Electron spins confined in semiconductor quantum dots are emerging as a promising system to study quantum information science and to perform sensitive metrology. Their weak interaction with the environment leads to long coherence times and robust storage for quantum information, and the intrinsic tunability of semiconductors allows for controllable operations, initialization, and readout of their quantum state. These spin qubits are also promising candidates for the building block for a scalable quantum information processor due to their prospects for scalability and miniaturization. owever, several obstacles limit the performance of quantum information experiments in these systems. For example, the weak coupling to the environment makes inter-qubit operations challenging, and a fluctuating nuclear magnetic field limits the performance of single-qubit operations.\n\n\n\nThe focus of this thesis will be several experiments which address some of the outstanding problems in semiconductor spin qubits, in particular, singlet-triplet (S-T0) qubits. We use these qubits to probe both the electric field and magnetic field noise that limit the performance of these qubits. The magnetic noise bath is probed with high bandwidth and precision using novel techniques borrowed from the field of Hamiltonian learning, which are effective due to the rapid control and readout available in S-T0 qubits. These findings allow us to effectively undo the undesired effects of the fluctuating nuclear magnetic field by tracking them in real-time, and we demonstrate a 30-fold improvement in the coherence time T2*.\n\n\n\nWe probe the voltage noise environment of the qubit using coherent qubit oscillations, which is partially enabled by control of the nuclear magnetic field. We find that the voltage noise bath is frequency- dependent, even at frequencies as high as 1MHz, and it shows surprising and, as of yet, unexplained temperature dependence. We leverage this knowledge of the voltage noise environment, the nuclear magnetic field control, as well as new techniques for calibrated measurement of the density matrix in a singlet-triplet qubit to entangle two adjacent single-triplet qubits. We fully characterize the generated entangled states and prove that they are, indeed, entangled.\n\n\n\nThis work opens new opportunities to use qubits as sensors for improved metrological capabilities, as well as for improved quantum information processing. The singlet-triplet qubit is unique in that it can be used to probe two fundamentally different noise baths, which are important for a large variety of solid state qubits. More specifically, this work establishes the singlet-triplet qubit as a viable candidate for the building block of a scalable quantum information processor.
Electron spins confined in semiconductor quantum dots are emerging as a promising system to study quantum information science and to perform sensitive metrology. Their weak interaction with the environment leads to long coherence times and robust storage for quantum information, and the intrinsic tunability of semiconductors allows for controllable operations, initialization, and readout of their quantum state. These spin qubits are also promising candidates for the building block for a scalable quantum information processor due to their prospects for scalability and miniaturization. owever, several obstacles limit the performance of quantum information experiments in these systems. For example, the weak coupling to the environment makes inter-qubit operations challenging, and a fluctuating nuclear magnetic field limits the performance of single-qubit operations.\n\n\n\nThe focus of this thesis will be several experiments which address some of the outstanding problems in semiconductor spin qubits, in particular, singlet-triplet (S-T0) qubits. We use these qubits to probe both the electric field and magnetic field noise that limit the performance of these qubits. The magnetic noise bath is probed with high bandwidth and precision using novel techniques borrowed from the field of Hamiltonian learning, which are effective due to the rapid control and readout available in S-T0 qubits. These findings allow us to effectively undo the undesired effects of the fluctuating nuclear magnetic field by tracking them in real-time, and we demonstrate a 30-fold improvement in the coherence time T2*.\n\n\n\nWe probe the voltage noise environment of the qubit using coherent qubit oscillations, which is partially enabled by control of the nuclear magnetic field. We find that the voltage noise bath is frequency- dependent, even at frequencies as high as 1MHz, and it shows surprising and, as of yet, unexplained temperature dependence. We leverage this knowledge of the voltage noise environment, the nuclear magnetic field control, as well as new techniques for calibrated measurement of the density matrix in a singlet-triplet qubit to entangle two adjacent single-triplet qubits. We fully characterize the generated entangled states and prove that they are, indeed, entangled.\n\n\n\nThis work opens new opportunities to use qubits as sensors for improved metrological capabilities, as well as for improved quantum information processing. The singlet-triplet qubit is unique in that it can be used to probe two fundamentally different noise baths, which are important for a large variety of solid state qubits. More specifically, this work establishes the singlet-triplet qubit as a viable candidate for the building block of a scalable quantum information processor.
