Gang Cao

A graphene quantum dot with a single electron transistor as an integrated charge sensor

A quantum dot (QD) with an integrated charge sensor is becoming a common architecture for a spin or charge based solid state qubit. To implement such a structure in graphene, we have fabricated a twin-dot structure in which the larger dot serves as a single electron transistor (SET) to read out the charge state of the nearby gate controlled small QD. A high SET sensitivity of 10−3e/Hz allowed us to probe Coulomb charging as well as excited state spectra of the QD, even in the regime where the current through the QD is too small to be measured by conventional transport means.

Ultrafast universal quantum control of a quantum-dot charge qubit using Landau–Zener–Stückelberg interference

A basic requirement for quantum information processing is the ability to universally control the state of a single qubit on timescales much shorter than the coherence time. Although ultrafast optical control of a single spin has been achieved in quantum dots, scaling up such methods remains a challenge. Here we demonstrate complete control of the quantum-dot charge qubit on the picosecond scale, orders of magnitude faster than the previously measured electrically controlled charge- or spin-based qubits. We observe tunable qubit dynamics in a charge-stability diagram, in a time domain, and in a pulse amplitude space of the driven pulse. The observations are well described by Landau–Zener–Stückelberg interference. These results establish the feasibility of a full set of all-electrical single-qubit operations. Although our experiment is carried out in a solid-state architecture, the technique is independent of the physical encoding of the quantum information and has the potential for wider applications.

Strong and Tunable Spin−Orbit Coupling of One-Dimensional Holes in Ge/Si Core/Shell Nanowires

We investigate the low-temperature magneto-transport properties of individual Ge/Si core/shell nanowires. Negative magneto-conductance was observed, which is a signature of one-dimensional weak antilocalization of holes in the presence of strong spin--orbit coupling. The temperature and back gate dependences of phase coherence length, spin--orbit relaxation time, and background conductance were studied. Specifically, we show that the spin--orbit coupling strength can be modulated by more than five folds with an external electric field. These results suggest the Ge/Si nanowire system possesses strong and tunable spin--orbit interactions and may serve as a candidate for spintronics applications.

Quantum computation with graphene nanoribbon

We propose a scheme to implement quantum computation in graphene nanoribbon (GNR). It is shown that an electron or hole can be naturally localized in each zigzag region for a GNR with a sequence of Z-shaped structures, without using confined gates. A one-dimensional graphene quantum dot chain is formed in such a GNR, where an electron or hole spin can be used as a qubit. The coupling interaction between neighboring qubits is found to be of the always-on Heisenberg type. By exploiting the bang-bang control strategy and the decoherence-free subspaces encoding method, universal quantum gates are argued to be realizable with the present techniques.

Tunable Hybrid Qubit in a GaAs Double Quantum Dot.

We experimentally demonstrate a tunable hybrid qubit in a five-electron GaAs double quantum dot. The qubit is encoded in the (1,4) charge regime of the double dot and can be manipulated completely electrically. More importantly, dot anharmonicity leads to quasiparallel energy levels and a new anticrossing, which help preserve quantum coherence of the qubit and yield a useful working point. We have performed Larmor precession and Ramsey fringe experiments near the new working point and find that the qubit decoherence time is significantly improved over a charge qubit. This work shows a new way to encode a semiconductor qubit that is controllable and coherent.

Controllable tunnel coupling and molecular states in a graphene double quantum dot

We have measured a graphene double quantum dot device with multiple electrostatic gates that are used to enhance control to investigate it. At low temperatures, the transport measurements reveal honeycomb charge stability diagrams which can be tuned from weak to strong interdot tunnel coupling regimes. We precisely extract a large interdot tunnel coupling strength for this system allowing for the observation of tunnel-coupled molecular states extending over the whole double dot. This clean, highly controllable system serves as an essential building block for quantum devices in a nuclear-spin-free world.We have measured a graphene double quantum dot device with multiple electrostatic gates that are used to enhance control to investigate it. At low temperatures the transport measurements reveal honeycomb charge stability diagrams which can be tuned from weak to strong interdot tunnel coupling regimes. We precisely extract a large interdot tunnel coupling strength for this system allowing for the observation of tunnel-coupled molecular states extending over the whole double dot. This clean, highly controllable system serves as an essential building block for quantum devices in a nuclear-spin-free world. Electronic address: tutao@ustc.edu.cn Electronic address: gpguo@ustc.edu.cn

Gates controlled parallel-coupled double quantum dot on both single layer and bilayer graphene

We present quantum transport measurements of gates controlled parallel-coupled double quantum dot (PDQD) device on both bilayer and single layer graphenes. The interdot coupling strength can be effectively tuned from weak to strong by in-plane plunger gates. All the relevant energy scales and parameters can be extracted from the honeycomb charge stability diagrams. The present method of designing and fabricating graphene PDQD is demonstrated to be general and reliable and will enhance the realization of graphene nanodevice and desirable study of rich PDQD physical phenomena in graphene.

Conditional rotation of two strongly coupled semiconductor charge qubits

Universal multiple-qubit gates can be implemented by a set of universal single-qubit gates and any one kind of entangling two-qubit gate, such as a controlled-NOT gate. For semiconductor quantum dot qubits, two-qubit gate operations have so far only been demonstrated in individual electron spin-based quantum dot systems. Here we demonstrate the conditional rotation of two capacitively coupled charge qubits, each consisting of an electron confined in a GaAs/AlGaAs double quantum dot. Owing to the strong inter-qubit coupling strength, gate operations with a clock speed up to 6 GHz have been realized. A truth table measurement for controlled-NOT operation shows comparable fidelities to that of spin-based two-qubit gates, although phase coherence is not explicitly measured. Our results suggest that semiconductor charge qubits have a considerable potential for scalable quantum computing and may stimulate the use of long-range Coulomb interaction for coherent quantum control in other devices.

Temperature dependence of Coulomb oscillations in a few-layer two-dimensional WS2 quantum dot.

Standard semiconductor fabrication techniques are used to fabricate a quantum dot (QD) made of WS2, where Coulomb oscillations were found. The full-width-at-half-maximum of the Coulomb peaks increases linearly with temperature while the height of the peaks remains almost independent of temperature, which is consistent with standard semiconductor QD theory. Unlike graphene etched QDs, where Coulomb peaks belonging to the same QD can have different temperature dependences, these results indicate the absence of the disordered confining potential. This difference in the potential-forming mechanism between graphene etched QDs and WS2 QDs may be the reason for the larger potential fluctuation found in graphene QDs.

Photon-assisted-tunneling in a coupled double quantum dot under high microwave excitation powers

We perform photon-assisted-tunneling (PAT) experiments on a GaAs double quantum dot device under high microwave excitation power. Photon-assisted absorption of up to 14 photons is observed, when electron temperature (>1 K) is far above the lattice temperature. Signatures of Landau-Zener-Stuckelberg interference are found even in this non-equilibrium PAT spectrum. In addition, the charge state relaxation time T1∼8ns measured in this out of thermal equilibrium double quantum dot is in agreement with other previous reports.