Coherent electrical control of a single high-spin nucleus in silicon

Journal Article · Wed Mar 11 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Nature (London)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2057-7· OSTI ID:1617306

Asaad, Serwan ^[1]; Mourik, Vincent ^[1]; Joecker, Benjamin ^[1]; Johnson, Mark A. I. ^[1]; Baczewski, Andrew D. ^[2]; Firgau, Hannes R. ^[1]; Mądzik, Mateusz T. ^[1]; Schmitt, Vivien ^[1]; Pla, Jarryd J. ^[1]; Hudson, Fay E. ^[1]; Itoh, Kohei M. ^[3]; McCallum, Jeffrey C. ^[4]; Dzurak, Andrew S. ^[1]; Laucht, Arne ^[1]; Morello, Andrea ^[1]

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1. Univ. of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW (Australia)
2. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
3. Keio Univ., Yokohama (Japan)
4. Univ. of Melbourne, VIC (Australia)

Nuclear spins are highly coherent quantum objects. In large ensembles, their control and detection via magnetic resonance is widely exploited, for example, in chemistry, medicine, materials science and mining. Nuclear spins also featured in early proposals for solid-state quantum computers and demonstrations of quantum search and factoring algorithms. Scaling up such concepts requires controlling individual nuclei, which can be detected when coupled to an electron. However, the need to address the nuclei via oscillating magnetic fields complicates their integration in multi-spin nanoscale devices, because the field cannot be localized or screened. Control via electric fields would resolve this problem, but previous methods relied on transducing electric signals into magnetic fields via the electron–nuclear hyperfine interaction, which severely affects nuclear coherence. In this work, we demonstrate the coherent quantum control of a single ¹²³Sb (spin-7/2) nucleus using localized electric fields produced within a silicon nanoelectronic device. The method exploits an idea proposed in 1961 but not previously realized experimentally with a single nucleus. Our results are quantitatively supported by a microscopic theoretical model that reveals how the purely electrical modulation of the nuclear electric quadrupole interaction results in coherent nuclear spin transitions that are uniquely addressable owing to lattice strain. The spin dephasing time, 0.1 seconds, is orders of magnitude longer than those obtained by methods that require a coupled electron spin to achieve electrical driving. These results show that high-spin quadrupolar nuclei could be deployed as chaotic models, strain sensors and hybrid spin-mechanical quantum systems using all-electrical controls. Integrating electrically controllable nuclei with quantum dots could pave the way to scalable, nuclear- and electron-spin-based quantum computers in silicon that operate without the need for oscillating magnetic fields.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: Australian Research Council Discovery Projects; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000; NA0003525
• OSTI ID: 1617306
• Report Number(s): SAND--2019-14370J; 682670
• Journal Information: Nature (London), Journal Name: Nature (London) Journal Issue: 7798 Vol. 579; ISSN 0028-0836
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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