Silicon is an attractive materials platform for developing large-scale quantum computers because of its compatibility with classical silicon electronics and its potential for scalability. Recent progress towards quantum computing in silicon has been impressive, but better understanding of the materials will enable improved controllability and predictability of qubit devices.

This talk will discuss how quantum dot qubits in silicon/silicon germanium heterostructures are affected by the nontrivial interplay between Coulomb interactions and the valley degree of freedom. It will be shown that understanding this interplay enables one to characterize experimentally the atomic-scale structure of the buried heterostructure interface, and that qubit experiments yield new information about quantum dot properties when interactions are strong. Prospects for further development will also be discussed.

Professor Susan Coppersmith is a theoretical condensed matter physicist who has made substantial contributions to a broad range of subjects. Her research has included such varied topics as the way seashells stack together on the beach, the folding patterns of thin gold sheets, the crystalline structure in layers of mother of pearl, the propagation of forces within granular materials, the relation between the atomic structure of materials and their bulk strength, and the design of nanoscale devices for quantum computing. She is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Member in the National Academy of Sciences of the United States. Her current research focus is on the development of quantum computers using silicon technology.

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