There is a huge, worldwide effort to build a quantum computer due to its potential to perform chemical and materials simulations and to break current cryptography schemes. While there has been incredible progress in recent years, each potential platform still faces meaningful obstacles. The singlet-triplet qubit in gallium arsenide, which is based on electric spin, boasts several advantages, including fast single-gate times and readout, long lifetimes, and a clear path to large-scale integration using current semiconductor manufacturing techniques. However, it also suffers from electric and magnetic field noise that limits coherence time and weak two-qubit interactions, which have prevented the construction of multi-qubit systems so far. In this thesis, I will discuss my research measuring and working to improve noise and entangling gates in singlet-triplet qubits and will examine the viability of the singlet-triplet qubit as the building block for a quantum computer. \nBy measuring the dynamics of the electric and magnetic field noise that the singlet-triplet experiences, we can develop an understanding of their origins and how to reduce their impact. The singlet-triplet can be operated rapidly enough to use it as a sensor and directly measure the fluctuating magnetic field arising from the nuclear spins in the semiconductor heterostructure surrounding it. We use Hamiltonian parameter estimation, a technique that maximizes the rate at which we learn information, given the strange properties of quantum measurement, to measure magnetic noise to within 15 μT at a rate of 2 kHz, and we use these measurements to provide real-time feedback to system controls, increasing the coherence time by a factor of 30. Charge noise has much larger high-frequency components than magnetic noise, and thus requires use of dynamical decoupling methods borrowed from NMR to measure it. We measure its power spectrum up to 1 MHz and find that it has a 1/f spectrum. We perform these measurements for several different devices and have begun to determine how our growth and fabrication processes affect dephasing. \nPlacing a high-impedance resonator between two singlet-triplet qubits to mediate their interaction shows promise as way to create long-distance entanglement and to increase the speed of the entangling gate. We analyze this gate theoretically, finding that we expect the fidelity to be over 95%, with a straightforward path to increasing it to above 99% with improved resonator parameters. However, because the singlet-triplet qubit is extremely sensitive to changes in its electrostatic environment, which can be affected both by the resonator’s fabrication process and the presence of the proximal resonator gate, implementing this gate experimentally is challenging. We have developed processes for fabricating narrow, thin, NbN resonators directly adjacent to the double quantum dots that compose singlet-triplet qubits. These processes yield quantum dots that can be tuned into low-noise, stable singlet-triplet qubits, and superconducting resonators with impedances over 1 kOhm.
Since the mid-20th century it has been understood that a general-purpose quan- tum computer would be able to efficiently solve problems that will forever be out-of-reach for conventional computers. Since then, many quantum algorithms have been developed with applications in a wide range of domains including cryptography, simulations, machine learning and data analysis. While this has resulted in substantial attention being paid to the development of quantum com- puters, the best architectures to use in their fabrication is not yet clear. Semiconductor quantum dot devices are a particularly promising candidate for use in quantum computing architectures, as it is anticipated that once the funda- mental building blocks are implemented, they might be massively scalable using the existing lithography techniques of the semiconductor industry. So far, how- ever, it is not yet clear how best to implement the high-fidelity gates required for general-purpose quantum computation. In this thesis, we present and characterise novel theoretical proposals for fast, simple and high-fidelity two-qubit gates using magnetic (exchange) coupling for specific semiconductor quantum dot qubits; namely, the singlet-triplet and resonant-exchange qubits. These two-qubit operations are simple enough that it is feasible for them to be implemented in experiments of the near future. Success- ful implementations would significantly extend the experimentally demonstrable frontier of semi-conductor quantum dot devices as relevant to their use in uni- versal quantum computing architectures. We also develop simple parameter estimation schemes by which it is possible to substantially mitigate the dominant sources of error for our proposed gates; namely, low-frequency charge and magnetic noise. We develop the techniques in the context of pseudo-static magnetic field gradient fluctuations in singlet- triplet qubits, and demonstrate that these techniques lead to a several orders of magnitude improvement in single-qubit coherence times. With minimal effort this could be ported to other qubit architectures.
Two level systems that can be reliably controlled and measured hold promise as qubits both for metrology and for quantum information science. Since a fluctuating environment limits the performance of qubits in both capacities, understanding environmental coupling and dynamics is key to improving qubit performance. We show measurements of the level splitting and dephasing due to the voltage noise of a GaAs singlet-triplet qubit during exchange oscillations. Unexpectedly, the voltage fluctuations are non-Markovian even at high frequencies and exhibit a strong temperature dependence. This finding has impacts beyond singlet-triplet qubits since nearly all solid state qubits suffer from some kind of charge noise. The magnitude of the fluctuations allows the qubit to be used as a charge sensor with a sensitivity of 2 × 10(-8)e/sqrt[Hz], 2 orders of magnitude better than a quantum-limited rf single electron transistor. Based on these measurements, we provide recommendations for improving qubit coherence, allowing for higher fidelity operations and improved charge sensitivity.
