Quantum Dots

By
Timothy Paik
Marcus Dahlstrom
Michael Nip

Implementing Quantum
Computers
Many implementations for quantum
computing
Why solid state?
Scalability
Decoherence is less of a problem

What is a quantum dot?

In two words, a
semiconductor
nanocrystal.
Easily tunable by
changing the size and
composition of the
nanocrystal

Gallium Arsenide Quantum Dots

Gallium arsenide is a III-V semiconductor
Higher saturated electron velocity and higher
electron mobility than silicon
Gallium arsenide can emit and absorb light,
unlike silicon
No silicon laser is possible (or has been made yet)

Energy Band Levels

Electrons exist in discrete
energy levels in bulk
semiconductor material.
There exists a forbidden
range of energy levels in
any material called the
band gap.

Energy Band Levels

By absorbing some sort
of stimulus (in light or
heat form), an electron
can rise to the conduction
band from the valence
band.
This action leaves behind a
hole in the valence band.
The hole and the electron
together are called an
exciton.

Energy Band Levels

The average distance
between an electron and
a hole in a exciton is
called the Excited Bohr
Radius.
When the size of the
semiconductor falls below
the Bohr Radius, the
semiconductor is called a
quantum dot.

Tuning Quantum Dots

By changing size,
shape, and
composition,
quantum dots can
change their
absorptive and
emissive properties
dramatically

Manufacturing methods
Electron beam lithography
Molecular beam epitaxy

Electron Beam Lithography

Electrons are accelerated
out of an electron gun
and sent through
condenser lens optics
directly onto a wafer
= (12.3 / V)
Advantages:
generation of micron and
submicron resist geometries
greater depth of focus than
optical lithography
masks are unnecessary
Optical diffraction limit is not a
real concern

Electron Beam Lithography

Disadvantage(s):
The lithography is serial
(masks arent used; instead
the beam itself sweeps
across the wafer) =>
Comparatively low
throughput ~5 wafers per
hour at less than 1
micrometer resolution
The proximity effect:
Electrons scatter because
they are relatively low in
mass, reducing the
resolution.
Heavy ion lithography has
been proposed, but still is
in development stages

Molecular Beam Epitaxy

Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is the deposition
of one or more pure materials onto a single
crystal wafer one layer of atoms at a time in
order to form a perfect crystal
This is done by evaporating each of the elements to
combine, then condensing them on top of the wafer.
The word beam means that the evaporated atoms
only meet each other on the wafer

Spin Quantum Computing

Qubit information is stored in the spin state
of an electron in an artificial atom
Advantages:
Long decoherence time
Future Scalabilty
Artifical atoms are bigger than regular atoms
therefore easier to manipulate

Decoherence time ~ 100ns

Time before the quantum mechanical system starts
acting in a classical way with it's complex
environment
The state of the system has not yet collapsed due
to (unwanted) environmental effects
Spin - DT are 100 as long as for the Exciton
Need to SWITCH 104 during DT for reliable error
correction. This requirement is met.

Artificial Atom
Double Barrier
Heterostructure
Dot: In0.05Ga0.95As
Source &Drain : GaAs
2D Electron Gas
Confine with gate bias
D ~ Fermi wavelength
Discrete energy
levels

Adding Electrons, changing Vgate

2D-Harmonic
Oscillator
Shell structure as in
atoms
Magic Numbers: 2, 6,
12...
To add even
electron requires only
additional Coulomb
energy

Comparison with Hydrogen

Artificial Atom:

Hydrogen:

Energy levels ~
1meV

Energy levels ~ 1eV

Size ~ 10m

Only strong magnetic

fields can perturb
energy levels

Weak magnetic
fields can affect
energy levels

Size ~ 1

Factor 1000...

Tuning the Quantum Dot

Tune so we have one
valence electron
Initial state can be set
by applying
homogeneous
magnetic field |0>
Low temperature:
kT < E (state gap)
Now we have defined
our single qubit

Energy
Unoccupied state

Gate bias

Spin up - electron
position

Single Qubit manipulation

Unitary operations can
be made by applying
a local magnetic field:
HZE = -B = g
B SB

MF microscope
AF microscope
Sub grid of current
Magnetic dots
Etc...

(Magnetic force microscope tip)

Two Qubit Manipulation

Complete set of logic
requires a CNOT
Dots are placed so
close that they overlap
and interact:
Hspin = J(t)S1S2
Exchange coupling:
J(t,E,B) = Etriplet -Esinglet

(4:th order Harmonic Oscillator)

Ground State Splitting (J = Et Es)

2 coupled fermions must have an total antisymmetric wave function
Lowest coupled state is the singlet. It has a
symmetric spatial wave function and an anti
symmetric spin (Coulomb dominates):
|s> ~ (|12> + |21>) (|> - |>)
The triplet states are:
(|>)
|t> ~ (|12> - |21>) (|> + |>)
(|>)
<1|2> 0, |i> is spatial w.f. Coulomb dominates

Solving J(B(t)): Exchange

Coupling
Different solutions:
* Heitler-London
* Hund-Mulliken
* Hubbard
Important conclusion:
We can control
coupling from zero to
non-zero by changing
the magnetic field
We can perform two
qubit operations.

