43 research outputs found
Full coherent control of nuclear spins in an optically pumped single quantum dot
Highly polarized nuclear spins within a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) induce
effective magnetic (Overhauser) fields of up to several Tesla acting on the
electron spin or up to a few hundred mT for the hole spin. Recently this has
been recognized as a resource for intrinsic control of QD-based spin quantum
bits. However, only static long-lived Overhauser fields could be used. Here we
demonstrate fast redirection on the microsecond time-scale of Overhauser fields
of the order of 0.5 T experienced by a single electron spin in an optically
pumped GaAs quantum dot. This has been achieved using full coherent control of
an ensemble of 10^3-10^4 optically polarized nuclear spins by sequences of
short radio-frequency (rf) pulses. These results open the way to a new class of
experiments using rf techniques to achieve highly-correlated nuclear spins in
quantum dots, such as adiabatic demagnetization in the rotating frame leading
to sub-micro K nuclear spin temperatures, rapid adiabatic passage, and spin
squeezing
Measurement of the spin temperature of optically cooled nuclei and GaAs hyperfine constants in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots
Deep cooling of electron and nuclear spins is equivalent to achieving polarization degrees close to 100% and is a key requirement in solid state quantum information technologies. While polarization of individual nuclear spins in diamond and SiC reaches 99% and beyond, it has been limited to 60-65% for the nuclei in quantum dots. Theoretical models have attributed this limit to formation of coherent "dark" nuclear spin states but experimental verification is lacking, especially due to the poor accuracy of polarization degree measurements. Here we measure the nuclear polarization in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots with high accuracy using a new approach enabled by manipulation of the nuclear spin states with radiofrequency pulses. Polarizations up to 80% are observed - the highest reported so far for optical cooling in quantum dots. This value is still not limited by nuclear coherence effects. Instead we find that optically cooled nuclei are well described within a classical spin temperature framework. Our findings unlock a route for further progress towards quantum dot electron spin qubits where deep cooling of the mesoscopic nuclear spin ensemble is used to achieve long qubit coherence. Moreover, GaAs hyperfine material constants are measured here experimentally for the first time
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Pulse control protocols for preserving coherence in dipolar-coupled nuclear spin baths.
Coherence of solid state spin qubits is limited by decoherence and random fluctuations in the spin bath environment. Here we develop spin bath control sequences which simultaneously suppress the fluctuations arising from intrabath interactions and inhomogeneity. Experiments on neutral self-assembled quantum dots yield up to a five-fold increase in coherence of a bare nuclear spin bath. Numerical simulations agree with experiments and reveal emergent thermodynamic behaviour where fluctuations are ultimately caused by irreversible conversion of coherence into many-body quantum entanglement. Simulations show that for homogeneous spin baths our sequences are efficient with non-ideal control pulses, while inhomogeneous bath coherence is inherently limited even under ideal-pulse control, especially for strongly correlated spin-9/2 baths. These results highlight the limitations of self-assembled quantum dots and advantages of strain-free dots, where our sequences can be used to control the fluctuations of a homogeneous nuclear spin bath and potentially improve electron spin qubit coherence
Isotope sensitive measurement of the hole-nuclear spin interaction in quantum dots
Decoherence caused by nuclear field fluctuations is a fundamental obstacle to
the realization of quantum information processing using single electron spins.
Alternative proposals have been made to use spin qubits based on valence band
holes having weaker hyperfine coupling. However, it was demonstrated recently
both theoretically and experimentally that the hole hyperfine interaction is
not negligible, although a consistent picture of the mechanism controlling the
magnitude of the hole-nuclear coupling is still lacking. Here we address this
problem by performing isotope selective measurement of the valence band
hyperfine coupling in InGaAs/GaAs, InP/GaInP and GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots.
