In spin-based quantum information processing devices, the presence of control and detection circuitry can change the local environment of a spin by introducing strain and electric fields, altering its resonant frequencies. These resonance shifts can be large compared to intrinsic spin line-widths and it is therefore important to study, understand and model such effects in order to better predict device performance. Here we investigate a sample of bismuth donor spins implanted in a silicon chip, on top of which a superconducting aluminium micro-resonator has been fabricated. The on-chip resonator provides two functions: first, it produces local strain in the silicon due to the larger thermal contraction of the aluminium, and second, it enables sensitive electron spin resonance spectroscopy of donors close to the surface that experience this strain. Through finite-element strain simulations we are able to reconstruct key features of our experiments, including the electron spin resonance spectra. Our results are consistent with a recently discovered mechanism for producing shifts of the hyperfine interaction for donors in silicon, which is linear with the hydrostatic component of an applied strain.

Electron spin qubits in silicon, whether in quantum dots or in donor atoms, have long been considered attractive qubits for the implementation of a quantum computer due to silicon's "semiconductor vacuum" character and its compatibility with the microelectronics industry. While donor electron spins in silicon provide extremely long coherence times and access to the nuclear spin via the hyperfine interaction, quantum dots have the complementary advantages of fast electrical operations, tunability and scalability. Here we present an approach to a novel hybrid double quantum dot by coupling a donor to a lithographically patterned artificial atom. Using gate-based rf reflectometry, we probe the charge stability of this double quantum dot system and the variation of quantum capacitance at the interdot charge transition. Using microwave spectroscopy, we find a tunnel coupling of 2.7 GHz and characterize the charge dynamics, which reveals a charge T * 2 of 200 ps and a relaxation time T1 of 100 ns. Additionally, we demonstrate spin blockade at the inderdot transition, opening up the possibility to operate this coupled system as a singlet-triplet qubit or to transfer a coherent spin state between the quantum dot and the donor electron and nucleus. arXiv:1503.01049v2 [cond-mat.mes-hall]

We experimentally study the coupling of group V donor spins in silicon to mechanical strain, and measure strain-induced frequency shifts that are linear in strain, in contrast to the quadratic dependence predicted by the valley repopulation model (VRM), and therefore orders of magnitude greater than that predicted by the VRM for small strains |ϵ|<10^{-5}. Through both tight-binding and first principles calculations we find that these shifts arise from a linear tuning of the donor hyperfine interaction term by the hydrostatic component of strain and achieve semiquantitative agreement with the experimental values. Our results provide a framework for making quantitative predictions of donor spins in silicon nanostructures, such as those being used to develop silicon-based quantum processors and memories. The strong spin-strain coupling we measure (up to 150 GHz per strain, for Bi donors in Si) offers a method for donor spin tuning-shifting Bi donor electron spins by over a linewidth with a hydrostatic strain of order 10^{-6}-as well as opportunities for coupling to mechanical resonators.