Preparing large-scale multi-partite entangled states of quantum bits in each physical form such as photons, atoms or electrons for each specific application area is a fundamental issue in quantum science and technologies. Here, we propose a setup based on Pauli spin blockade (PSB) for the preparation of large-scale W states of electrons in a double quantum dot (DQD). Within the proposed scheme, two W states of n and m electrons respectively can be fused by allowing each W state to transfer a single electron to each quantum dot. The presence or absence of PSB then determines whether the two states have fused or not, leading to the creation of a W state of n + m - 2 electrons in the successful case. Contrary to previous works based on quantum dots or nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond, our proposal does not require any photon assistance. Therefore the 'complex' integration and tuning of an optical cavity is not a necessary prerequisite. We also show how to improve the success rate in our setup. Because requirements are based on currently available technology and well-known sensing techniques, our scheme can directly contribute to the advances in quantum technologies and, in particular in solid state systems.
Preparing large-scale multi-partite entangled states of quantum bits in each physical form such as photons, atoms or electrons for each specific application area is a fundamental issue in quantum science and technologies. Here, we propose a setup based on Pauli spin blockade (PSB) for the preparation of large-scale W states of electrons in a double quantum dot (DQD). Within the proposed scheme, two W states of n and m electrons respectively can be fused by allowing each W state to transfer a single electron to each quantum dot. The presence or absence of PSB then determines whether the two states have fused or not, leading to the creation of a W state of n + m - 2 electrons in the successful case. Contrary to previous works based on quantum dots or nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond, our proposal does not require any photon assistance. Therefore the 'complex' integration and tuning of an optical cavity is not a necessary prerequisite. We also show how to improve the success rate in our setup. Because requirements are based on currently available technology and well-known sensing techniques, our scheme can directly contribute to the advances in quantum technologies and, in particular in solid state systems.
Spin systems such as silicon and nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond, quantum dots, and quantum dot molecules coupled to optical cavities appear to be key elements for creating quantum networks by not only constituting the nodes of the network but also assisting the creation of photonic networks. Here we study the deterministic preparation of arbitrary-size W states with spin systems. We present an efficient operation on three qubits, with two being the logical qubits and one being the ancillary qubit, where no interaction between the logical qubits is required. The proposed operation can create a W-type Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) pair from two separable qubits and expand that EPR pair or an arbitrary-size W state by one, creating a W-like state. Taking this operation as the fundamental building block, we show how to create a large-scale W state out of separable qubits or double the size of a W state. Based on this operation and focusing on nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond as an exemplary spin system, we propose a setup for preparing W states of circularly polarized photons, assisted by a single-spin qubit, where no photon-photon interactions are required. Next, we propose a setup for preparing W states of spin qubits of spatially separated systems, assisted by a single photon. We also analyze the effects of possible imperfections in implementing the gates on the fidelity of the generated W states. In our setups, neither postmeasurement nor postprocessing the states of spin or photonic qubit is required. Our setups can be implemented with current technology, and we anticipate that they will contribute to quantum science and technologies.
We propose and demonstrate complete spin state readout of a two-electron system in a double quantum dot probed by an electrometer. The protocol is based on repetitive single-shot measurements using Pauli spin blockade and our ability to tune on fast timescales the detuning and the interdot tunnel coupling between the GHz and sub-Hz regime. A sequence of three distinct manipulations and measurements allows establishing if the spins are in S, T_{0}, T_{+}, or T_{−} state. This work points at a procedure to reduce the overhead for spin readout, an important challenge for scaling up spin-qubit platforms.
Physics
There are several different approaches to quantum information processing currently under development, including (but not exhaustively) superconducting circuits, nitrogen vacancy defects in diamond, and semiconductor quantum dots. Each one relies on the basic building block of a qubit, a two-level quantum system, on which the information can be stored and manipulated. In the semiconductor quantum dot approach, manipulating the spin of a single electron is promising because it has all the requirements: being fast, controllable and stable. A downside, however, has been the issue of scalability. Any useful quantum processor will require a system of many qubits, but getting quantum dots to talk to each other has presented a challenge. Addressing a preliminary point of this issue, Schaibley et al. show that the light (a single photon) emitted from the excited state of a charged quantum dot is entangled with the spin of the electron on the dot. The authors argue that by making the single photons emitted from other distinct quantum dots interact, it may be possible to then entangle the spins on these quantum dots and thus realize a scalable architecture.
Phys. Rev. Lett. 110 , 167401 (2013).
