Consequences of Spin-Orbit Coupling at the Single Hole Level: Spin-Flip Tunneling and the Anisotropic g Factor.

Hole transport experiments were performed on a gated double quantum dot device defined in a p-GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure with a single hole occupancy in each dot. The charging diagram of the device was mapped out using charge detection confirming that the single hole limit is reached. In that limit, a detailed study of the two-hole spin system was performed using high bias magnetotransport spectroscopy. In contrast to electron systems, the hole spin was found not to be conserved during interdot resonant tunneling. This allows one to fully map out the two-hole energy spectrum as a function of the magnitude and the direction of the external magnetic field. The heavy-hole g factor was extracted and shown to be strongly anisotropic, with a value of 1.45 for a perpendicular field and close to zero for an in-plane field as required for hybridizing schemes between spin and photonic quantum platforms.

Landau-Zener-Stückelberg Interferometry in Quantum Dots with Fast Rise Times: Evidence for Coherent Phonon Driving.

Manipulating qubits via electrical pulses in a piezoelectric material such as GaAs can be expected to generate incidental acoustic phonons. In this Letter we determine theoretically and experimentally the consequences of these phonons for semiconductor spin qubits using Landau-Zener-Stückelberg interferometry. Theoretical calculations predict that phonons in the presence of the spin-orbit interaction produce both phonon-Rabi fringes and accelerated evolution at the singlet-triplet anticrossing. Observed features confirm the influence of these mechanisms. Additionally, evidence is found that the pulsed gates themselves act as phonon cavities increasing the influence of phonons under specific resonant conditions.

Long-range spin transfer in triple quantum dots.

Tunneling in a quantum coherent structure is not restricted to only nearest neighbors. Hopping between distant sites is possible via the virtual occupation of otherwise avoided intermediate states. Here we report the observation of long-range transitions in the transport through three quantum dots coupled in series. A single electron is delocalized between the left and right quantum dots, while the center one remains always empty. Superpositions are formed, and both charge and spin are exchanged between the outermost dots. The delocalized electron acts as a quantum bus transferring the spin state from one end to the other. Spin selection is enabled by spin correlations. The process is detected via the observation of narrow resonances which are insensitive to Pauli spin blockade.

Bipolar spin blockade and coherent state superpositions in a triple quantum dot.

Spin qubits based on interacting spins in double quantum dots have been demonstrated successfully. Readout of the qubit state involves a conversion of spin to charge information, which is universally achieved by taking advantage of a spin blockade phenomenon resulting from Pauli's exclusion principle. The archetypal spin blockade transport signature in double quantum dots takes the form of a rectified current. At present, more complex spin qubit circuits including triple quantum dots are being developed. Here we show, both experimentally and theoretically, that in a linear triple quantum dot circuit the spin blockade becomes bipolar with current strongly suppressed in both bias directions and also that a new quantum coherent mechanism becomes relevant. In this mechanism, charge is transferred non-intuitively via coherent states from one end of the linear triple dot circuit to the other, without involving the centre site. Our results have implications for future complex nanospintronic circuits.

Quantum interference between three two-spin states in a double quantum dot.

Qubits based on the singlet (S) and the triplet (T(0), T(+)) states in double quantum dots have been demonstrated in separate experiments. It has been recently proposed theoretically that under certain conditions a quantum interference could occur from the interplay between these two qubit species. Here we report experiments and modeling that confirm these theoretical predictions and identify the conditions under which this interference occurs. Density matrix calculations show that the interference pattern manifests primarily via the occupation of the common singlet state. The S/T(0) qubit is found to have a much longer coherence time as compared to the S/T(+) qubit.

Spin-selective Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in a lateral triple quantum dot.

We present a theory of spin-selective Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in a lateral triple quantum dot. We show that to understand the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect in an interacting electron system within a triple quantum dot molecule (TQD) where the dots lie in a ring configuration requires one to not only consider electron charge but also spin. Using a Hubbard model supported by microscopic calculations we show that, by localizing a single electron spin in one of the dots, the current through the TQD molecule depends not only on the flux but also on the relative orientation of the spin of the incoming and localized electrons. AB oscillations are predicted only for the spin singlet electron complex resulting in a magnetic field tunable "spin valve."

Telegraph noise in coupled quantum dot circuits induced by a quantum point contact.

Charge detection utilizing a highly biased quantum point contact has become the most effective probe for studying few electron quantum dot circuits. Measurements on double and triple quantum dot circuits is performed to clarify a back action role of charge sensing on the confined electrons. The quantum point contact triggers inelastic transitions, which occur quite generally. Under specific device and measurement conditions these transitions manifest themselves as bounded regimes of telegraph noise within a stability diagram. A nonequilibrium transition from artificial atomic to molecular behavior is identified. Consequences for quantum information applications are discussed.

Stability diagram of a few-electron triple dot.

Individual and coupled quantum dots containing one or two electrons have been realized and are regarded as components for future quantum information circuits. In this Letter we map out experimentally the stability diagram of the few-electron triple dot system, the electron configuration map as a function of the external tuning parameters, and reveal experimentally for the first time the existence of quadruple points, a signature of the three dots being in resonance. In the vicinity of these quadruple points we observe a duplication of charge transfer transitions related to charge and spin reconfigurations triggered by changes in the total electron occupation number. The experimental results are largely reproduced by equivalent circuit analysis and Hubbard models. Our results are relevant for future quantum mechanical engineering applications within both quantum information and quantum cellular automata architectures.

Spin-blockade spectroscopy of a two-level artificial molecule.

Coulomb- and spin-blockade spectroscopy investigations have been performed on an electrostatically defined "artificial molecule" connected to spin polarized leads. The molecule is first effectively reduced to a two-level system by placing both constituent atoms at a specific location of the level spectrum. The spin sensitivity of the conductance enables us to identify the electronic spin states of the two-level molecule. We find in addition that the magnetic field induces variations in the tunnel coupling between the two atoms. The lateral nature of the device is evoked to explain this behavior.

Collapse of the spin-singlet phase in quantum dots.

We present experimental and theoretical results on a new regime in quantum dots in which the filling factor two-singlet state is replaced by new spin polarized phases. We make use of spin blockade spectroscopy to identify the transition to this new regime as a function of the number of electrons. The key experimental observation is a reversal of the phase in the systematic oscillation of the amplitude of Coulomb blockade peaks as the number of electrons is increased above a critical number. It is found theoretically that correlations are crucial to the existence of the new phases.