Quantum computers are expected to outperform conventional computers for a range of important problems, from molecular simulation to search algorithms, once they can be scaled up to large numbers of quantum bits (qubits), typically millions [1][2][3]. For most solid-state qubit technologies, e.g. those using superconducting circuits or semiconductor spins, scaling poses a significant challenge as every additional qubit increases the heat generated, while the cooling power of dilution refrigerators is severely limited at their operating temperature below 100 mK [4][5][6]. Here we demonstrate operation of a scalable silicon quantum processor unit cell, comprising two qubits confined to quantum dots (QDs) at ∼1.5 Kelvin. We achieve this by isolating the QDs from the electron reservoir, initialising and reading the qubits solely via tunnelling of electrons between the two QDs [7-9]. We coherently control the qubits using electrically-driven spin resonance (EDSR) [10,11] in isotopically enriched silicon 28 Si [12], attaining single-qubit gate fidelities of 98.6% and coherence time T * 2 = 2 µs during 'hot' operation, comparable to those of spin qubits in natural silicon at millikelvin temperatures [13][14][15][16]. Furthermore, we show that the unit cell can be operated at magnetic fields as low as 0.1 T, corresponding to a qubit control frequency of 3.5 GHz, where the qubit energy is well below the thermal energy. The unit cell constitutes the core building block of a full-scale silicon quantum computer, and satisfies layout constraints required by error correction architectures [8,17]. Our work indicates that a spin-based quantum computer could be operated at elevated temperatures in a simple pumped 4 He system, offering orders of magnitude higher cooling power than dilution refrigerators, potentially enabling classical control electronics to be integrated with the qubit array [18,19].Electrostatically gated QDs in Si/SiGe or Si/SiO 2 heterostructures are prime candidates for spin-based quantum computing due to their long coherence times, high control fidelities, and industrial manufacturability [13,14,[20][21][22][23]. In large scale quantum processors the qubits will be arranged in either 1D chains [17] or 2D arrays [3] to enable quantum error correction schemes. For architectures relying on exchange coupling for twoqubit operation [15,16,24,25], the QDs are expected to be densely packed. Until now, two-qubit QD systems have been tunnel-coupled to a nearby charge reservoir that has typically been used for initialisation and readout using spin-to-charge conversion [26]. Here we demonstrate an isolated double QD system that requires no tunnel-coupled reservoir [7-9] to perform full two-qubit initialisation, control and readout -thus realising the elementary unit cell of a scalable quantum processor (see Figure 1h).

We explore charge imbalance in mesoscopic normal-metal/superconductor multiterminal structures at very low temperatures. The investigated samples, fabricated by e-beam lithography and shadow evaporation, consist of a superconducting aluminum bar with several copper wires forming tunnel contacts at different distances from each other. We have measured in detail the local and non-local conductance of these structures as a function of the applied bias voltage V, the applied magnetic field B, the temperature T and the contact distance d. From these data the charge-imbalance relaxation length lambda_Q* is derived. The bias-resolved measurements show a transition from dominant elastic scattering close to the energy gap to an inelastic two-stage relaxation at higher bias. We observe a strong suppression of charge imbalance with magnetic field, which can be directly linked to the pair-breaking parameter. In contrast, practically no temperature dependence of the charge-imbalance signal was observed below 0.5 K. These results are relevant for the investigation of other non-local effects such as crossed Andreev reflexion and spin diffusion.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, RevTe

Once the periodic properties of elements were unveiled, chemical bonds could be understood in terms of the valence of atoms. Ideally, this rationale would extend to quantum dots, often termed artificial atoms, and quantum computation could be performed by merely controlling the outer-shell electrons of dot-based qubits. Imperfections in the semiconductor material, including at the atomic scale, disrupt this analogy between atoms and quantum dots, so that real devices seldom display such a systematic many-electron arrangement. We demonstrate here an electrostaticallydefined quantum dot that is robust to disorder, revealing a well defined shell structure. We observe four shells (31 electrons) with multiplicities given by spin and valley degrees of freedom. We explore various fillings consisting of a single valence electron -namely 1, 5, 13 and 25 electrons -as potential qubits, and we identify fillings that yield a total spin-1 on the dot. An integrated micromagnet allows us to perform electrically-driven spin resonance (EDSR). Higher shell states are shown to be more susceptible to the driving field, leading to faster Rabi rotations of the qubit. We investigate the impact of orbital excitations of the p-and d-shell electrons on single qubits as a function of the dot deformation. This allows us to tune the dot excitation spectrum and exploit it for faster qubit control. Furthermore, hotspots arising from this tunable energy level structure provide a pathway towards fast spin initialisation. The observation of spin-1 states may be exploited in the future to study symmetry-protected topological states in antiferromagnetic spin chains and their application to quantum computing.Qubit architectures based on electron spins in gatedefined silicon quantum dots benefit from a high level of controllability, where single and multi-qubit coherent operations are realised solely with electrical and magnetic manipulation. Furthermore, their direct compatibility with silicon microelectronics fabrication offers unique scale-up opportunities 1 . However, fabrication reproducibility and disorder pose challenges for single electron quantum dots. Even when the single-electron regime is achievable, the last electron often is confined in a very small region, limiting the effectiveness of electrical control and interdot tunnel coupling. Many-electron quantum dots were proposed as a qubit platform decades ago 2 , with the potential of resilience to charge noise 3,4 and a more tunable tunnel coupling strength to other qubits 5 . In the multielectron regime, the operation of a quantum dot qubit is more sensitive to its shape. If it is axially symmetric, the orbital energy levels will be quasi-degenerate 6-8 , which is detrimental for quantum computing. On the contrary, if the quantum dot is very elongated, a regular shell structure will not form, and the valence electron will not operate as a simple spin-1/2 system 2,9 . FILLING S-, P-, D-AND F-ORBITALS IN A SILICON QUANTUM DOTThe scanning electron microscope (SEM) image in Fig. 1a shows a s...

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