Dr Nguyen Le

We propose a scheme for scalable and robust quantum computing on two-dimensional arrays of qubits with fixed longitudinal coupling. This opens the possibility for bypassing the device complexity associated with tunable couplers required in conventional quantum computing hardware. Our approach is based on driving a subarray of qubits such that the total multi-qubit Hamiltonian can be decomposed into a sum of commuting few-qubit blocks, and then efficient optimization of the unitary evolution within each block. Each driving pulse can implement a target gate on the driven qubits, and at the same time implement identity gates on the neighbouring undriven qubits, cancelling any unwanted evolution due to the constant qubit-qubit interaction. We show that it is possible to realise a universal set of quantum gates with high fidelity on the basis blocks, and by shifting the driving pattern one can realise an arbitrary quantum circuit on the array. Allowing for imperfect Hamiltonian characterisation, we use robust optimal control to obtain fidelities around 99.99% despite 1% uncertainty in the qubit-qubit and drive-qubit couplings, and a detuning uncertainty at 0.1% of the qubit-qubit coupling strength. This robust feature is crucial for scaling up as parameter uncertainty is significant in large devices.

Motivated by recent advances in fabricating artificial lattices in semiconductors and their promise for quantum simulation of topological materials, we study the one-dimensional dimerized Fermi–Hubbard model. We show how the topological phases at half-filling can be characterized by a reduced Zak phase defined based on the reduced density matrix of each spin subsystem. Signatures of bulk–boundary correspondence are observed in the triplon excitation of the bulk and the edge states of uncoupled spins at the boundaries. At quarter-filling, we show that owing to the presence of the Hubbard interaction the system can undergo a transition to the topological ground state of the non-interacting Su–Schrieffer–Heeger model with the application of a moderate-strength external magnetic field. We propose a robust experimental realization with a chain of dopant atoms in silicon or gate-defined quantum dots in GaAs where the transition can be probed by measuring the tunneling current through the many-body state of the chain.

Implicit summation is a technique for the conversion of sums over intermediate states in multiphoton absorption and the high-order susceptibility in hydrogen into simple integrals. Here, we derive the equivalent technique for hydrogenic impurities in multi-valley semiconductors. While the absorption has useful applications, it is primarily a loss process; conversely, the non-linear susceptibility is a crucial parameter for active photonic devices. For Si:P, we predict the hyperpolarizability ranges from χ(3)/n3D = 2.9 to 580 × 10−38 m5/V2 depending on the frequency, even while avoiding resonance. Using samples of a reasonable density, n3D, and thickness, L, to produce third-harmonic generation at 9 THz, a frequency that is difficult to produce with existing solid-state sources, we predict that χ(3) should exceed that of bulk InSb and χ(3)L should exceed that of graphene and resonantly enhanced quantum wells.

Arrays of dopants in silicon are promising platforms for the quantum simulation of the Fermi-Hubbard model. We show that the simplest model with only on-site interaction is insufficient to describe the physics of an array of phosphorous donors in silicon due to the strong intersite interaction in the system. We also study the resonant tunneling transport in the array at low temperature as a mean of probing the features of the Hubbard physics, such as the Hubbard bands and the Mott gap. Two mechanisms of localization which suppresses transport in the array are investigated: The first arises from the electron-ion core attraction and is significant at low filling; the second is due to the sharp oscillation in the tunnel coupling caused by the intervalley interference of the donor electron's wave function. This disorder in the tunnel coupling leads to a steep exponential decay of conductance with channel length in one-dimensional arrays, but its effect is less prominent in two-dimensional ones. Hence, it is possible to observe resonant tunneling transport in a relatively large array in two dimensions.

We examine the validity of the harmonic approximation, where the radio-frequency ion trap is treated as a harmonic trap, in the problem regarding the controlled collision of a trapped atom and a single trapped ion. This is equivalent to studying the effect of the micromotion since this motion must be neglected for the trapped ion to be considered as a harmonic oscillator. By applying the transformation of Cook and Shankland we find that the micromotion can be represented by two periodically oscillating operators. In order to investigate the effect of the micromotion on the dynamics of a trapped atom-ion system, we calculate (i) the coupling strengths of the micromotion operators by numerical integration and (ii) the quasienergies of the system by applying the Floquet formalism, a useful framework for studying periodic systems. It turns out that the micromotion is not negligible when the distance between the atom and the ion traps is shorter than a characteristic distance. Within this range the energy diagram of the system changes remarkably when the micromotion is taken into account, which leads to undesirable consequences for applications that are based on an adiabatic process of the trapped atom-ion system. We suggest a simple scheme for bypassing the micromotion effect in order to successfully implement a quantum controlled phase gate proposed previously and create an atom-ion macromolecule. The methods presented here are not restricted to trapped atom-ion systems and can be readily applied to studying the micromotion effect in any system involving a single trapped ion.

