Voltage-selective bidirectional polarization and coherent rotation of nuclear spins in quantum dots

We propose and demonstrate that the nuclear spins of the host lattice in GaAs double quantum dots can be polarized in either of two opposite directions, parallel or antiparallel to an external magnetic field. The direction is selected by adjusting the dc voltage. This nuclear polarization manifests itself by repeated controlled electron-nuclear spin scattering in the Pauli spin-blockade state. Polarized nuclei are also controlled by means of nuclear magnetic resonance. This Letter confirms that the nuclear spins in quantum dots are long-lived quantum states with a coherence time of up to 1 ms, and may be a promising resource for quantum-information processing such as quantum memories for electron spin qubits.     

High-Field Phenomena of Qubits

Electron and nuclear spins are very promising candidates to serve as quantum bits (qubits) for proposed quantum computers, as the spin degrees of freedom are relatively isolated from their surroundings and can be coherently manipulated, e.g., through pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). For solid-state spin systems, impurities in crystals based on carbon and silicon in various forms have been suggested as qubits, and very long relaxation rates have been observed in such systems. We have investigated a variety of these systems at high magnetic fields in our multifrequency pulsed EPR/ENDOR (electron nuclear double resonance) spectrometer. A high magnetic field leads to large electron spin polarizations at helium temperatures, giving rise to various phenomena that are of interest with respect to quantum computing. For example, it allows the initialization of both the electron spin as well as hyperfine-coupled nuclear spins in a well-defined state by combining millimeter and radio-frequency radiation. It can increase the T ₂ relaxation times by eliminating decoherence due to dipolar interaction and lead to new mechanisms for the coherent electrical readout of electron spins. We will show some examples of these and other effects in Si:P, SiC:N and nitrogen-related centers in diamond.     

Electrical detection of coherent nuclear spin oscillations in phosphorus-doped silicon using pulsed ENDOR

We demonstrate the electrical detection of pulsed X-band electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) in phosphorus-doped silicon at 5 K. A pulse sequence analogous to Davies ENDOR in conventional electron spin resonance is used to measure the nuclear spin transition frequencies of the (31)P nuclear spins, where the (31)P electron spins are detected electrically via spin-dependent transitions through Si/SiO(2) interface states, thus not relying on a polarization of the electron spin system. In addition, the electrical detection of coherent nuclear spin oscillations is shown, demonstrating the feasibility to electrically read out the spin states of possible nuclear spin qubits.     

Polarization of quadrupolar nuclei

A method of obtaining high polarization and pure spin states of impurity nuclei with a moderately strong quadrupole interaction in solid diamagnetic hosts whose nuclei have spin 1/2, a large g factor (like ¹H and ¹⁹F), and a high degree of polarization is proposed. The method employs cross-relaxation transitions of the impurity nuclei with the host spins (with adiabatic variation of the external magnetic field) and simple radio-frequency pulses that invert the host nuclei or give rise to two-spin resonance of the host and impurity nuclei. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 68, No. 7, 539–543 (10 October 1998)     

Isotopically engineered Si and Ge for spintronics and quantum computation

Si, Ge as well as SiGe structures are the promising materials for spintronics and quantum computation due to the fact that in both crystals only one isotope (²⁹Si and ⁷³Ge) has nuclear spin. As a result, isotope engineering of Si and Ge permits to control the density of nuclear spins and vary the spin coherence time, a crucial parameter in spintronics. In the first part we discuss the NMR study of nuclear spin decoherence in Ge single crystals with different abundance of the ⁷³Ge isotope. It was observed that the slow component of the dephasing process is elongated with depletion of Ge crystal with isotope ⁷³Ge. The second part is devoted to the development of the Kane's model of nuclear spin-based quantum computer, which uses the nuclear spin of ³¹P impurity atoms in a ²⁸Si matrix as quantum bits (qubits). We discuss a new method of placing ³¹P atoms in a ²⁸Si based on neutron-transmutation-doping of isotopically engineered Si and Ge. In the proposed structure, interqubit coupling is due to indirect hyperfine interaction of ³¹P nuclear spins with electrons localized in a ²⁸Si quasi-one-dimensional nanowire, which allows one to control the coupling between distant qubits.     

Solid-state quantum computation—a new direction for nanotechnology

We review current proposals for six types of solid-state quantum computers. We discuss the general requirements for solid-state quantum computers and describe proposals which employ superconducting junctions, electron orbitals in quantum dots, electron spin resonance, nuclear spins of impurity atoms, and nuclear spins in a crystal lattice. We also describe our proposed nuclear spin quantum computer based on magnetic resonance force microscopy. Finally, we describe our numerical method for modeling quantum transformations with a large number (up to 1000) of qubits.     

