Quantum computation with two-dimensional graphene quantum dots

We study an array of graphene nano sheets that form a two-dimensional S=1/2 Kagome spin lattice used for quantum computation. The edge states of the graphene nano sheets are used to form quantum dots to confine electrons and perform the computation. We propose two schemes of bang-bang control to combat decoherence and realize gate operations on this array of quantum dots. It is shown that both schemes contain a great amount of information for quantum computation. The corresponding gate operations are also proposed.     

Coupled quantum dots: manifestation of an artificial molecule

Transport spectroscopy reveals the microscopic features of few-electron quantum dots which justify the nameartificial atoms. New physics evolve when two quantum dots are coupled by a tunneling barrier. We study, both theoretically and experimentally, the tunneling spectroscopy on a double quantum dot. A detailed lineshape analysis of the conductance resonances proves that off-resonant coherent interdot tunneling governs transport through this system, while tunneling into the double quantum dot occurs resonantly. This coherent interdot tunneling witnesses the evolution of a delocalized electronic state which can be compared to a valence electron of thisartificial molecule.     

Role of dynamic depolarization for the intersubband resonance in the localization regime

We investigate the electronic intraband absorption in quantum wells with a strong lateral random potential, realized for example by modulation doping with a thin spacer layer. In such systems, electrons become in-plane localized in isolated potential minima and behave like an inhomogeneous array of natural quantum dots. When excited with a coherent light field, the dots respond as individual oscillators, which are however coupled by dynamic dipole–dipole interactions. The absorption spectrum is then determined by the interplay of the single dot properties (related to the disorder potential) and the many-particle Coulomb interactions. Using a simple model for the single-particle states, we calculate the absorption spectrum as a function of the electron density. In the case of light polarized perpendicular to the layer, we find with increasing density a dramatic line narrowing (associated with a collective excitation of the electrons) and a depolarization blue shift. For in-plane polarized light, the peak is shifted to the red. Our theory also applies to far-infrared absorption experiments in artificial quantum dot arrays.     

Model of tunnelling through periodic array of quantum dots in a magnetic field

A two-dimensional periodic array of quantum dots with two laterally coupled leads in a magnetic field is considered.The model of electron transport through the system based on the theory of self-adjoint extensions of symmetric operators is suggested.We obtain the formula for the transmission coefficient and investigate its dependence on the magnetic field.     

A transmission electron microscopy study of composition in Si1− x Ge x /Si (001) quantum dots

A finite-element programme has been developed to model strain relaxation in the case of epitaxial Si_{1? x} Ge _x /Si coherent quantum dots either with or without compositional inhomogeneities. The resulting elastic displacement fields are used to calculate the intensity of dynamical plan view TEM images of such quantum dots. Various types of linear or parabolic compositional inhomogeneities are studied. TEM images of quantum dots with such inhomogeneities are calculated as well as those of quantum dots with a homogeneous composition. They are then compared with experimental images. It is shown how the analysis of the main features of these experimental images (black/white lobes and moiré-like fringes) enables us to determine the conditions in which it is possible to distinguish quantum dots with a homogeneous composition from those with compositional inhomogeneity.     

Correlated electrons in coupled quantum dots and related phenomena

Three topics related to correlated electrons in coupled quantum dots are discussed. The first is quasi-resonance between multi-electron states, which causes hitherto unremarked types of resonant absorption in coupled quantum dots. The second is electron tunneling through a Hubbard gap, which is induced by an increase in the density of electrons in a quantum-dot chain under an overall confining potential. The third is Mott transition in a two-dimensional quantum-dot array induced by an external electric field. In this system, the metal-insulator transition goes through a heavy electron phase in which the density of correlated electrons fluctuates.     

