Controlling electron spins in silicon/ Manipuler le spin des électrons dans le silicium

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From the most powerful computer on the planet to the iPad, today’s technologies could not exist without the transistor and the laser, two inventions having their origin in quantum mechanics. Powered by these two inventions, information and communication technologies have grown to one of the most important industries in the country, with a 67 billion dollars contribution to the gross domestic product. Around the world, scientists are developing a new generation of computers and communication systems that actively use quantum mechanical effects and that will revolutionize the way we treat and distribute information. This « 2.0 » version of information and communication technologies is based on the quantum bit, or « qubit ». Based on recent breakthroughs in controlling single spins in the solid-state, my research program aims at developing robust and scalable qubits for the practical realization of a quantum information processor. Electron spins can now be manipulated with extremely high precision, reaching fidelity greater than 99.9% for a single electron spin bounded to a phosphorous donor in isotopically purified silicon, one of the highest fidelity reported among all known solid-state qubits. However, donors are more difficult to scale in comparison to quantum dots, while similar fidelities are expected with purified silicon dots. My group will use spin qubits confined in silicon quantum dots as a platform for robust and scalable quantum information processing. The scalability of quantum dots arises from both 50 years of industrial advancement in micro-fabrication, and the fact that spins can be coupled together and decoupled from each other efficiently in quantum dots. Using my expertise on spin manipulation with micro-magnets, we will accomplish the fastest single spin rotations in silicon and the most advanced two-qubit gates for spins. In the long term, I plan to fabricate a silicon quantum processor prototype with the tools that will be developed during this NSERC Discovery grant. Since silicon qubits are compatible with the infrastructure set up by the microelectronic industry to mass-produce computer chips, the commercialization potential of my research is immediate. Before stepping up to commercial applications, more fundamental studies like this program are needed. Only then will we be able to control thousands of spins assembled in one chip to solve the next challenges of quantum information processing. The accomplishments made in my laboratory will contribute significantly to the effort actually deployed into quantum information science in Canada and around the world. With my NSERC-supported research I will continue to train physicists and engineers in a state-of-the-art and stimulating research environment. These young researchers will play an active role in the development of a field that will have transformative effects on our society.