Science Daily December 7, 2018
Coupling spin qubits to electric fields is attractive for simplifying qubit manipulation and couple qubits over long distances. Electron spins in silicon offer long lifetimes, but their weak spin-orbit interaction makes electrical coupling challenging. An international team of scientists (Australia, France) has shown that boron and phosphorus atoms in silicon couple efficiently to electric fields, enabling rapid qubit manipulation and qubit coupling over large distances. Those bound to phosphorus donor qubits revealed a previously unknown coupling of the electron spin to the electric fields typically found in device architectures created by control electrodes. By careful alignment of the external magnetic field with the electric fields in an atomically engineered device, they found a means to extend these spin lifetimes to minutes. The electrical interaction also allows coupling to other quantum systems, opening the prospects of hybrid quantum systems…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Artist’s impression of spin-orbit coupling of atom qubits. Credit: CQC2T. Illustration: Tony Melov