Nonlinear diffraction of super-gaussian laser beams in an array of quantum-dot chains with coulomb interaction taken into account

We consider the propagation of super-Gaussian monochromatic laser beams in a three-dimensional array of quantum dots coupled by the tunneling effect along one axis. The electron energy spectrum of the system corresponds to the Hubbard model, where the Coulomb interaction of electrons in quantum dots is taken into account. The field of the laser beam is described by the Maxwell equations, from which a nonhomogeneous wave equation for the vector potential is obtained. In the approximation of slowly varying amplitudes and phases, the wave equation is reduced to a phenomenological equation describing the electromagnetic field in an array of chains of quantum dots. We study the influence of the system parameters and the frequency of the laser-beam field on the propagation in the medium by solving numerically the phenomenological equation. We obtain the dependence of the factor characterizing the diffraction blooming of the beam in an array of chains of quantum dots on the parameters of the system’s electron energy spectrum.     

Dimensional effects and magnetic field influence on excitons in coupled quantum dots and coupled quantum wells

Direct and indirect excitons in coupled quantum wells and in coupled quantum dots are studied. We consider excitons with two-dimensional, quasi-two-dimensional and three-dimensional carriers. Problems were investigated for a wide range of characteristic parameters—confining to potential steepness, distances between quantum wells or dots, effective width of wells and magnetic fields. The mutual influence of the controlling parameters of the problem on exciton properties is analyzed. Energy and wave function spectra were calculated and dispersion law and effective masses were obtained.     

Optical RKKY interaction between charged semiconductor quantum dots

We show how a spin interaction between electrons localized in neighboring quantum dots can be induced and controlled optically. The coupling is generated via virtual excitation of delocalized excitons and provides an efficient coherent control of the spins. This quantum manipulation can be realized in the adiabatic limit and is robust against decoherence by spontaneous emission. Applications to the realization of quantum gates, scalable quantum computers, and to the control of magnetization in an array of charged dots are proposed.     

Spectroscopy of molecular states in a few-electron double quantum dot

Semiconductor quantum dots, so-called artificial atoms, have attracted considerable interest as mesoscopic model systems and prospective building blocks of the “quantum computer”. Electrons are trapped locally in quantum dots, forming controllable and coherent mesoscopic atom- and moleculelike systems. Electrostatic definition of quantum dots by use of top gates on a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure allows wide variation of the potential in the underlying two-dimensional electron gas. By distorting the trapping potential of a single quantum dot, a strongly tunnel-coupled double quantum dot can be defined. Transport spectroscopy measurements on such a system charged with N=0,1,2,… electrons are presented. In particular, the tunnel splitting of the double well potential for up to one trapped electron is unambiguously identified. It becomes visible as a pronounced level anticrossing at finite source drain voltage. A magnetic field perpendicular to the two-dimensional electron gas also modulates the orbital excitation energies in each individual dot. By tuning the asymmetry of the double well potential at finite magnetic field the chemical potentials of an excited state of one of the quantum dots and the ground state of the other quantum dot can be aligned, resulting in a second level anticrossing with a larger tunnel splitting. In addition, data on the two-electron transport spectrum are presented.     

Antiresonance of electron tunneling through a quantum dot array

Electronic transport through a one-dimensional quantum dot array is theoretically studied. In such a system both electron reservoirs of continuum states couple with the individual component quantum dots of the array arbitrarily. When there are some dangling quantum dots in the array outside the dot(s) contacting the leads, the electron tunneling through the quantum dot array is wholly forbidden if the electron energy is just equal to the molecular energy levels of the dangling quantum dots, which is called as antiresonance of electron tunneling. Accordingly, when the chemical potential of the reservoir electrons is aligned with the electron levels of all quantum dots, the linear conductance at zero temperature vanishes if there are odd number dangling quantum dots; Otherwise, it is equal to 2e²/h due to resonant tunneling if the total number of quantum dots in the array is odd. This odd–even parity is independent of the interdot and the lead–dot coupling strength.     

A Model for second harmonic generation in a TWO-Dimensional array of quantum dots

We present a model for second harmonic generation in a two-dimensional array of quantum dots. We show that the combined effect of the electromagnetic local field of the array and the intrinsic electronic resonances due to the spatial confinement in the quantum dot produce giant enhancements of the second order non-linear susceptibilities, hence giving a very large efficiency in the second harmonic generation.     