Spin qubits in semiconductor quantum circuits have been identified as a compelling platform for large scale quantum computing. Today an ongoing effort of the community is aiming at the scaling of such systems by filling larger and larger arrays. In this context the development of tuning and readout protocols allowing to reduce the inherent complexity of such systems seems to be a necessity.In the first part of my thesis, I demonstrate array partitioning of a linear triple quantum dot defined in a AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure via a highly tunable interdot tunnel coupling. This allows us to operate independently smaller sections of the array which reduces the number of available charge states for the system and therefore reduces its complexity during the tuning.The second part of my thesis is focused on reducing the hardware overhead necessary to extract information during the readout of the spin qubits. In semiconductor spin qubits, high fidelity read-out is obtained through Pauli spin blockade in a double quantum dot with two electrons probed by a local electrometer. One electron is the qubit, the second is the ancilla and only one bit of information is extracted. To obtain the full two-bit information of the two-electron spin states, more quantum hardware is necessary (either dots, electrometers, or reservoirs).Based on an original protocol, I develop in this thesis a complete single-shot read-out procedure for two-electron spin states in a double quantum dot discriminating between S, T0, T+ and T-. It uses successively three distinct spin-to-charge conversion protocols interleaved with charge configuration measurements. The strategy is based on four novel experimental achievements:First, the control from the GHz to sub-Hz regime of the interdot tunnel coupling at the nanosecond timescale.Second, the separation of the spin-to-charge conversion and the charge read-out in the voltage gate space.Third, the suppression of spin relaxation process during the read-out procedure.Finally, the repetition of three distinct spin-to-charge conversion protocols.The read-out procedure is tested on various initialized populations and implemented in more complex spin manipulation sequences to assess its validity.
Spin is a quantum property of electrons. For spin-based quantum information technology, preparation and read-out of the electron spin state should be spin coherent. We demonstrate that the polarization coher ence of light can be transferred to the spin coherence of electrons in a semiconductor quantum nanostructure [1], and the prepared coherence of the electron spin can also be read out with light by the developed tomographic Kerr rotation method [2]. We also demonstrate that a single photon is efficiently converted (~27%) into a single electron trapped in a gate-defined quantum dot, where the g-factor of electrons is tuned to zero, and the charge state is detected with an adjacent quantum point contact without destructing the spin state [3]. We further demonstrate that the spin coherence of a single electron trapped in one of double quantum dots is electrically manipulated with a microwave applied to the gate and read out via the Pauli spin blockade phenomenon [4]. These demonstrations were carried out in a condition where the up/down spin basis states of electrons remain ed degenerated under an in-plain magnetic field. As this condition ensures the energy conservation between photons and electrons, the entire Poincare sphere representing polarization states of photons can be mapped onto the Bloch sphere representing spin polar ization states of electrons. We theoretically showed that relative spin coherence of two electrons can be also measured with the help of spin-flip tunneling of electrons between the dots [5]. Full Bell state measurement is also possible by the single -spin manipulation and Pauli spin blockade [6]. All of these functions are needed to build all semiconductor quantum repeaters and distributed quantum computers.
Spins in a solid-state environment and photons are both promising physical systems regarding the implementation of qubits. Whereas electron and nuclear spins act very well as localized qubits that are able to store and process quantum information, photons are the primary candidates to transmit quantum information between distant locations. Entanglement, on the other hand, is a fundamental resource of quantum information processing enabling, e.g., secure communication over long distances. The generation and manipulation of entanglement are thus fundamental steps in order to leverage the benefits of quantum information processing. The aim of this dissertation is therefore to theoretically investigate entangling mechanisms for various physical systems. A functioning source of entangled photons is a basic hardware component required for quantum communication. To this end, we study a system composed of semiconductor quantum wells inside a microcavity, known as intersubband cavity system, in which the interaction of the electronic system with the cavity field can reach the ultrastrong coupling regime. The ground state contains a finite number of photons, and we find that these photons are entangled. The amount of entanglement is quantified analytically, and maximal entanglement is found to be possible. The technique of entanglement purification allows to restore maximal entanglement that has decreased, e.g. due to decoherence. Purification requires quantum memory, a role for which electron spins in electrically-defined quantum dots are well suited. However, existing purification protocols are rather unpractical in this case. Here, the concept of asymmetric bilateral two-qubit operations is introduced to purify spin entanglement by harnessing the typical interaction between electrons in neighboring quantum dots. As it turns out, this concept can be applied to a variety of qubit systems, e.g. superconducting qubits or spins in nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond. The latter example offers several possibilities to implement a qubit, of which the intrinsic nitro- gen nuclear spin has proven its viability in many ways. We develop a scheme to deterministically couple two nuclear spin qubits, in which the interaction is mediated by an optical cavity. It is found that an entangling two-qubit gate, also required for universal quantum computation, can be implemented with operation times below 100 nanoseconds, i.e. several orders of magnitude faster compared to the decoherence time of the nuclear spin. The verification of entanglement, which is required e.g. in entanglement-based quantum com- munication to detect an eavesdropping attack, typically involves a measurement of qubit states. Using the input-output formalism, we derive a fully quantum-mechanical model of an optical readout scheme to measure the spin state of an electron in a self-assembled quantum dot.