High-temperature operation of a silicon qubit

This study alleviates the low operating temperature constraint of Si qubits. A qubit is a key element for quantum sensors, memories, and computers. Electron spin in Si is a promising qubit, as it allows both long coherence times and potential compatibility with current silicon technology. Si qubits have been implemented using gate-defined quantum dots or shallow impurities. However, operation of Si qubits has been restricted to milli-Kelvin temperatures, thus limiting the application of the quantum technology. In this study, we addressed a single deep impurity, having strong electron confinement of up to 0.3 eV, using single-electron tunnelling transport. We also achieved qubit operation at 5–10 K through a spin-blockade effect based on the tunnelling transport via two impurities. The deep impurity was implemented by tunnel field-effect transistors (TFETs) instead of conventional FETs. With further improvement in fabrication and controllability, this work presents the possibility of operating silicon spin qubits at elevated temperatures.