Few-electron Double Quantum Dot Research Articles

Electron g-factor determined for quantum dot circuit fabricated from (110)-oriented GaAs quantum well

The choice of substrate orientation for semiconductor quantum dot circuits offers opportunities for tailoring spintronic properties such as g-factors for specific functionality. Here, we demonstrate the operation of a few-electron double quantum dot circuit fabricated from a (110)-oriented GaAs quantum well. We estimate the in-plane electron g-factor from the profile of the enhanced inter-dot tunneling (leakage) current near-zero magnetic field. Spin blockade due to Pauli exclusion can block inter-dot tunneling. However, this blockade becomes inactive due to hyperfine interaction mediated spin flip-flop processes between electron spin states and the nuclear spin of the host material. The g-factor of absolute value ∼0.1 found for a magnetic field parallel to the direction [1¯10] is approximately a factor of four lower than that for comparable circuits fabricated from a material grown on widely employed standard (001) GaAs substrates and is in line with reported values determined by purely optical means for quantum well structures grown on (110) GaAs substrates.

Tunable interdot coupling in few-electron bilayer graphene double quantum dots

We present a highly controllable double quantum dot device based on bilayer graphene. Using a device architecture of interdigitated gate fingers, we can control the interdot tunnel coupling between 1 and 4 GHz and the mutual capacitive coupling between 0.2 and 0.6 meV, independent of the charge occupation of the quantum dots. The charging energy and, hence, the dot size remain nearly unchanged. The tuning range of the tunnel coupling covers the operating regime of typical silicon and GaAs spin qubit devices.

Few-Electron Single and Double Quantum Dots in an InAs Two-Dimensional Electron Gas

Important challenges for successfully adopting indium arsenide quantum dots as a platform for quantum devices are solved, bringing in new competitive advantages to the realm of semiconductor technologies.

Negative exchange interactions in coupled few-electron quantum dots

It has been experimentally shown that negative exchange interactions can arise in a linear three-dot system when a two-electron double quantum dot is exchange coupled to a larger quantum dot containing on the order of one hundred electrons. The origin of this negative exchange can be traced to the larger quantum dot exhibiting a spin triplet-like rather than singlet-like ground state. Here, we show using a microscopic model based on the configuration interaction (CI) method that both triplet-like and singlet-like ground states are realized depending on the number of electrons. In the case of only four electrons, a full CI calculation reveals that triplet-like ground states occur for sufficiently large dots. These results hold for symmetric and asymmetric quantum dots in both Si and GaAs, showing that negative exchange interactions are robust in few-electron double quantum dots and do not require large numbers of electrons.

A reconfigurable gate architecture for Si/SiGe quantum dots

We demonstrate a reconfigurable quantum dot gate architecture that incorporates two interchangeable transport channels. One channel is used to form quantum dots, and the other is used for charge sensing. The quantum dot transport channel can support either a single or a double quantum dot. We demonstrate few-electron occupation in a single quantum dot and extract charging energies as large as 6.6 meV. Magnetospectroscopy is used to measure valley splittings in the range of 35–70 μeV. By energizing two additional gates, we form a few-electron double quantum dot and demonstrate tunable tunnel coupling at the (1,0) to (0,1) interdot charge transition.

Magnetic phase diagram of non-magnetic few-electron quantum dot molecules

A pathway to design non-magnetic artificial molecules which display controllable magnetic properties is addressed theoretically by studying the effects of in-plane electrical field, spin–orbit interaction (SOI) and geometrical parameters on the magnetic phase transitions in few-electron lateral double quantum dots (DQDs). We demonstrate the tunability of the magnetic phase diagram of two-electron DQDs as the system is changed from a molecule to an atom, in both weak and strong SOI regimes. We find an unusual jump in the magnetization and an asymmetric peak of the magnetic susceptibility. In addition, both the asymmetric susceptibility peak position and the magnetic phase diagram are strongly dependent on the interdot tunnel coupling, which can be tuned effectively by changing repulsive barrier voltage and/or interdot distance, the number of electrons and the SOI strength. With increasing interdot tunnel-coupling strength, for instance, the rate of paramagnetic-to-diamagnetic phase area increases. The SOI makes the paramagnetic phase more stable under magnetic field. Moreover, the effects of geometry deviation on the electronic structure and magnetic property of the DQD are also discussed.

