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Electrical control of single hole spins in nanowire quantum dots

Nature Nanotechnology volume 8, pages 170–174 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

The development of viable quantum computation devices will require the ability to preserve the coherence of quantum bits (qubits)1. Single electron spins in semiconductor quantum dots are a versatile platform for quantum information processing, but controlling decoherence remains a considerable challenge1,2,3,4. Hole spins in III–V semiconductors have unique properties, such as a strong spin–orbit interaction and weak coupling to nuclear spins, and therefore, have the potential for enhanced spin control5,6,7,8 and longer coherence times8,9,10,11,12. A weaker hyperfine interaction has previously been reported in self-assembled quantum dots using quantum optics techniques10,11,12, but the development of hole–spin-based electronic devices in conventional III-V heterostructures has been limited by fabrication challenges13. Here, we show that gate-tunable hole quantum dots can be formed in InSb nanowires and used to demonstrate Pauli spin blockade and electrical control of single hole spins. The devices are fully tunable between hole and electron quantum dots, which allows the hyperfine interaction strengths, g-factors and spin blockade anisotropies to be compared directly in the two regimes.

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Figure 1: Ambipolar transport in an InSb nanowire.
Figure 2: Gate tuning between electron transport and hole quantum dot.
Figure 3: Gate-defined few-hole double quantum dot.
Figure 4: Electric-dipole spin resonance and hole g-factor anisotropy.
Figure 5: Hole spin blockade for strong interdot coupling.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank L.M.K. Vandersypen and G. Bauer for helpful discussions and comments. This work has been supported by the Dutch Organization for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM), the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and the European Research Council (ERC). V.S.P. acknowledges support from NWO through a VENI grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Delft, 2600 GA, The Netherlands

    V. S. Pribiag, S. Nadj-Perge, S. M. Frolov, J. W. G. van den Berg, I. van Weperen, E. P. A. M. Bakkers & L. P. Kouwenhoven

  2. Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, 5600 MB, The Netherlands

    S. R. Plissard & E. P. A. M. Bakkers

Authors
  1. V. S. Pribiag
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  4. J. W. G. van den Berg
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Contributions

V.S.P., S.N., S.M.F., J.W.G.B. and I.W. performed the measurements. V.S.P., S.N., S.M.F. and J.W.G.B. analysed the data. V.S.P., S.N. and J.W.G.B. fabricated the devices. S.R.P. and E.P.A.M.B. provided the nanowires. L.P.K. supervised the project. All authors contributed to writing the manuscript.

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Correspondence to V. S. Pribiag or L. P. Kouwenhoven.

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Pribiag, V., Nadj-Perge, S., Frolov, S. et al. Electrical control of single hole spins in nanowire quantum dots. Nature Nanotech 8, 170–174 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2013.5

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