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

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 demon...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 2020-03, Vol.579 (7798), p.205-209
Main Authors: Asaad, Serwan, Mourik, Vincent, Joecker, Benjamin, Johnson, Mark A I, Baczewski, Andrew D, Firgau, Hannes R, Mądzik, Mateusz T, Schmitt, Vivien, Pla, Jarryd J, Hudson, Fay E, Itoh, Kohei M, McCallum, Jeffrey C, Dzurak, Andrew S, Laucht, Arne, Morello, Andrea
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Analysis
Coherence
Computer simulation
Computers
Control
Electric fields
Electric properties
Electromagnetic Phenomena
Electron spin
Electrons
Electrostatic discharges
ENGINEERING
Hybrid systems
Lattice strain
Magnetic fields
Magnetic resonance
Materials science
Models, Theoretical
Nanoelectronics
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology devices
NMR
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Nuclear spin
Nuclei
Object recognition
Quadrupole interaction
Quadrupoles
Quantum computers
Quantum computing
Quantum Dots - chemistry
quantum information
qubits
Silicon
Silicon - chemistry
Spin transitions
Stability
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Summary: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. Here we demonstrate the coherent quantum control of a single Sb (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.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/s41586-020-2057-7