Determination of energy scales in few-electron double quantum dots

The capacitive couplings between gate-defined quantum dots and their gates vary considerably as a function of applied gate voltages. The conversion between gate voltages and the relevant energy scales is usually performed in a regime of rather symmetric dot-lead tunnel couplings strong enough to allow direct transport measurements. Unfortunately, this standard procedure fails for weak and possibly asymmetric tunnel couplings, often the case in realistic devices. We have developed methods to determine the gate voltage to energy conversion accurately in the different regimes of dot-lead tunnel couplings and demonstrate strong variations of the conversion factors. Our concepts can easily be extended to triple quantum dots or even larger arrays.

Mechanically probing coherent tunneling in a double quantum dot

We study theoretically the interaction between the charge dynamics of a few-electron double quantum dot and a capacitively-coupled AFM cantilever, a setup realized in several recent experiments. We demonstrate that the dot-induced frequency shift and damping of the cantilever can be used as a sensitive probe of coherent inter-dot tunnelling, and that these effects can be used to quantitatively extract both the magnitude of the coherent interdot tunneling and (in some cases) the value of the double-dot T_1 time. We also show how the adiabatic modulation of the double-dot eigenstates by the cantilever motion leads to new effects compared to the single-dot case.

Non-equilibrium charge stability diagrams of a silicon double quantum dot

We report on the experimental characterization of an electrostatically defined, few-electron double quantum dot in a silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) structure. The device incorporates two quasi-one-dimensional channels for sensing the charge states of the double quantum dot. Charge sensor stability diagrams obtained at finite source-drain bias are interpreted and used to find the absolute energy scale of the quantum dots based on a matrix representation of the coupling between the dots and the gates.

Charge state readout and hyperfine interaction in a few-electron InGaAs double quantum dot

A laterally defined InGaAs double quantum dot with an integrated charge readout sensor is realized in an InGaAs/InP heterostructure. The charge states of the double quantum dot are measured with the use of the charge readout sensor in the few-electron regime in which the current is too weak to be observable by direct measurements of electron transport through the double dot. We also measure the leakage current of the double quantum dot in the Pauli spin-blockade few-electron regime and study the singlet-triplet state mixing by the hyperfine coupling to the nuclear spins. The measurements of the leakage current in the weak external-magnetic-field region and for weak interdot couplings allow us to extract an effective nuclear magnetic field in the double-dot system. We also study spin relaxation and transport processes in the Pauli spin-blockade region at large external magnetic fields and observe transport through the excited triplet state in the few-electron double quantum dot.

Electrostatically defined quantum dots in a Si/SiGe heterostructure

We present an electrostatically defined few-electron double quantum dot (QD) realized in a molecular beam epitaxially grown Si/SiGe heterostructure. Transport and charge spectroscopy with an additional QD as well as pulsed-gate measurements are demonstrated. We discuss technological challenges specific to silicon-based heterostructures and the effect of a comparably large effective electron mass on transport properties and tunability of the double QD. Charge noise, which might be intrinsically induced due to strain engineering, is proven not to affect the stable operation of our device as a spin qubit.

Microwave-Driven Transitions in Two Coupled Semiconductor Charge Qubits

We have studied interactions between two capacitively coupled GaAs/AlGaAs few-electron double quantum dots. Each double quantum dot defines a tunable two-level system, or qubit, in which a single excess electron occupies the ground state of either one dot or the other. Applying microwave radiation, we resonantly drive transitions between states and noninvasively measure occupancy changes using proximal quantum point contact charge detectors. The level structure of the interacting two-qubit system is probed by driving it at a fixed microwave frequency while varying the energy detuning of both double dots. We observe additional resonant transitions consistent with a simple coupled two-qubit Hamiltonian model.