Spin degrees of freedom have been extensively explored in the context of quantum information processing. Many proposals of quantum computation architectures use spins as carriers of quantum of information. A central problem is to efficiently generate quantum entanglement between spin qubits which proves to be a crucial resource for quantum information tasks. On the other hand, uncontrollable spin degrees of freedom in the environment of spin qubits are the major causes of errors at low temperature, for example, the lattice nuclear spins hyperfine coupled to single electron spin qubit localized in semiconductor nano-structures. An outstanding problem for scalable quantum computation is to suppress the collective fluctuations from such spin baths so that the coherence time of the spin qubit can be improved. With these two motivations, the problems of suppressing collective spin fluctuations and generating entanglement in various spin ensembles are addressed in this thesis.\n\n\n\nIn the first half of the thesis, two approaches are introduced for suppressing the collective fluctuations in the nuclear spin bath so that the quantum coherence time of electron spin qubit in semiconductor quantum dots can be improved. The first approach works for a coupled double dot system. A theory for the interaction with the nuclear spins is developed when the two-electron singlet state is in resonance with one of the triplet state in moderate external magnetic field. At this resonance condition, the nuclear-electron flip-flop process caused by the hyperfine interaction can lead to a feedback mechanism, which can be used to suppress the nuclear hyperfine field. The second approach works for a single dot system. It is shown that strong pumping of the nuclear spins in dynamic nuclear polarization processes can saturate the nuclear spin bath towards the collective “dark states”. In such dark states, the transverse nuclear field fluctuation can be substantially suppressed compared to the value at thermal equilibrium. Two physical schemes are proposed to realize the nuclear dark states for suppression of the nuclear field fluctuations.\n\n\n\nIn the second half of the thesis, schemes are presented for generating large scale quantum entanglement in two types of spin qubit systems. For atomic spin qubits in optical lattices, schemes are proposed on how to prepare pure spin coherent state (SCS) with low collective spin by incoherent pumping with collective spin raising and lowering operations. Such SCS realize networks of mutually entangled spins which can be idea resources for the quantum telecloning algorithm. For donor nuclear spin qubits in silicon architecture, proposals are shown on how to deterministic prepare Dicke states which constitute an important class of multipartite entangled states. Our scheme is capable of preparing both symmetric and asymmetric Dicke states which form a complete basis set of the spin Hilbert space. The required controls are in situ to the prototype Kane’s quantum computer. The preparation is robust because each desired Dicke state is the steady state under designed pumping process. The schemes presented here also make possible the construction of decoherence free subspaces where quantum information is protected from collective noises.
A two-level quantum system is the building block of a quantum computer. This pair of quantum states defines the computational unit of a quantum computer, and it is called a quantum bit or qubit in analogy to the bit that is the binary unit of a classical computer. The spin of a single electron naturally defines such a two-level quantum system. A quantum dot can be tuned to the single-electron regime, and an array of singly occupied quantum dots provides a multi-qubit register. This thesis describes the multielectron encoding of a spin qubit using a pair or a trio of quantum dots, and it analyzes the coherence properties and manipulation protocols of this system. The singlet-triplet qubit, coded using the singlet state and the spinless triplet state of a pair of singly occupied quantum dots, can be controlled all electrically when applying voltages to gates close to the quantum dot structure. Rapid, subnanosecond modifications of the double quantum dot's charge configuration have been realized successfully. A small magnetic field gradient across the double quantum dot enables universal qubit control. Two modifications of the normal singlet-triplet encoding are introduced. (1) The six-electron configuration of a double quantum dot encodes a singlet-triplet qubit in the same way as for the two-electron double quantum dot. Two electrons at each quantum dot are irrelevant for the qubit manipulations because they are paired in a singlet state; the remaining two electrons encode the qubit. The qubit's wave function is immune to charge noise at moderate out-of-plane magnetic fields. (2) A singlet-triplet qubit encoded using two quantum dots of different sizes has an orbital state degeneracy of the singlet state and the spinless triplet state at finite out-of-plane magnetic fields. Spin-orbit interactions lift this state degeneracy, while the magnitude of the state coupling is determined by the size difference of the QDs. This setup enables the manipulations of singlet-triplet qubits without the need for magnetic field gradients. Finally, two-qubit gates between singlet-triplet qubits are proposed that use mediated exchange interactions via one quantum state. These operations are well controlled and highly noise insensitive. Orbital interactions alone can control spin qubits coded in a three electron Hilbert space. For example, the exchange-only qubit is encoded using three singly occupied quantum dots. The exchange interactions of two quantum dot pairs need to be modified to manipulate this qubit. The noise sensitivity of the exchange-only qubit is discussed. Alternatively, a three-electron qubit at a double quantum dot can be operated when single electrons are transferred between the quantum dots. Fast, subnanosecond manipulations of the double quantum dot's charge configuration are required to realize single-qubit gates. A novel two-qubit pulse gate for the three-electron double quantum dot qubit is proposed.
A pair of self-assembled InGaAs quantum dots filled with two electrons can act as a singlet-triplet spin qubit that is robust against nuclear spin fluctuations as well as charge noise. This results in a T2* coherence time two orders of magnitude longer than that of a single electron, provided the qubit is operated at a particular "sweet spot" in gate voltage. However, at this fixed operating point the ground-state splitting can no longer be tuned into resonance with e.g. another qubit, limiting the options for coupling multiple qubits. Here, we propose using a four-electron coupled quantum dot to implement a singlet-triplet qubit that features a magnetically tunable level splitting. As a first step towards full experimental realization of this qubit design, we use optical spectroscopy to demonstrate the tunability of the four-electron singlet-triplet splitting in a moderate magnetic field.