Single-shot read-out of an individual electron spin in a quantum dot

J. M. Elzerman, R. Hanson, L. H. Willems van Beveren, B. Witkamp, L. M. K. Vandersypen () and L. P. Kouwenhoven
Additional contact information
J. M. Elzerman: Delft University of Technology
R. Hanson: Delft University of Technology
L. H. Willems van Beveren: Delft University of Technology
B. Witkamp: Delft University of Technology
L. M. K. Vandersypen: Delft University of Technology
L. P. Kouwenhoven: Delft University of Technology

Nature, 2004, vol. 430, issue 6998, 431-435

Abstract: Abstract Spin is a fundamental property of all elementary particles. Classically it can be viewed as a tiny magnetic moment, but a measurement of an electron spin along the direction of an external magnetic field can have only two outcomes1: parallel or anti-parallel to the field. This discreteness reflects the quantum mechanical nature of spin. Ensembles of many spins have found diverse applications ranging from magnetic resonance imaging2 to magneto-electronic devices3, while individual spins are considered as carriers for quantum information. Read-out of single spin states has been achieved using optical techniques4, and is within reach of magnetic resonance force microscopy5. However, electrical read-out of single spins6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13 has so far remained elusive. Here we demonstrate electrical single-shot measurement of the state of an individual electron spin in a semiconductor quantum dot14. We use spin-to-charge conversion of a single electron confined in the dot, and detect the single-electron charge using a quantum point contact; the spin measurement visibility is ∼65%. Furthermore, we observe very long single-spin energy relaxation times (up to ∼0.85 ms at a magnetic field of 8 T), which are encouraging for the use of electron spins as carriers of quantum information.

Date: 2004
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/nature02693 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:430:y:2004:i:6998:d:10.1038_nature02693

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/nature02693

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().