Microwave-Frequency Scanning Gate Microscopy of a Si/SiGe Double Quantum Dot.

Conventional transport methods provide quantitative information on spin, orbital, and valley states in quantum dots but lack spatial resolution. Scanning tunneling microscopy, on the other hand, provides exquisite spatial resolution at the expense of speed. Working to combine the spatial resolution and energy sensitivity of scanning probe microscopy with the speed of microwave measurements, we couple a metallic tip to a Si/SiGe double quantum dot (DQD) that is integrated with a charge detector. We first demonstrate that the dc-biased tip can be used to change the occupancy of the DQD. We then apply microwaves through the tip to drive photon-assisted tunneling (PAT). We infer the DQD level diagram from the frequency and detuning dependence of the tunneling resonances. These measurements allow the resolution of ∼65 µeV excited states, an energy consistent with valley splittings in Si/SiGe. This work demonstrates the feasibility of scanning gate experiments with Si/SiGe devices.

Isotopically enhanced triple-quantum-dot qubit.

Like modern microprocessors today, future processors of quantum information may be implemented using all-electrical control of silicon-based devices. A semiconductor spin qubit may be controlled without the use of magnetic fields by using three electrons in three tunnel-coupled quantum dots. Triple dots have previously been implemented in GaAs, but this material suffers from intrinsic nuclear magnetic noise. Reduction of this noise is possible by fabricating devices using isotopically purified silicon. We demonstrate universal coherent control of a triple-quantum-dot qubit implemented in an isotopically enhanced Si/SiGe heterostructure. Composite pulses are used to implement spin-echo type sequences, and differential charge sensing enables single-shot state readout. These experiments demonstrate sufficient control with sufficiently low noise to enable the long pulse sequences required for exchange-only two-qubit logic and randomized benchmarking.

High fidelity quantum gates via dynamical decoupling.

Realizing the theoretical promise of quantum computers will require overcoming decoherence. Here we demonstrate numerically that high fidelity quantum gates are possible within a framework of quantum dynamical decoupling. Orders of magnitude improvement in the fidelities of a universal set of quantum gates, relative to unprotected evolution, is achieved over a broad range of system-environment coupling strengths, using recursively constructed (concatenated) dynamical decoupling pulse sequences.

Arsenic flux dependence of island nucleation on InAs(001).

The initial stages of InAs(001) homoepitaxial growth are investigated using a combination of kinetic Monte Carlo simulations based on ab initio density functional theory and scanning tunneling microscopy. In the two dimensional island nucleation mode investigated, the island number density is found to decrease with increasing As. This behavior is explained by a suppression of the effective In-adatom density leading to a reduction in island nucleation. The relevant microscopic processes responsible for this reduction are identified.