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.     

Control of electron spin–orbit anisotropy in pyramidal InAs quantum dots

We investigate the electron spin–orbit interaction anisotropy of pyramidal InAs quantum dots using a fully three-dimensional Hamiltonian. The dependence of the spin–orbit interaction strength on the orientation of externally applied in-plane magnetic fields is consistent with recent experiments, and it can be explained from the interplay between Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit terms in dots with asymmetric confinement. Based on this, we propose manipulating the dot composition and height as efficient means for controlling the spin–orbit anisotropy.     

串型耦合双量子点处于自旋阻塞区时磁输运性质的研究

使用双杂质安德森模型的哈密顿量,从理论上研究了串型耦合双量子点系统处于自旋阻塞区时的磁输运性质,并用主方程近似方法求解了哈密顿量.结果表明,自旋轨道耦合作用导致的双量子点间的自旋反转隧穿能够解除系统的自旋阻塞.同时也研究了超精细相互作用导致的在量子点内自旋反转和双量子点之间的自旋关联对系统的磁输运性质的影响,取得了一些有价值的结果,并对相关的物理问题进行了讨论.     

Pairing of spin excitations in lateral quantum dots

We demonstrate the existence of correlated electronic states as paired spin excitations of lateral quantum dots in the integer quantum Hall regime. Starting from the spin-singlet filling-factor nu=2 droplet, by increasing the magnetic field we force the electrons to flip spins and increase the spin polarization. We identify the second spin-flip process as one accompanied by correlated, spin depolarized phases, interpreted as pairs of spin excitons. The correlated states are identified experimentally in few-electron lateral quantum dots using high source-drain voltage spectroscopy.     

Optical spectroscopy on semiconductor quantum dots in high magnetic fields

We review the recent literature on the use of optical spectroscopy of semiconductor quantum dots in high magnetic fields. We address both self-assembled epitaxial dots and colloidal nanocrystal quantum dots, each of which has its own characteristic optical response. Combining simple theoretical models for quantum confinement with the effect of high magnetic fields we describe the basic optically allowed transitions expected for epitaxial and colloidal quantum dots. Within these models we discuss the effects of quantum confinement and orbital and spin Zeeman effects on the optical spectra, illustrated by experimental examples. Finally, effects of electron–electron and exchange interactions are addressed.     

Spin-Dependent Electron Properties of a Triple-Terminal Quantum Dot Structure

Electron transport properties of a triple-terminal Aharonov-Bohm interferometer are theoretically studied. By applying a Rashba spin-orbit coupling to a quantum dot locally, we find that remarkable spin polarization comes about in the electron transport process with tuning the structure parameters, i.e., the magnetic flux or quantum dot levels. When the quantum dot levels are aligned with the Fermi level, there only appear spin polarization in this structure by the presence of an appropriate magnetic flux. However,in absence of magnetic flux spin polarization and spin separation can be simultaneously realized with the adjustment of quantum dot levels, namely, an incident electron from one terminal can select a specific terminal to depart from the quantum dots according to its spin state.     

Electron–Nuclear Spin Dynamics in Semiconductor QDs

This work presents an overview of investigations of the nuclear spin dynamics in nanostructures with negatively charged InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots characterized by strong quadrupole splitting of nuclear spin sublevels. The main method of the investigations is the experimental measurements and the theoretical analysis of the photoluminescence polarization as a function of the transverse magnetic field (effect Hanle). The dependence of the Hanle curve profile on the temporal protocol of optical excitation is examined. Experimental data are analyzed using an original approach based on separate consideration of behavior of the longitudinal and transverse components of the nuclear polarization. The rise and decay times of each component of the nuclear polarization and their dependence on transverse magnetic field strength are determined. To study the role of the Knight field in the dynamic of nuclear polarization, a weak additional magnetic field parallel to the optical axis is used. We have found that, only taking into account the nuclear spin fluctuations, we can accurately describe the measured Hanle curves and evaluate the parameters of the electron–nuclear spin system in the studied quantum dots. A new effect of the resonant optical pumping of nuclear spin polarization in an ensemble of the singly charged (In,Ga)As/GaAs quantum dots subjected to a transverse magnetic field is discussed. Nuclear spin resonances for all isotopes in the quantum dots are detected in that way. In particular, transitions between the states split off from the ±1/2 doublets by the nuclear quadrupole interaction are identified.     

