An electron-spin qubit platform assembled atom-by-atom on a surface

Abstract

Creating a quantum-coherent architecture at the atomic scale has long been an ambition in quantum science and nanotechnology. This ultimate length scale requires the use of fundamental quantum properties of atoms, such as the spin of electrons, which naturally occurs in many solid-state environments and allows high-fidelity operations and readout by electromagnetic means. Despite decades of effort, however, it remains a formidable task to realize an atomic-scale quantum architecture where multiple electron spin qubits can be precisely assembled, controllably coupled, and coherently operated. Electron spin qubits created in dopants in semiconductors and color centers in insulators, for example, can be well controlled individually6-8 but are difficult to couple together into a circuit. On the other hand, multiple magnetic atoms and molecules on surfaces can be coupled to each other by building sophisticated atomic structures using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM), but coherent operation has so far been limited to a single qubit in the tunnel junction. Here we demonstrate an atomic-scale qubit platform by showing atom-by-atom construction, coherent operations, and readout of multiple electron-spin qubits on a surface. To enable the coherent control of remote qubits that are outside the tunnel junction, we complement each electron spin with a local magnetic field gradient from a nearby single-atom magnet. To enable readout of remote qubits, we employ a sensor qubit in the tunnel junction and implement pulsed double electron spin resonance. Using these methods, we demonstrate fast single-, two-, and three-qubit operations in an all-electrical fashion. Our work marks the creation of an Angstrom-scale qubit platform, where quantum functionalities using electron spin arrays, built atom-by-atom on a surface, are now within reach.