Coherent manipulation of charge qubits in double quantum dots

Abstract

The coherent time evolution of electrons in double quantum dots (DQDs) induced by fast bias-voltage switches is studied theoretically. As it was shown experimentally, such driven DQDs are potential devices for controlled manipulation of charge qubits. By numerically solving a quantum master equation, we obtain the energy-and time-resolved electron transfer through the device that resembles the measured data. The observed oscillations are found to depend on the level offset of the two dots during the manipulation and, most surprisingly, also the initialization stage. By means of an analytical expression, obtained from a large-bias model, we can understand the prominent features of these oscillations seen in both the experimental data and the numerical results. These findings strengthen the common interpretation in terms of a coherent transfer of electrons between the dots. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.