Ultrafast coherent control of a hole spin qubit in a germanium quantum dot

Hole-spin qubits in germanium are promising candidates for rapid, all-electrical qubit control. Here the authors report Rabi oscillations with the record frequency of 540 MHz in a hole-based double quantum dot in a germanium hut wire, which is attributed to strong spin-orbit interaction of heavy holes. Operation speed and coherence time are two core measures for the viability of a qubit. Strong spin-orbit interaction (SOI) and relatively weak hyperfine interaction make holes in germanium (Ge) intriguing candidates for spin qubits with rapid, all-electrical coherent control. Here we report ultrafast single-spin manipulation in a hole-based double quantum dot in a germanium hut wire (GHW). Mediated by the strong SOI, a Rabi frequency exceeding 540 MHz is observed at a magnetic field of 100 mT, setting a record for ultrafast spin qubit control in semiconductor systems. We demonstrate that the strong SOI of heavy holes (HHs) in our GHW, characterized by a very short spin-orbit length of 1.5 nm, enables the rapid gate operations we accomplish. Our results demonstrate the potential of ultrafast coherent control of hole spin qubits to meet the requirement of DiVincenzo's criteria for a scalable quantum information processor.

Automated summary

Hole-spin qubits in germanium show promise for rapid, all-electrical qubit control. The authors demonstrate ultrafast single-spin manipulation in a hole-based double quantum dot in a germanium hut wire, with a record Rabi frequency exceeding 540 MHz. These results suggest the potential for ultrafast coherent control of hole spin qubits to meet the requirements for scalable quantum information processing.