Coherent manipulation of valley states at multiple charge configurations of a silicon quantum dot device.

Qubits based on silicon quantum dots are emerging as leading candidates for the solid-state implementation of quantum information processing. In silicon, valley states represent a degree of freedom in addition to spin and charge. Characterizing and controlling valley states is critical for the encoding and read-out of electrons-in-silicon-based qubits. Here, we report the coherent manipulation of a qubit, which is based on the two valley states of an electron confined in a silicon quantum dot. We carry out valley qubit operations at multiple charge configurations of the double quantum dot device. The dependence of coherent oscillations on pulse excitation level and duration allows us to map out the energy dispersion as a function of detuning as well as the phase coherence time of the valley qubit. The coherent manipulation also provides a method of measuring valley splittings that are too small to probe with conventional methods.Silicon quantum dots provide a promising platform for quantum computing based on manipulation of electron degrees of freedom in a well-characterized environment. Here, the authors demonstrate coherent control of electron valley states, yielding an accurate determination of the valley splitting.