A full-scale quantum computer requires physical qubits that can be controlled with high precision and accuracy. Unfortunately, few state-of-the-art qubits can perform all their elementary operations (preparation, measurement, single-qubit gates and two-qubit gates) with sufficient fidelity. In this thesis, we investigate alternative schemes for such operations in solid-state qubits. Specifically, two-qubit gates and measurements, which are often the noisiest of the four. \n \nWe first provide a preliminary introduction to quantum computing, and describe how quantum information can be encoded and manipulated in quantum systems. We include background information for the three different solid-state qubit architectures that feature in this thesis: spin qubits, superconducting qubits and Majorana qubits. \n \nFollowing this, we investigate a scheme for mediating a two-qubit interaction between spin qubits via a multielectron quantum dot. We study a multielectron dot in detail, and characterise its exchange interaction with a single spin. With the aid of a theoretical model, we show that the multielectron dot possesses an irregular triplet-preferring ground state, analogous to Hund's rule from atomic physics. Using these findings, we then demonstrate that the multielectron dot can be used to mediate a fast, long-range exchange interaction between two spin qubits. \n \nSubsequently, we examine two resonator-based measurement schemes for Majorana qubits. We first propose a readout technique based on a longitudinal qubit-resonator interaction. This leads to a measurement that is fast, high-fidelity and quantum non-demolition (QND). We then investigate a more conventional dispersive readout scheme. Not only does this yield a high quality measurement, but it can also offers a more protected readout mechanism in comparison to the dispersive readout of conventional superconducting qubits.
A full-scale quantum computer requires physical qubits that can be controlled with high precision and accuracy. Unfortunately, few state-of-the-art qubits can perform all their elementary operations (preparation, measurement, single-qubit gates and two-qubit gates) with sufficient fidelity. In this thesis, we investigate alternative schemes for such operations in solid-state qubits. Specifically, two-qubit gates and measurements, which are often the noisiest of the four. \n \nWe first provide a preliminary introduction to quantum computing, and describe how quantum information can be encoded and manipulated in quantum systems. We include background information for the three different solid-state qubit architectures that feature in this thesis: spin qubits, superconducting qubits and Majorana qubits. \n \nFollowing this, we investigate a scheme for mediating a two-qubit interaction between spin qubits via a multielectron quantum dot. We study a multielectron dot in detail, and characterise its exchange interaction with a single spin. With the aid of a theoretical model, we show that the multielectron dot possesses an irregular triplet-preferring ground state, analogous to Hund's rule from atomic physics. Using these findings, we then demonstrate that the multielectron dot can be used to mediate a fast, long-range exchange interaction between two spin qubits. \n \nSubsequently, we examine two resonator-based measurement schemes for Majorana qubits. We first propose a readout technique based on a longitudinal qubit-resonator interaction. This leads to a measurement that is fast, high-fidelity and quantum non-demolition (QND). We then investigate a more conventional dispersive readout scheme. Not only does this yield a high quality measurement, but it can also offers a more protected readout mechanism in comparison to the dispersive readout of conventional superconducting qubits.
Quantum entanglement and superposition, in addition to revealing interesting physics in their own right, can be harnessed as computational resources in a machine, enabling a range of algorithms for classically intractable problems. In recent years, experiments with small numbers of qubits have been demonstrated in a range of solid-state systems, but this is far from the numbers required to realise a useful quantum computer. In addition to the qubits themselves, quantum operation requires a host of classical electronics for control and readout, and current techniques used in few-qubit systems are not scalable. This thesis presents a series of techniques for control and readout of solid-state qubits, working towards scalability by integrating classical control with the quantum technology. Two techniques for reducing the footprint associated with readout of gallium arsenide spin qubits are demonstrated. Gate electrodes, used to define the quantum dot, are also shown to be sensitive state detectors. These gate-sensors, and the more conventional Quantum Point Contacts, are then multiplexed in the frequency domain, where three-channel qubit readout and ten-channel QPC readout are demonstrated. Two types of superconducting devices are also explored. The loss in superconducting coplanar waveguide resonators is measured, and a suppression of coupling to the parasitic electromagnetic environment is demonstrated. The thesis also details software for the simulation of Josephson-junction based circuits including features beyond what is available in commercial products. Finally, an architecture for managing control of a scalable machine is proposed where classical components are distributed throughout a cryostat and cryogenic switches route control pulses to the appropriate qubits. A simple implementation of the architecture is demonstrated that incorporates a double quantum dot, a gallium arsenide switch matrix, frequency multiplexed readout, and cryogenic classical computation.
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.