Using a quantum dot system to realize perfect state transfer

There are some disadvantages to Nikolopoulos et al.'s protocol [Nikolopoulos G M, Petrosyan D and Lambropoulos P 2004 Europhys. Lett. 65 297] where a quantum dot system is used to realize quantum communication. To overcome these disadvantages, we propose a protocol that uses a quantum dot array to construct a four-qubit spin chain to realize perfect quantum state transfer (PQST). First, we calculate the interaction relation for PQST in the spin chain. Second, we review the interaction between the quantum dots in the Heitler-London approach. Third, we present a detailed program for designing the proper parameters of a quantum dot array to realize PQST.     

Effective pseudospin wave model for the coherent stripe phase in a bilayer system

Hartree–Fock theory predicts a stripe-like ground state for the two-dimensional electron gas in a bilayer quantum Hall system in a quantizing magnetic field at filling factor 4N+1 (with N>0). This stripe state contains quasi-1D linear coherent regions where electrons are delocalized across both wells and which support low-energy collective excitations in the form of phonons and pseudospin waves. We have recently computed the dispersion relation of these low-energy modes in the generalized random phase approximation. In this work, we propose an effective pseudospin model in which the stripe state is modeled as an array of coupled 1D anisotropic X–Y systems. The coupling constants and stiffness of our model are extracted from the density and pseudospin response functions computed in the GRPA.     

Single electron charging in parallel coupled quantum dots

We report low-temperature conductance measurements in the Coulomb blockade regime on two nominally identical tunnel-coupled quantum dots in parallel defined electrostatically in the two-dimensional electron gas of a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. At low interdot tunnel coupling we find that the conductance measured through one dot is sensitive to the charge state of the neighboring dot. At larger interdot coupling the conductance data reflect the role of quantum charge fluctuations between the dots. As the interdot conductance approaches 2e²/h, the coupled dots behave as a single large dot.     

Coherent electron transport in a Si quantum dot dimer

We show that the coherence of charge transfer through a weakly coupled double-dot dimer can be determined by analyzing the statistics of the conductance pattern, and does not require a large phase coherence length in the host material. We present an experimental study of the charge transport through a small Si nanostructure, which contains two quantum dots. The transport through the dimer is shown to be coherent. At the same time, one of the dots is strongly coupled to the leads, and the overall transport is dominated by inelastic cotunneling processes.     

Coupling-induced bipartite pointer states in arrays of electron billiards: quantum Darwinism in action?

We discuss a quantum system coupled to the environment, composed of an open array of billiards (dots) in series. Beside pointer states occurring in individual dots, we observe sets of robust states which arise only in the array. We define these new states as bipartite pointer states, since they cannot be described in terms of simple linear combinations of robust single-dot states. The classical existence of bipartite pointer states is confirmed by comparing the quantum-mechanical and classical results. The ability of the robust states to create "offspring" indicates that quantum Darwinism is in action.     

Transferring and Bounding Single Photon in Waveguide Controlled by Quantum Node Based on Atomic Ensemble

We study the scattering process of photons confined in a one-dimensional optical waveguide by a laser controlled atomic ensemble. The investigation leads to an alternative setup of quantum node controlling the coherent transfer of single photon in such one dimensional continuum. To exactly solve the effective scattering equations by using the discrete coordinate approach, we simulate the linear waveguide as a coupled resonator array at the high energy limit. We generally calculate the transmission coefficients and itsvanishing at resonace reflects the good controllability of our scheme. We also show that there exist two bound states to describe the localize photons around the cavity.     

Two-dimensional probe absorption in coupled quantum dots

We investigate the two-dimensional (2D) probe absorption in coupled quantum dots. It is found that, due to the position-dependent quantum interference effect, the 2D optical absorption spectrum can be easily controlled via adjusting the system parameters. Thus, our scheme may provide some technological applications in solid-state quantum communication.