Abstract
The ability to manipulate electron spins with voltage-dependent electric fields is key to the operation of quantum spintronics devices, such as spin-based semiconductor qubits. A natural approach to electrical spin control exploits the spin–orbit coupling (SOC) inherently present in all materials. So far, this approach could not be applied to electrons in silicon, due to their extremely weak SOC. Here we report an experimental realization of electrically driven electron–spin resonance in a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) nanowire quantum dot device. The underlying driving mechanism results from an interplay between SOC and the multi-valley structure of the silicon conduction band, which is enhanced in the investigated nanowire geometry. We present a simple model capturing the essential physics and use tight-binding simulations for a more quantitative analysis. We discuss the relevance of our findings to the development of compact and scalable electron–spin qubits in silicon.
Highlights
Silicon is a strategic semiconductor for quantum spintronics, combining long spin coherence and mature technology.[1]Research on silicon-based spin qubits has seen a tremendous progress over the past 5 years
Electric-field control requires a mechanism coupling spin and motional degrees of freedom. This so-called spin–orbit coupling (SOC) is generally present in atoms and solids —due to a relativistic effect, electrons moving in an electric-field gradient experience in their reference frame an effective magnetic field
We have reported an experimental demonstration of electric-dipole, spin-valley resonance mediated by intrinsic SOC in a silicon electron double quantum dots (QD)
Summary
Silicon is a strategic semiconductor for quantum spintronics, combining long spin coherence and mature technology.[1]Research on silicon-based spin qubits has seen a tremendous progress over the past 5 years. Finding a viable pathway towards large-scale integration is the step. To this aim, access to electric-field-mediated spin control would facilitate device scalability, circumventing the need for more demanding control schemes based on magnetic-fielddriven spin resonance. Electric-field control requires a mechanism coupling spin and motional degrees of freedom. This so-called spin–orbit coupling (SOC) is generally present in atoms and solids —due to a relativistic effect, electrons moving in an electric-field gradient experience in their reference frame an effective magnetic field. In the case of electrons in silicon, SOC is intrinsically very weak
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