Dispersive readout of a silicon quantum device using an atomic force microscope-based rf gate sensor

Abstract: We demonstrate dispersive charge sensing of Si/SiGe single and double quantum dots (DQD) by coupling sub-micron floating gates to a radio frequency reflectometry (rf-reflectometry) circuit using the tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM). Charge stability diagrams are obtained in the phase response of the reflected rf signal. We demonstrate single-electron dot-to-lead and dot-to-dot charge transitions with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 2 and integration time of $\tau~=~2.7~\mathrm{ms}$ and $\tau~=~6.4~\mathrm{ms}$, respectively. The charge sensing SNR compares favorably with results obtained on conventional devices. Moreover, the small size of the floating gates largely eliminates the coupling to parasitic charge traps that can complicate the interpretation of the dispersive charge sensing data.