Spin manipulation in semiconductor quantum dots qubit

Thirty years of effort in semiconductor quantum dots has resulted in significant developments in the control of spin quantum bits(qubits). The natural two-energy level of spin states provides a path toward quantum information processing. In particular, the experimental implementation of spin control with high fidelity provides the possibility of realizing quantum computing. In this review, we will discuss the basic elements of spin qubits in semiconductor quantum dots and summarize some important experiments that have demonstrated the direct manipulation of spin states with an applied electric field and/or magnetic field. The results of recent experiments on spin qubits reveal a bright future for quantum information processing.     

Controllable anisotropic exchange coupling between spin qubits in quantum dots

The exchange coupling between quantum dot spin qubits is isotropic, which restricts the types of quantum gates that can be formed. Here, we propose a method for controlling anisotropic interactions between spins arranged in a bus geometry. The symmetry is broken by an external magnetic field, resulting in XXZ-type interactions that can efficiently generate maximally entangled Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states or universal gate sets for exchange-only quantum computing. We exploit the XXZ couplings to propose a qubit scheme, based on double dots.     

Spin polarization in parallel double dots with spin-orbit interaction

Spin polarization in parallel double quantum dots embedded in arms of Aharonov-Bohm interferometer is investigated. The spin-orbit interaction exists in quantum dots. We find that the spin polarization is quite large even with a weak spin-orbit interaction. The direction and the strength of the spin polarization are well controllable and manipulatable by simply varying the strength of spin-orbit interaction or the energy levels in quantum dots. Moreover, electron-electron interaction strengthens the spin accumulation when the energy levels of the two quantum dots are identical. As the energy levels are unequal, electron-electron interaction cannot increase the spin accumulation. It is worth mentioning that the device is free of a magnetic field or a ferromagnetic material and it can be easily realized with present technology.     

Quantum dots with Rashba spin-orbit coupling

We present results on the effects of spin-orbit coupling on the electronic structure of few-electron interacting quantum dots. The ground-state properties as a function of the number of electrons in the dot N are calculated by means of spin-density functional theory. We find a suppression of Hund's rule due to the competition of the Rashba effect and exchange interaction. Introducing an in-plane Zeeman field leads to a paramagnetic behavior of the dot in a closed-shell configuration and to spin texture in space.     

Spin relaxation and decoherence of holes in quantum dots

We investigate heavy-hole spin relaxation and decoherence in quantum dots in perpendicular magnetic fields. We show that at low temperatures the spin decoherence time is 2 times longer than the spin relaxation time. We find that the spin relaxation time for heavy holes can be comparable to or even longer than that for electrons in strongly two-dimensional quantum dots. We discuss the difference in the magnetic-field dependence of the spin relaxation rate due to Rashba or Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling for systems with positive (i.e., GaAs quantum dots) or negative (i.e., InAs quantum dots) g factor.     

Spin-polarized current through a lateral double quantum dot with spin–orbit interaction

We study the spin-polarized current through a vertical double quantum dot scheme. Both the Rashba spin–orbit (RSO) interaction inside one of the quantum dots and the strong intradot Coulomb interactions on the two dots are taken into account by using the second-quantized form of the Hamiltonian. Due to the existence of the RSO interaction, spin-up and spin-down electrons couple to the external leads with different strengths, and then a spin polarized current can be driven out of the middle lead by controlling a set of structure parameters and the external bias voltage. Moreover, by properly adjusting the dot levels and the external bias voltages, a pure spin current with no accompanying charge current can be generated in the weak coupling regime. We show that the difference between the intradot Coulomb interactions strongly influences the spin-polarized currents flowing through the middle lead and is undesirable in the generation of the net spin current. Based on the RSO interaction, the structure we propose can efficiently polarize the electron spin without the usage of any magnetic field or ferromagnetic material. This device can be used as a spin-battery and is realizable using the present available technologies.     

Spin-orbit coupling and anisotropy of spin splitting in quantum dots

In lateral quantum dots, the combined effect of both Dresselhaus and Bychkov-Rashba spin-orbit coupling is equivalent to an effective magnetic field +/- B(SO) which has the opposite sign for s(z)= +/- 1/2 spin electrons. When the external magnetic field is perpendicular to the planar structure, the field B(SO) generates an additional splitting for electron states as compared to the spin splitting in the in-plane field orientation. The anisotropy of spin splitting has been measured and then analyzed in terms of spin-orbit coupling in several AlGaAs/GaAs quantum dots by means of resonant tunneling spectroscopy. From the measured values and sign of the anisotropy we are able to determine the dominating spin-orbit coupling mechanism.     