The potential of superconducting qubits as the medium for a scalable quantum computer has motivated the pursuit of improved interactions within this system. Two challenges for the field of superconducting qubits are measurement fidelity, to accurately determine the state of the qubit, and the efficient transfer of quantum states. In measurement, the current state-of-the-art method employs dispersive readout, by coupling the qubit to a cavity and reading the resulting shift in cavity frequency to infer the qubit's state; however, this is vulnerable to Purcell relaxation, as well as being modeled off a simplified two-level abstraction of the qubit. In state transfer, the existing proposal for moving quantum states is mostly untested against non-idealities that will likely be present in an experiment. In this dissertation, we examine three problems within these two areas.We first describe a new scheme for fast and high-fidelity dispersive measurement specifically designed to circumvent the Purcell Effect. To do this, the qubit-resonator interaction is turned on only when the resonator is decoupled from the environment; then, after the resonator state has shifted enough to infer the qubit state, the qubit-resonator interaction is turned off before the resonator and environment are recoupled. We also show that the effectiveness of this ``Catch-Disperse-Release'' procedure partly originates from quadrature squeezing of the resonator state induced by the Jaynes-Cummings nonlinearity.The Catch-Disperse-Release measurement scheme treats the qubit as a two-level system, which is a common simplification used in theoretical works. However, the most promising physical candidate for a superconducting qubit, the transmon, is a multi-level system. In the second work, we examine the effects of including the higher energy levels of the transmon. Specifically, we expand the eigenstate picture developed in the first work to encompass multiple qubit levels, and examine the resulting changes to the system. In particular, we analyze the population of the non-target eigenstates as a result of this expanded model, and provide an analytical form for these deviations from the simpler model in Catch-Disperse-Release (i.e., the dressed state approximation).Lastly, we assess the robustness of the existing quantum state transfer protocol, testing its performance under typical experimental deviations from the ideal case. We show that the procedure is resilient to almost all non-idealities, except frequency mismatch between the two cavities. We also demonstrate a method to compensate for one such error in frequency-matching.
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.
This thesis discusses various schemes and protocols for quantum information processing in mesoscopic systems with particular focus on using the spin of a particle as the bearer of information. The first chapter introduce various aspects of the field of quantum information used in this thesis such as qubits, entanglement, its quantification, quantum logic gates and entanglement swapping. In this chapter concepts such as AKLT states, decoherence and adiabatic elimination are introduced as they will be relevant in the thesis. In chapter 2 we introduce the Quantum Dots as the solid state system that will primarily be used as the hardware for the development of Quantum Information Processing (QIP). The different properties of quantum dots depending on their size are discussed. The exchange interaction between tunnel coupled quantum dots and the background of quantum computation in quantum dots is described. The principal sources of decoherence and the measurement techniques for spin qubits are presented. In chapter 3, carbon nanowires filled with N@C60 dimers are studied to analyse the entanglement between nuclear spins. The dimer is modelled as a two coupled nuclear spin- electron spin pair with a Heisenberg interaction. The entanglement have been studied depending on the temperature and the intensity of an external magnetic field. Witnessing the entanglement, and particularly bound entanglement are discussed. In chapter 4, the way to extract a singlet from a quantum dot is explored. The system that we model will be consisting of a triple dot and analyse the best way to get the singlet out, with each electron in a separate dot. The chief motivation is to create a singlet between separate dots in a time-scale much faster than that given by spinspin exchange interactions. In chapter 5, quantum logic gates in a triple dot system has been studied. Such gates have been widely studied in double and single quantum dots. Motivated by the advent of experimental set ups of triple dots, we have studied the natural quantum gates that came out of a triple dot system. There are still two spin quantum bits in the three dots and there is an empty intervening dot, which imparts the scheme some advantages, as well as a substantial difference from the class of schemes studied so far. In chapter 6, we model a large square dot. As we describe in chapter 2, the properties of the large dots make them behave with some interesting properties such as hosting Wigner molecules of electrons inside. We explore the application of these structures for quantum information processing. We show here how to get singlet/triplet measurement, entanglement swapping, and how to prepare a 1D AKLT state, using the square dot as a construction block of the system. Finally in chapter 7 conclusions and further work. Here we indicate the further work that could be done with the knowledge present in this thesis and motivated by future advances in the technology.
Spin qubits in semiconducting quantum dots are currently limited by slow readout processes, which are orders of magnitude slower than gate operations. In contrast, Andreev spin qubits benefit from fast measurement schemes enabled by the large resonator couplings of superconducting qubits but suffer from reduced coherence during qubit operations. Here, we propose fast and high-fidelity measurement protocols based on an electrically tunable coupling between quantum dot and Andreev spin qubits. In realistic devices, this coupling can be made sufficiently strong to enable high-fidelity readout well below microseconds, potentially enabling mid-circuit measurements. Crucially, the electrical tunability of our coupler permits to switch it off during idle periods, minimizing crosstalk and measurement back-action. Our approach is fully compatible with germanium-based devices and paves the way for scalable quantum computing architectures by leveraging the advantages of heterogeneous qubit implementations.