Dynamic polarization of nuclei in a self-organized ensemble of quantum-size n-InP/InGaP islands

Dynamic polarization of ³¹P nuclei is observed in a self-organized system of InP islands grown by metalorganic-hydride epitaxy in an InGaP matrix. The polarized nuclei produce an effective magnetic field which acts on the polarization of the excitonic radiation. Optical detection of the magnetic resonance signal from ³¹P nuclei in the crystal lattice of nanosize InP islands is successfully carried out. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 68, No. 9, 711–714 (10 November 1998)     

Quantum gates using electronic and nuclear spins of Yb+ in a magnetic field gradient

An efficient scheme is proposed to carry out gate operations on an array of trapped Yb⁺ ions, based on a previous proposal using both electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom in a magnetic field gradient. For this purpose we consider the Paschen-Back regime (strong magnetic field) and employ a high-field approximation in this treatment. We show the possibility to suppress the unwanted coupling between the electron spins by appropriately swapping states between electronic and nuclear spins. The feasibility of generating the required high magnetic field is discussed.     

Concepts of spin quantum computing

Quantum computing is based on two-state quantum systems called qubits. Recent proposals for quantum computing included nuclear spin 1/2 as qubits and implementations of several quantum algorithms were demonstrated by applying liquid-state NMR. Here I want to lay out some of the concepts of spin quantum computing including nuclear and electron spins. This article is intended to serve a dual purpose. It should on one hand introduce the reader who is not familiar with magnetic resonance to the spin quantum computing terminology and the concepts of pulsed magnetic resonance. At the same time I want to introduce the NMR expert to the recent developments in quantum computing.     

Mg isotopes and the disappearance of magic N=20

Collinear laser spectroscopy and β-NMR spectroscopy with optical pumping were applied at ISOLDE/CERN to measure for the first time the magnetic moments of neutron-rich ²⁷Mg, ²⁹Mg, ³¹Mg and ³³Mg, along with the spins of the two latter. The magnetic moment of ²⁷Mg was derived from its hyperfine structure detected in UV fluorescent light, whereas the nuclear magnetic resonance observed in β-decay asymmetry from a polarised ensemble of nuclei gave the magnetic moment of ²⁹Mg. For ³¹Mg and ³³Mg, the hyperfine structure and nuclear magnetic resonance gave the spin and the magnetic moment. The preliminary results for ²⁷Mg and ²⁹Mg are consistent with a large neutron shell gap at N=20, whereas data on ³¹Mg show that for this nucleus N=20 is not a magic number, which is also the case for ³³Mg, based on preliminary analysis. Thus, the two latter isotopes belong to the “island of inversion.” Magdalena Kowalska for the IS 427 collaboration at ISOLDE/CERN.     

Demonstration of sufficient control for two rounds of quantum error correction in a solid state ensemble quantum information processor

We report the implementation of a 3-qubit quantum error-correction code on a quantum information processor realized by the magnetic resonance of carbon nuclei in a single crystal of malonic acid. The code corrects for phase errors induced on the qubits due to imperfect decoupling of the magnetic environment represented by nearby spins, as well as unwanted evolution under the internal Hamiltonian. We also experimentally demonstrate sufficiently high-fidelity control to implement two rounds of quantum error correction. This is a demonstration of state-of-the-art control in solid state nuclear magnetic resonance, a leading test bed for the implementation of quantum algorithms.     

Dynamic Polarization and Relaxation of <Superscript>75</Superscript>As Nuclei in Silicon at High Magnetic Field and Low Temperature

We present the results of experiments on dynamic nuclear polarization and relaxation of ⁷⁵As in silicon crystals. Experiments are performed in strong magnetic fields of 4.6 T and temperatures below 1 K. At these conditions donor electron spins are fully polarized, and the allowed and forbidden electron spin resonance transitions are well resolved. We demonstrate effective nuclear polarization of ⁷⁵As nuclei via the Overhauser effect on the time scale of several hundred seconds. Excitation of the forbidden transitions leads to a polarization through the solid effect. The relaxation rate of donor nuclei has strong temperature dependence characteristic of Orbach process.     

Preparation of quantum states of two spin-12 particles in the form of the Schmidt decomposition

We consider a system of two spins that are coupled via an isotropic Heisenberg Hamiltonian. For the first time, a two-step method for the preparation of an arbitrary quantum state of two qubits in the form of the Schmidt decomposition is proposed. The simplified version of this method is applied to the physical system of an atom with a nuclear spin 1/2 and one valence electron. As an example, the preparation of two-spin quantum states in the ³¹P system is considered.     

Storage of multiple coherent microwave excitations in an electron spin ensemble

Strong coupling between a microwave photon and electron spins, which could enable a long-lived quantum memory element for superconducting qubits, is possible using a large ensemble of spins. This represents an inefficient use of resources unless multiple photons, or qubits, can be orthogonally stored and retrieved. Here we employ holographic techniques to realize a coherent memory using a pulsed magnetic field gradient and demonstrate the storage and retrieval of up to 100 weak 10?GHz coherent excitations in collective states of an electron spin ensemble. We further show that such collective excitations in the electron spin can then be stored in nuclear spin states, which offer coherence times in excess of seconds.     