Direct spin–phonon coupling of spin-flip relaxation in quantum dots

Within the frame of the Pavlov–Firsov spin–phonon coupling model, we study the spin-flip assisted by the acoustical phonon scattering between the first-excited state and the ground state in quantum dots. We analyze the behaviors of the spin relaxation rates as a function of an external magnetic field and lateral radius of quantum dot. The different trends of the relaxation rates depending on the magnetic field and lateral radius are obtained, which may serve as a channel to distinguish the relaxation processes and thus control the spin state effectively.     

Quantum Cryptography in Spin Networks

In this paper we propose a new scheme of long-distance quantum cryptography based on spin networks with qubits stored in electron spins of quantum dots. By＂ conditional Faraday- rotation, single photon polarization measurement, and quantum state transfer, maximal-entangled Bell states for quantum cryptography between two long-distance parties are created. Meanwhile, efficient quantum state transfer over arbitrary＂ distances is obtained in a spin chain by＂ a proper choice of coupling strengths and using spin memory- technique improved. We also analyse the security＂ of the scheme against the cloning-based attack which can be also implemented in spin network and discover that this spin network cloning coincides with the optimal fidelity- achieved by＂ an eavesdropper for entanglement-based cryptography.     

Spin-polarized current in double quantum dots

We analyze the transport through asymmetric double quantum dots with an inhomogeneous Zeeman splitting in the presence of crossed dc and ac magnetic fields.A strong spin-polarized current can be obtained by changing the dc magnetic field.It is mainly due to the resonant tunnelling.But for the ferromagnetic right electrode,the electron spin resonance also plays an important role in transport.We show that the double quantum dots with three-level mixing under crossed dc and ac magnetic fields can act not only as a bipolar spin filter but also as a spin inverter under suitable conditions.     

Spin–orbit interaction induced current dip in a single quantum dot coupled to a spin

Experiments on semiconductor quantum dot systems have demonstrated the coupling between electron spins in quantum dots and spins localized in the neighboring area of the dots. Here we show that in a magnetic field the electrical current flowing through a single quantum dot tunnel-coupled to a spin displays a dip at the singlet–triplet anticrossing point which appears due to the spin–orbit interaction. We specify the requirements for which the current dip is formed and examine the properties of the dip for various system parameters, such as energy detuning, spin–orbit interaction strength, and coupling to leads. We suggest a parameter range in which the dip could be probed.     

Planar Dirac electrons in magnetic quantum dots

In this paper, we explore the size- and mass-dependent energy spectra and the electronic correlation of two- and three-electron graphene magnetic quantum dots. It is found that only the magnetic dots with large size can well confine the electrons. For large graphene magnetic dots with massless (ultra-relativity) electrons, the energy level structures of two Dirac electrons and even the ground state spin and angular momentum of three electrons are quite different from those of the usual semiconductor quantum dots. Also we reveal that such differences are not due to the magnetic confinement but originate from the character of the Coulomb interaction of two-component electronic wavefunctions in graphene. We reveal that the increase of the mass leads to both the crossover of the energy spectrum structures from the ultra-relativity to non-relativity ones and the increasing of the crystallization. The results are helpful for the understanding of the mass and size effects and may be useful in controlling the few-electron states in graphene-based nanodevices.     

Phonon-mediated electron-spin phase diffusion in a quantum dot

An effective spin relaxation mechanism that leads to electron spin decoherence in a quantum dot is proposed. In contrast with the common calculations of spin-flip transitions between the Kramers doublets, we take into account a process of phonon-mediated fluctuation in the electron spin preces-sion and subsequent spin phase diffusion. Specifically, we consider modulations in the longitudinal g factor and hyperfine interaction induced by the phonon-assisted transitions between the lowest electronic states. Prominent differences in the temperature and magnetic field dependence between the proposed mechanism and the spin-flip transitions are expected to facilitate its experimental verification. Numerical estimation demonstrates highly efficient spin relaxation in typical semiconductor quantum dots.