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Ballast Charges for Semiconductor Spin Qubits

Yujun Choi1,2,*, John M. Nichol3, and Edwin Barnes1,2

  • 1Department of Physics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA
  • 2Virginia Tech Center for Quantum Information Science and Engineering, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA
  • 3Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, USA

  • *Contact author: yujunchoi@vt.edu
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 237002 – Published 11 June, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/81qt-48bl

Abstract

Semiconductor spin qubits are an attractive platform for quantum computing, but their performance is degraded primarily by fluctuating electromagnetic environments. We introduce the concept of ballast charges, which are induced charges on the surface of an additional screening layer situated below the qubits. The counteractive behavior of these charges can significantly reduce the power spectral density associated with fluctuations from two-level systems that contribute to charge noise. Our simulations show that the dephasing time of a single-spin qubit in a Si/SiGe device increases by a factor of 4 to 6 on average when using this method. We also discuss the physical implementation and potential challenges of this approach.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 237002– Published 11 June, 2025
  • Received 2 September 2024
  • Revised 3 April 2025
  • Accepted 13 May 2025
Article part of CHORUS
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