Spin quantum computation in silicon nanostructures

Proposed silicon-based quantum-computer architectures have attracted attention because of their promise for scalability and their potential for synergetically utilizing the available resources associated with the existing Si technology infrastructure. Electronic and nuclear spins of shallow donors (e.g. phosphorus) in Si are ideal candidates for qubits in such proposals because of their long spin coherence times due to their limited interactions with their environments. For these spin qubits, shallow donor exchange gates are frequently invoked to perform two-qubit operations. We discuss in this review a particularly important spin decoherence channel, and bandstructure effects on the exchange gate control. Specifically, we review our work on donor electron spin spectral diffusion due to background nuclear spin flip-flops, and how isotopic purification of silicon can significantly enhance the electron spin dephasing time. We then review our calculation of donor electron exchange coupling in the presence of degenerate silicon conduction band valleys. We show that valley interference leads to orders of magnitude variations in electron exchange coupling when donor configurations are changed on an atomic scale. These studies illustrate the substantial potential that donor electron/nuclear spins in silicon have as candidates for qubits and simultaneously the considerable challenges they pose. In particular, our work on spin decoherence through spectral diffusion points to the possible importance of isotopic purification in the fabrication of scalable solid state quantum computer architectures. We also provide a critical comparison between the two main proposed spin-based solid state quantum computer architectures, namely, shallow donor bound states in Si and localized quantum dot states in GaAs.     

Coherent state transfer between an electron and nuclear spin in (15)N@C(60)

Electron spin qubits in molecular systems offer high reproducibility and the ability to self-assemble into larger architectures. However, interactions between neighboring qubits are "always on," and although the electron spin coherence times can be several hundred microseconds, these are still much shorter than typical times for nuclear spins. Here we implement an electron-nuclear hybrid scheme which uses coherent transfer between electron and nuclear spin degrees of freedom in order to both effectively turn on or off interqubit coupling mediated by dipolar interactions and benefit from the long nuclear spin decoherence times (T(2n)). We transfer qubit states between the electron and (15)N nuclear spin in (15)N@C(60) with a two-way process fidelity of 88%, using a series of tuned microwave and radio frequency pulses and measure a nuclear spin coherence lifetime of over 100 ms.     

An endohedral fullerene-based nuclear spin quantum computer

We propose a new scalable quantum computer architecture based on endohedral fullerene molecules. Qubits are encoded in the nuclear spins of the endohedral atoms, which posses even longer coherence times than the electron spins which are used as the qubits in previous proposals. To address the individual qubits, we use the hyperfine interaction, which distinguishes two modes (active and passive) of the nuclear spin. Two-qubit quantum gates are effectively implemented by employing the electronic dipolar interaction between adjacent molecules. The electron spins also assist in the qubit initialization and readout. Our architecture should be significantly easier to implement than earlier proposals for spin-based quantum computers, such as the concept of Kane [B.E. Kane, Nature 393 (1998) 133].     

Electroelastic hyperfine tuning of phosphorus donors in silicon

We demonstrate an electroelastic control of the hyperfine interaction between nuclear and electronic spins opening an alternative way to address and couple spin-based qubits. The hyperfine interaction is measured by electrically detected magnetic resonance in phosphorus-doped silicon epitaxial layers employing a hybrid structure consisting of a silicon-germanium virtual substrate and a piezoelectric actuator. By applying a voltage to the actuator, the hyperfine interaction is changed by up to 0.9 MHz, which would be enough to shift the phosphorus donor electron spin out of resonance by more than one linewidth in isotopically purified 28Si.     

Developments in quantum information processing by nuclear magnetic resonance: Use of quadrupolar and dipolar couplings

Use of dipolar and quadrupolar couplings for quantum information processing (QIP) by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is described. In these cases, instead of the individual spins being qubits, the 2 ⁿ energy levels of the spin-system can be treated as an n-qubit system. It is demonstrated that QIP in such systems can be carried out using transition-selective pulses, in CH₃CN, ¹³CH₃CN, ⁷Li (I=3/2) and ¹³³Cs (I=7/2), oriented in liquid crystals yielding 2 and 3 qubit systems. Creation of pseudopure states, implementation of logic gates and arithmetic operations (half-adder and subtractor) have been carried out in these systems using transition-selective pulses.     

Contribution of electron-nuclear interaction to the residual resistivity of metals

In nonmagnetic metals the spin-spin interaction of the electrons and nuclei makes a strongly magnetic field and temperature T dependent contribution to the residual resistivity. The nuclei act as magnetic impurities. For magnetic metals (Tb, Ho, Dy) with a high internal magnetic field, the nuclear contribution to the resistivity vanishes at low temperatures T, where the nuclear spins are ordered, and saturates at high temperatures T, where the nuclear spins are disordered—the analog of the Schottky effect for the nuclear specific heat. The electron-nuclear interaction can destroy superconductivity in metals with low critical magnetic fields under conditions of ferromagnetic ordering of the nuclear spins. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 3, 193–197 (10 August 1996)