In this paper we propose a Rydberg entangling gate scheme which we demonstrate theoretically to have an order-of-magnitude improvement in fidelities and speed over existing cold atom protocols. It requires a large Rabi frequency compared to the interaction strength, which is difficult in cold atoms, but natural in donors in silicon, where it could help overcome the strenuous requirements on atomic precision donor placement and substantial gate tuning, which so far has hampered scaling. Furthermore, the gate operation would be ultrafast, on the order of picoseconds. We calculate multivalley van der Waals, induced electric dipole and total Rydberg interactions for several donor species using the finite-element method and show that they are important even for low-lying excited states. We show that Rydberg gate operation is possible within the lifetime of donor excited states with 99.9% fidelity for the creation of a Bell state in the presence of decoherence.

We demonstrate the possibility to functionalize silicon vacancies through single ion implantation of Ge atoms, forming stable GeV complexes, to achieve position control of the defects and electronic properties suitable for room temperature operations. The quantum transport-measurements, supported by theoretical calculations, evidences differences compared to conventional dopants, concerning the effect of disorder and temperature on the conductivity.

Third-order non-linearities are important because they allow control over light pulses in ubiquitous high-quality centro-symmetric materials like silicon and silica. Degenerate four-wave mixing provides a direct measure of the third-order non-linear sheet susceptibility χ(3)L (where L represents the material thickness) as well as technological possibilities such as optically gated detection and emission of photons. Using picosecond pulses from a free electron laser, we show that silicon doped with P or Bi has a value of χ(3)L in the THz domain that is higher than that reported for any other material in any wavelength band. The immediate implication of our results is the efficient generation of intense coherent THz light via upconversion (also a χ(3) process), and they open the door to exploitation of non-degenerate mixing and optical nonlinearities beyond the perturbative regime.

The ordinary Fano effect occurs in many-electron atoms and requires an autoionizing state. With such a state, photo-ionization may proceed via pathways that interfere, and the characteristic asymmetric resonance structures appear in the continuum. Here we demonstrate that Fano structure may also be induced without need of auto-ionization, by dressing the continuum with an ordinary bound state in any atom by a coupling laser. Using multi-photon processes gives complete, ultra-fast control over the interference. We show that a line-shape index q near unity (maximum asymmetry) may be produced in hydrogenic silicon donors with a relatively weak beam. Since the Fano lineshape has both constructive and destructive interference, the laser control opens the possibility of state-selective detection with enhancement on one side of resonance and invisibility on the other. We discuss a variety of atomic and molecular spectroscopies, and in the case of silicon donors we provide a calculation for a qubit readout application.

The absorption of multiple photons when there is no resonant intermediate state is a well-known nonlinear process in atomic vapours, dyes and semiconductors. The N-photon absorption (NPA) rate for donors in semiconductors scales proportionally from hydrogenic atoms in vacuum with the dielectric constant and inversely with the effective mass, factors that carry exponents 6N and 4N, respectively, suggesting that extremely large enhancements are possible. We observed 1PA, 2PA and 3PA in Si:P with a terahertz free-electron laser. The 2PA coefficient for 1s–2s at 4.25 THz was 400,000,000 GM (=4 × 10−42 cm4 s), many orders of magnitude larger than is available in other systems. Such high cross-sections allow us to enter a regime where the NPA cross-section exceeds that of 1PA—that is, when the intensity approaches the binding energy per Bohr radius squared divided by the uncertainty time (only 3.84 MW cm−2 in silicon)—and will enable new kinds of terahertz quantum control.

We investigate the Rabi oscillation of an atom placed inside a quantum cavity where each mirror is formed by a chain of atoms trapped near a one-dimensional waveguide. This proposal was studied previously with the use of Markov approximation, where the delay due to the finite travel time of light between the two cavity mirrors is neglected. We show that Rabi oscillation analogous to that obtained with high-finesse classical cavities is achieved only when this travel time is much larger than the time scale that characterizes the superradiant response of the mirrors. Therefore, the delay must be taken into account and the dynamics of the problem is inherently non-Markovian. Parameters of interest such as the Rabi frequency and the cavity loss rate due to photon leakage through the mirrors are obtained.

One of the missing elements for realising an integrated optical circuit is a rectifying device playing the role of an optical diode. A proposal based on a pair of two-level atoms strongly coupled to a one-dimensional waveguide showed a promising behavior based on a semiclassical study [Fratini et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 243601 (2014)]. Our study in the full quantum regime shows that, in such a device, rectification is a purely multiphoton effect. For an input field in a coherent state, rectification reaches up to 70% for the range of power in which one of the two atoms is excited, but not both.