Electrostatically defined few-electron double quantum dot in silicon

A few-electron double quantum dot was fabricated using metal-oxide-semiconductor-compatible technology and low-temperature transport measurements were performed to study the energy spectrum of the device. The double dot structure is electrically tunable, enabling the interdot coupling to be adjusted over a wide range, as observed in the charge stability diagram. Resonant single-electron tunneling through ground and excited states of the double dot was clearly observed in bias spectroscopy measurements.

Tunable few-electron double quantum dots and Klein tunnelling in ultraclean carbon nanotubes

Quantum dots defined in carbon nanotubes are a platform for both basic scientific studies and research into new device applications. In particular, they have unique properties that make them attractive for studying the coherent properties of single-electron spins. To perform such experiments it is necessary to confine a single electron in a quantum dot with highly tunable barriers, but disorder has prevented tunable nanotube-based quantum-dot devices from reaching the single-electron regime. Here, we use local gate voltages applied to an ultraclean suspended nanotube to confine a single electron in both a single quantum dot and, for the first time, in a tunable double quantum dot. This tunability is limited by a novel type of tunnelling that is analogous to the tunnelling in the Klein paradox of relativistic quantum mechanics.

Manipulation of exchange coupling energy in a few-electron double quantum dot

We have used a hybrid vertical-lateral double quantum dot to study the excitation energy spectrum for one- and two-electron states, which are effectively formed on top of a certain core shell. We have observed bonding and antibonding states, and exchange coupled singlet and triplet states for the one- and two-electron states, respectively, and derived the interdot tunnel coupling and exchange coupling energies for various parameters of interdot level detuning, central gate voltage and magnetic field. The obtained exchange coupling energy is consistently reproduced by calculation using the Hund-Mulliken method.

Hyperfine-Mediated Gate-Driven Electron Spin Resonance

An all-electrical spin resonance effect in a GaAs few-electron double quantum dot is investigated experimentally and theoretically. The magnetic field dependence and absence of associated Rabi oscillations are consistent with a novel hyperfine mechanism. The resonant frequency is sensitive to the instantaneous hyperfine effective field, and the effect can be used to detect and create sizable nuclear polarizations. A device incorporating a micromagnet exhibits a magnetic field difference between dots, allowing electrons in either dot to be addressed selectively.

Fast single-charge sensing with a rf quantum point contact

We report high-bandwidth charge sensing measurements using a GaAs quantum point contact embedded in a radio frequency impedance matching circuit (rf-QPC). With the rf-QPC biased near pinch-off where it is most sensitive to charge, we demonstrate a conductance sensitivity of 5×10−6e2∕hHz−1∕2 with a bandwidth of 8MHz. Single-shot readout of a proximal few-electron double quantum dot is investigated in a mode where the rf-QPC back action is rapidly switched.

Top-gated few-electron double quantum dot in Si/SiGe

A few-electron quantum dot utilizing Schottky, metal top gates in a modulation doped Si/SiGe heterostructure was realized and non-linear transport through the dot was studied. By carefully tuning the capacitively coupled gates, the single quantum dot was transformed into two tunnel-coupled quantum dots in series. The resulting double quantum dot was tuned to the few-electron regime and the charge stability diagram was studied as a function of the gate voltages. Understanding of such a double dot system is essential for the practical implementation of exchange-mediated multi-qubit systems in silicon devices.

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.

Charge and spin manipulation in a few-electron double dot

We demonstrate high-speed manipulation of a few-electron double quantum dot. In the one-electron regime, the double dot forms a charge qubit. Microwaves are used to drive transitions between the (1,0) and (0,1) charge states of the double dot. A local quantum point contact charge detector measures the photon-induced change in occupancy of the charge states. Charge detection is used to measure T 1 ∼ 16 ns and also provides a lower bound estimate for T 2 * of 400 ps for the charge qubit. In the two-electron regime we use pulsed-gate techniques to measure the singlet–triplet relaxation time for nearly-degenerate spin states. These experiments demonstrate that the hyperfine interaction leads to fast spin relaxation at low magnetic fields. Finally, we discuss how two-electron spin states can be used to form a logical spin qubit.