Spin and valley control in single and double electrostatic silicene quantum dots

Abstract

We study single and double quantum dots defined electrostatically within silicene. The spin-valley structure of the confined single- and two-electron system is determined and the effects of the intervalley scattering induced by the crystal edge and the Coulomb interaction are quantified. The states in a double quantum system are discussed in the context of the spatial symmetry of the single- and two-electron extended orbitals. We determine the charge, spin and valley transitions times induced by alternate electric fields of the microwave frequency. The valley transition times can be controlled by several orders of magnitude by the confinement potential. Also, the spin transition rates can be enhanced by orders of magnitude by the coupling of the bonding and antibonding orbitals mediated by the Rashba interaction.