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Environment-assisted quantum control of a solid-state spin via coherent dark states

Nature Physics volume 10, pages 725–730 (2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

Understanding the interplay between a quantum system and its environment lies at the heart of quantum science and its applications. So far most efforts have focused on circumventing decoherence induced by the environment by either protecting the system from the associated noise1,2,3,4,5 or by manipulating the environment directly6,7,8,9. Recently, parallel efforts using the environment as a resource have emerged, which could enable dissipation-driven quantum computation and coupling of distant quantum bits10,11,12,13,14. Here, we realize the optical control of a semiconductor quantum-dot spin by relying on its interaction with an adiabatically evolving spin environment. The emergence of hyperfine-induced, quasi-static optical selection rules enables the optical generation of coherent spin dark states without an external magnetic field. We show that the phase and amplitude of the lasers implement multi-axis manipulation of the basis spanned by the dark and bright states, enabling control via projection into a spin-superposition state. Our approach can be extended, within the scope of quantum control and feedback15,16, to other systems interacting with an adiabatically evolving environment.

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Figure 1: Optical spin access via environment-dictated quantization axis.
Figure 2: Environment-assisted coherent population trapping.
Figure 3: Phase dependence of coherent dark states.
Figure 4: Quantum control of an electron spin via state projection.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge financial support by the University of Cambridge, the European Research Council ERC Consolidator Grant agreement no. 617985, EU-FP7 Marie Curie Initial Training Network S3NANO, the NSF-funded Physics Frontier Center at the Joint Quantum Institute, and ARO MURI award no. W911NF0910406. The authors also acknowledge J. C. Barnes, G. Solomon, M. J. Stanley, R. H. J. Stockill and E. Waks for fruitful discussions and technical assistance. J.M.T. thanks the Atomic, Mesoscopic and Optical Physics Group at the Cavendish Laboratory for their fine hospitality during his stays.

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Author notes

  1. Jack Hansom and Carsten H. H. Schulte: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK

    Jack Hansom, Carsten H. H. Schulte, Claire Le Gall, Clemens Matthiesen & Mete Atatüre

  2. EPSRC National Centre for III-V Technologies, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK

    Edmund Clarke

  3. CNRS-CRHEA, rue Bernard Grégory, 06560 Valbonne France,

    Maxime Hugues

  4. Joint Quantum Institute/National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA

    Jacob M. Taylor

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Contributions

J.H., C.H.H.S., J.M.T. and M.A. devised the experiments. J.H., C.H.H.S. and C.L.G. performed the experiments and analysed the data. J.H., C.H.H.S., C.L.G., C.M., J.M.T. and M.A. contributed to the discussion of the results and the manuscript preparation. J.M.T. performed the theoretical modelling shown in Fig. 2. J.H. performed theoretical modelling of the data shown in Fig. 1. E.C. and M.H. grew the sample. C.M. processed the devices.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jacob M. Taylor or Mete Atatüre.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Hansom, J., Schulte, C., Le Gall, C. et al. Environment-assisted quantum control of a solid-state spin via coherent dark states. Nature Phys 10, 725–730 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys3077

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