhibit optimal operation points, defined by the top gate electric field, at which they are both fast and long-lived: the dephasing rate vanishes to first order in electric field noise along all directions in space, the electron dipole spin resonance strength is maximised, while relaxation is drastically reduced at small magnetic fields. The existence of optimal operation points is traced to group IV crystal symmetry and properties of the Rashba spin-orbit interaction unique to spin-3/2 systems. Our results overturn the conventional wisdom that fast operation implies reduced lifetimes, and suggest group IV hole spin qubits as ideal platforms for ultra-fast, highly coherent scalable quantum computing.
Hole spin qubits in planar Ge heterostructures are one of the frontrunner platforms for scalable quantum computers. In these systems, the spin-orbit interactions permit efficient all-electric qubit control. We propose a minimal design modification of planar devices that enhances these interactions by orders of magnitude and enables low power ultrafast qubit operations in the GHz range. Our approach is based on an asymmetric potential that strongly squeezes the quantum dot in one direction. This confinement-induced spin-orbit interaction does not rely on microscopic details of the device such as growth direction or strain, and could be turned on and off on demand in state-of-the-art qubits.
Spin qubits composed of either one or three electrons are realized in a quantum dot formed at a Si/SiO_2-interface in isotopically enriched silicon. Using pulsed electron spin resonance, we perform coherent control of both types of qubits, addressing them via an electric field dependent g-factor. We perform randomized benchmarking and find that both qubits can be operated with high fidelity. Surprisingly, we find that the g-factors of the one-electron and three-electron qubits have an approximately linear but opposite dependence as a function of the applied dc electric field. We develop a theory to explain this g-factor behavior based on the spin-valley coupling that results from the sharp interface. The outer shell electron in the three-electron qubit exists in the higher of the two available conduction-band valley states, in contrast with the one-electron case, where the electron is in the lower valley. We formulate a modified effective mass theory and propose that inter-valley spin-flip tunneling dominates over intra-valley spin-flips in this system, leading to a direct correlation between the spin-orbit coupling parameters and the g-factors in the two valleys. In addition to offering all-electrical tuning for single-qubit gates, the g-factor physics revealed here for one-electron and three-electron qubits offers potential opportunities for new qubit control approaches.
We propose a setup for universal and electrically controlled quantum information processing with hole spins in Ge/Si core/shell nanowire quantum dots (NW QDs). Single-qubit gates can be driven through electric-dipole-induced spin resonance, with spin-flip times shorter than 100 ps. Long-distance qubit-qubit coupling can be mediated by the cavity electric field of a superconducting transmission line resonator, where we show that operation times below 20 ns seem feasible for the entangling square-root-of-iSWAP gate. The absence of Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction (SOI) and the presence of an unusually strong Rashba-type SOI enable precise control over the transverse qubit coupling via an externally applied, perpendicular electric field. The latter serves as an on-off switch for quantum gates and also provides control over the g factor, so single- and two-qubit gates can be operated independently. Remarkably, we find that idle qubits are insensitive to charge noise and phonons, and we discuss strategies for enhancing noise-limited gate fidelities.
We study theoretically the low-energy hole states of Ge/Si core/shell nanowires. The low-energy valence band is quasidegenerate, formed by two doublets of different orbital angular momenta, and can be controlled via the relative shell thickness and via external fields. We find that direct (dipolar) coupling to a moderate electric field leads to an unusually large spin-orbit interaction of Rashba type on the order of meV which gives rise to pronounced helical states enabling electrical spin control. The system allows for quantum dots and spin qubits with energy levels that can vary from nearly zero to several meV, depending on the relative shell thickness.
Hole spin qubits are frontrunner platforms for scalable quantum computers, but state-of-the-art devices suffer from noise originating from the hyperfine interactions with nuclear defects. We show that these interactions have a highly tunable anisotropy that is controlled by device design and external electric fields. This tunability enables sweet spots where the hyperfine noise is suppressed by an order of magnitude and is comparable to isotopically purified materials. We identify surprisingly simple designs where the qubits are highly coherent and are largely unaffected by both charge and hyperfine noise. We find that the large spin-orbit interaction typical of elongated quantum dots not only speeds up qubit operations, but also dramatically renormalizes the hyperfine noise, altering qualitatively the dynamics of driven qubits and enhancing the fidelity of qubit gates. Our findings serve as guidelines to design high performance qubits for scaling up quantum computers.