No Arabic abstract
Recent studies of silicon spin qubits at temperatures above 1 K are encouraging demonstrations that the cooling requirements for solid-state quantum computing can be considerably relaxed. However, qubit readout mechanisms that rely on charge sensing with a single-island single-electron transistor (SISET) quickly lose sensitivity due to thermal broadening of the electron distribution in the reservoirs. Here we exploit the tunneling between two quantised states in a double-island SET (DISET) to demonstrate a charge sensor with an improvement in signal-to-noise by an order of magnitude compared to a standard SISET, and a single-shot charge readout fidelity above 99 % up to 8 K at a bandwidth > 100 kHz. These improvements are consistent with our theoretical modelling of the temperature-dependent current transport for both types of SETs. With minor additional hardware overheads, these sensors can be integrated into existing qubit architectures for high fidelity charge readout at few-kelvin temperatures.
Quantum computers are expected to outperform conventional computers for a range of important problems, from molecular simulation to search algorithms, once they can be scaled up to large numbers of quantum bits (qubits), typically millions. For most solid-state qubit technologies, e.g. those using superconducting circuits or semiconductor spins, scaling poses a significant challenge as every additional qubit increases the heat generated, while the cooling power of dilution refrigerators is severely limited at their operating temperature below 100 mK. Here we demonstrate operation of a scalable silicon quantum processor unit cell, comprising two qubits confined to quantum dots (QDs) at $sim$1.5 Kelvin. We achieve this by isolating the QDs from the electron reservoir, initialising and reading the qubits solely via tunnelling of electrons between the two QDs. We coherently control the qubits using electrically-driven spin resonance (EDSR) in isotopically enriched silicon $^{28}$Si, attaining single-qubit gate fidelities of 98.6% and coherence time $T_2^*$ = 2$mu$s during `hot operation, comparable to those of spin qubits in natural silicon at millikelvin temperatures. Furthermore, we show that the unit cell can be operated at magnetic fields as low as 0.1 T, corresponding to a qubit control frequency of 3.5 GHz, where the qubit energy is well below the thermal energy. The unit cell constitutes the core building block of a full-scale silicon quantum computer, and satisfies layout constraints required by error correction architectures. Our work indicates that a spin-based quantum computer could be operated at elevated temperatures in a simple pumped $^4$He system, offering orders of magnitude higher cooling power than dilution refrigerators, potentially enabling classical control electronics to be integrated with the qubit array.
Spin qubits in quantum dots define an attractive platform for scalable quantum information because of their compatibility with semiconductor manufacturing, their long coherence times, and the ability to operate at temperatures exceeding one Kelvin. Qubit logic can be implemented by pulsing the exchange interaction or via driven rotations. Here, we show that these approaches can be combined to execute a multitude of native two-qubit gates in a single device, reducing the operation overhead to perform quantum algorithms. We demonstrate, at a temperature above one Kelvin, single-qubit rotations together with the two-qubit gates CROT, CPHASE and SWAP. Furthermore we realize adiabatic, diabatic and composite sequences to optimize the qubit control fidelity and the gate time. We find two-qubit gates that can be executed within 67 ns and by theoretically analyzing the experimental noise sources we predict fidelities exceeding 99%. This promises fault-tolerant operation using quantum hardware that can be embedded with classical electronics for quantum integrated circuits.
The spin states of single electrons in gate-defined quantum dots satisfy crucial requirements for a practical quantum computer. These include extremely long coherence times, high-fidelity quantum operation, and the ability to shuttle electrons as a mechanism for on-chip flying qubits. In order to increase the number of qubits to the thousands or millions of qubits needed for practical quantum information we present an architecture based on shared control and a scalable number of lines. Crucially, the control lines define the qubit grid, such that no local components are required. Our design enables qubit coupling beyond nearest neighbors, providing prospects for non-planar quantum error correction protocols. Fabrication is based on a three-layer design to define qubit and tunnel barrier gates. We show that a double stripline on top of the structure can drive high-fidelity single-qubit rotations. Qubit addressability and readout are enabled by self-aligned inhomogeneous magnetic fields induced by direct currents through superconducting gates. Qubit coupling is based on the exchange interaction, and we show that parallel two-qubit gates can be performed at the detuning noise insensitive point. While the architecture requires a high level of uniformity in the materials and critical dimensions to enable shared control, it stands out for its simplicity and provides prospects for large-scale quantum computation in the near future.
Significant advances have been made towards fault-tolerant operation of silicon spin qubits, with single qubit fidelities exceeding 99.9%, several demonstrations of two-qubit gates based on exchange coupling, and the achievement of coherent single spin-photon coupling. Coupling arbitrary pairs of spatially separated qubits in a quantum register poses a significant challenge as most qubit systems are constrained to two dimensions (2D) with nearest neighbor connectivity. For spins in silicon, new methods for quantum state transfer should be developed to achieve connectivity beyond nearest-neighbor exchange. Here we demonstrate shuttling of a single electron across a linear array of 9 series-coupled Si quantum dots in ~50 ns via a series of pairwise interdot charge transfers. By progressively constructing more complex pulse sequences we perform parallel shuttling of 2 and 3 electrons at a time through the 9-dot array. These experiments establish that physical transport of single electrons is feasible in large silicon quantum dot arrays.
Solid state qubits from paramagnetic point defects in solids are promising platforms to realize quantum networks and novel nanoscale sensors. Recent advances in materials engineering make possible to create proximate qubits in solids that might interact with each other, leading to electron spin/charge fluctuation. Here we develop a method to calculate the tunneling-mediated charge diffusion between point defects from first principles, and apply it to nitrogen-vacancy (NV) qubits in diamond. The calculated tunneling rates are in quantitative agreement with previous experimental data. Our results suggest that proximate neutral and negatively charged NV defect pairs can form an NV--NV molecule. A tunneling-mediated model for the source of decoherence of the near-surface NV qubits is developed based on our findings on the interacting qubits in diamond.