Quantum control of donor electrons at the Si-SiO2 interface

Abstract

Prospects for the quantum control of electrons in the silicon quantum computer architecture are considered theoretically. In particular, we investigate the feasibility of shuttling donor-bound electrons between the impurity in the bulk and the Si-SiO2 interface by tuning an external electric field. We calculate the shuttling time to range from sub-picoseconds to nanoseconds depending on the distance (~ 10-50 nm) of the donor from the interface. Our results establish that quantum control in such nanostructure architectures could, in principle, be achieved.

Version accepted for publication in PRL