Contrary to existing models we find that the hole hyperfine constant along the
growth direction of the structure (normalized by the electron hyperfine
constant) has opposite signs for different isotopes and ranges from -15% to
+15%. We attribute such changes in hole hyperfine constants to the competing
positive contributions of p-symmetry atomic orbitals and the negative
contributions of d-orbitals. Furthermore, we find that the d-symmetry
contribution leads to a new mechanism for hole-nuclear spin flips which may
play an important role in hole spin decoherence. In addition the measured
hyperfine constants enable a fundamentally new approach for verification of the
computed Bloch wavefunctions in the vicinity of nuclei in semiconductor
nanostructures
Full Stokes imaging polarimetry using dielectric metasurfaces
Polarization is a degree of freedom of light carrying important information
that is usually absent in intensity and spectral content. Imaging polarimetry
is the process of determining the polarization state of light, either partially
or fully, over an extended scene. It has found several applications in various
fields, from remote sensing to biology. Among different devices for imaging
polarimetry, division of focal plane polarization cameras (DoFP-PCs) are more
compact, less complicated, and less expensive. In general, DoFP-PCs are based
on an array of polarization filters in the focal plane. Here we demonstrate a
new principle and design for DoFP-PCs based on dielectric metasurfaces with the
ability to control polarization and phase. Instead of polarization filtering,
the method is based on splitting and focusing light in three different
polarization bases. Therefore, it enables full-Stokes characterization of the
state of polarization, and overcomes the 50% theoretical efficiency limit of
the polarization-filter-based DoFP-PCs.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure
Harnessing nuclear spin polarization fluctuations in a semiconductor nanowire
Soon after the first measurements of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in a
condensed matter system, Bloch predicted the presence of statistical
fluctuations proportional to in the polarization of an ensemble of
spins. First observed by Sleator et al., so-called "spin noise" has
recently emerged as a critical ingredient in nanometer-scale magnetic resonance
imaging (nanoMRI). This prominence is a direct result of MRI resolution
improving to better than 100 nm^3, a size-scale in which statistical spin
fluctuations begin to dominate the polarization dynamics. We demonstrate a
technique that creates spin order in nanometer-scale ensembles of nuclear spins
by harnessing these fluctuations to produce polarizations both larger and
narrower than the natural thermal distribution. We focus on ensembles
containing ~10^6 phosphorus and hydrogen spins associated with single InP and
GaP nanowires (NWs) and their hydrogen-containing adsorbate layers. We monitor,
control, and capture fluctuations in the ensemble's spin polarization in
real-time and store them for extended periods. This selective capture of large
polarization fluctuations may provide a route for enhancing the weak magnetic
signals produced by nanometer-scale volumes of nuclear spins. The scheme may
also prove useful for initializing the nuclear hyperfine field of electron spin
qubits in the solid-state.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figure
Electrical control over single hole spins in nanowire quantum dots
Single electron spins in semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are a versatile
platform for quantum information processing, however controlling decoherence
remains a considerable challenge. Recently, hole spins have emerged as a
promising alternative. Holes in III-V semiconductors have unique properties,
such as strong spin-orbit interaction and weak coupling to nuclear spins, and
therefore have potential for enhanced spin control and longer coherence times.
Weaker hyperfine interaction has already been reported in self-assembled
quantum dots using quantum optics techniques. However, challenging fabrication
has so far kept the promise of hole-spin-based electronic devices out of reach
in conventional III-V heterostructures. Here, we report gate-tuneable hole
quantum dots formed in InSb nanowires. Using these devices we demonstrate Pauli
spin blockade and electrical control of single hole spins. The devices are
fully tuneable between hole and electron QDs, enabling direct comparison
between the hyperfine interaction strengths, g-factors and spin blockade
anisotropies in the two regimes
High resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of highly-strained quantum dot nanostructures
Much new solid state technology for single-photon sources, detectors,
photovoltaics and quantum computation relies on the fabrication of strained
semiconductor nanostructures. Successful development of these devices depends
strongly on techniques allowing structural analysis on the nanometer scale.
However, commonly used microscopy methods are destructive, leading to the loss
of the important link between the obtained structural information and the
electronic and optical properties of the device. Alternative non-invasive
techniques such as optically detected nuclear magnetic resonance (ODNMR) so far
proved difficult in semiconductor nano-structures due to significant
strain-induced quadrupole broadening of the NMR spectra. Here, we develop new
high sensitivity techniques that move ODNMR to a new regime, allowing high
resolution spectroscopy of as few as 100000 quadrupole nuclear spins. By
applying these techniques to individual strained self-assembled quantum dots,
we measure strain distribution and chemical composition in the volume occupied
by the confined electron. Furthermore, strain-induced spectral broadening is
found to lead to suppression of nuclear spin magnetization fluctuations thus
extending spin coherence times. The new ODNMR methods have potential to be
applied for non-invasive investigations of a wide range of materials beyond
single nano-structures, as well as address the task of understanding and
control of nuclear spins on the nanoscale, one of the central problems in
quantum information processing
Optical control of one and two hole spins in interacting quantum dots
A single hole spin in a semiconductor quantum dot has emerged as a quantum
bit that is potentially superior to an electron spin. A key feature of holes is
that they have a greatly reduced hyperfine interaction with nuclear spins,
which is one of the biggest difficulties in working with an electron spin. It
is now essential to show that holes are viable for quantum information
processing by demonstrating fast quantum gates and scalability. To this end we
have developed InAs/GaAs quantum dots coupled through coherent tunneling and
charged with controlled numbers of holes. We report fast, single qubit gates
using a sequence of short laser pulses. We then take the important next step
toward scalability of quantum information by optically controlling two
interacting hole spins in separate dots.Comment: 5 figure