SWAP - gate
Assume J can be pulsed:
J(t) = {0, J0}
Formula 1
Formula 2
Now we can put many qubits on a line
and move them so that they all can
interact [not all at once though]

XOR ~ CNOT
Formula 3

Requirements:
* Spin rotations about the z-axis
* Squareroot of Uswap

Read out / Memory

Assume dot with an electron with some
information stored in spin-state
Connect two leads to dot
Apply a small bias (V) Current (i)?!
Energy
Unoccupied state

i?
Gate bias
Spin up - electron
position

Another Spin up electron enters

dot
Pauli principle forces electrons with spin
up to occupy the higher energy state
Negligible chance of tunneling

i=0

E
Higher energy level
(forbidden classically)

Gate bias
Spin up - electron
position

Spin down electron enters dot

Pauli principle allows the new electron to join the
same energy level as the original electron
Coulomb interaction perturbs the ground-state so
that it is raised above the right bias and current
will flow
E
Unoccupied state

i0
Gate bias
Spin up - electron
position

Read out / Memory

We have a way of measuring the spin state of an
electron in a quantum dot
The first electron that passes though measures
the spin-state in the dot and other electrons that
follow will all have the same spin properties
To be able to predict the original state of the dot,
the state has to be prepared again and then
measured using the same technique
The electron current can be specialized (we can
aim it's spin to make measurement efficient)

5 DiVincenzo QC Criteria
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

A scalable physical system with well-characterized

qubits.
The ability to initialize the state of the qubits to a
simple fiducial state.
Relatively long decoherence times compared to gateoperation times.
A universal set of quantum gates.
Qubit-specific measurement capability.

The Physical System: Excitons

Trapped in GaAs Quantum Dots

Exciton - a Coulomb correlated

electron-hole pair in a semiconductor,
a quasiparticle of a solid.
Often formed when photons excite
electrons from the valence band into
the conduction band.
Wavefunctions are hydrogen-like i.e.
an exotic atom though the binding
energy is much smaller and the extent
much larger than hydrogen because of
screening effects and the smaller
effective masses
Decay by radiating photons. Decay
time ~50ps-1ns
Hence can define the computational
basis as absence of an exciton |0>, or
existence of an exciton |1>

Initialization
Register relaxes to the |000> state within 50ps-1ns
due to radiative decay
Experimental systems are cooled to liquid helium temps ~4K to
prevent thermal excitations

Hence initialization with such a system is relatively easy

Other states can be initialized by applying gates to the
register

Relatively Long Decoherence

Times
Mechanisms:
Radiative Decay ~10ps-1ns
Can be lengthened by electron-hole separation
Background Electromagnetic fluctuations
Less of a problem than in other systems since the
exciton and III-V heterostructure is on average
electrically neutral.
Gate times are determined by energy band spacing, i.e.
creation and annihilation energies.
Gate operations for GaAs QDs are estimated at ~1ps
or less

A Universal set of Quantum Gates

Single Qubit Rotations through laser induced
Rabi Oscillations
CNOT operations through dipole interactions
and laser excitation

Single Qubit Gates: Rabi Flopping

Light-particle interaction is
characterized by the product of
the dipole moment and the
electric field:
E(t)= R(t)

Where R(t) is the Rabi frequency

and the pulse area is given by:
(t)=R(t)dt
and the state at time t is then
given by:
Cos(/2)|0>+Sin(/2)|1>

Stufler et al.
Large wafer containing InGaAs
QD was placed between a bias
voltage and exposed to
ultrafast laser pulses.
Cos(/2)|0>+Sin(/2)|1>
|1> => electric charge
=>Photocurrent (PC)
PC~Sin2(/2)
-pulse corresponds to a
population inversion

CNOT: Dipole Coupling

Nearest neighbor interactions alter the energy states:
Effective energy:

Ei = Ei + ji Eij nj

Hence, a coherent -pulse with energy Et(nc) results in a

state flop iff the control state is occupied.

Overcoming Short Interaction

Distances

Electrostatic Dipole fields fall off

as 1/R^3 hence the CNOT gate
can only be used for closely
neighboring QDs.
Solution: Use a sequence of
CNOTs on nearest neighbors to
swap the desired qubits until they
are contained in adjacent dots.
Optical Cavity coupling and fiber
optical interconnects have also
been proposed.

Read Out of Specified Qubit States

Optical readout:
Excitons decay spontaneously and the resulting radiation can be
measured.
Alternatively, an excitation/probe beam spot can be physically
positioned in the region of the desired QD.
Due to the statistical distribution of QD shape and size variations,
individual QDs can be more accurately identified and addressed
through frequency discrimination.
In either case, repeated measurements have to be made. A single shot
readout still needs to be developed.

5 DiVincenzo QC Criteria
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

A scalable physical system with well-characterized

qubits.
The ability to initialize the state of the qubits to a
simple fiducial state.
Relatively long decoherence times compared to gateoperation times.
A universal set of quantum gates.
Qubit-specific measurement capability.