Fast spin information transfer between distant quantum dots using individual electrons

Transporting ensembles of electrons over long distances without losing their spin polarization is an important benchmark for spintronic devices. It usually requires injecting and probing spin-polarized electrons in conduction channels using ferromagnetic contacts(1,2)or optical excitation(3-5). In parallel with this development, important efforts have been dedicated to achieving control of nanocircuits at the single-electron level. The detection and coherent manipulation of the spin of a single electron trapped in a quantum dot are now well established(6-8). Combined with the recently demonstrated control of the displacement of individual electrons between two distant quantum dots(9,10), these achievements allow the possibility of realizing spintronic protocols at the singleelectron level. Here, we demonstrate that spin information carried by one or two electrons can be transferred between two quantum dots separated by a distance of 4 mu m with a classical fidelity of 65%. We show that at present it is limited by spin flips occurring during the transfer procedure before and after electron displacement. Being able to encode and control information in the spin degree of freedom of a single electron while it is being transferred over distances of a few micrometres on nanosecond timescales will pave the way towards 'quantum spintronics' devices, which could be used to implement large- scale spin- based quantum information processing.