TY - JOUR T1 - A coherent spin–photon interface in silicon JF - Nature Y1 - 2018 A1 - X. Mi A1 - M. Benito A1 - S. Putz A1 - D. M. Zajac A1 - J. M. Taylor A1 - Guido Burkard A1 - J. R. Petta AB -

Electron spins in silicon quantum dots are attractive systems for quantum computing owing to their long coherence times and the promise of rapid scaling of the number of dots in a system using semiconductor fabrication techniques. Although nearest-neighbour exchange coupling of two spins has been demonstrated, the interaction of spins via microwave-frequency photons could enable long-distance spin–spin coupling and connections between arbitrary pairs of qubits (‘all-to-all’ connectivity) in a spin-based quantum processor. Realizing coherent spin–photon coupling is challenging because of the small magnetic-dipole moment of a single spin, which limits magnetic-dipole coupling rates to less than 1 kilohertz. Here we demonstrate strong coupling between a single spin in silicon and a single microwave-frequency photon, with spin–photon coupling rates of more than 10 megahertz. The mechanism that enables the coherent spin–photon interactions is based on spin–charge hybridization in the presence of a magnetic-field gradient. In addition to spin–photon coupling, we demonstrate coherent control and dispersive readout of a single spin. These results open up a direct path to entangling single spins using microwave-frequency photons.

UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/nature25769#author-information U5 - 10.1038/nature25769 ER -