Ultrafast switchable spin-orbit coupling for silicon spin qubits via spin valves

Abstract: Recent experimental breakthroughs, particularly for single-qubit and two-qubit gates exceeding the error correction threshold, highlight silicon spin qubits as leading candidates for fault-tolerant quantum computation. In the existing architecture, intrinsic or synthetic spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is critical in various aspects, including electrical control, addressability, scalability, etc. However, the high-fidelity SWAP operation and quantum state transfer (QST) between spin qubits, crucial for qubit-qubit connectivity, require the switchable nature of SOC which is rarely considered. Here, we propose a flexible architecture based on spin valves by electrically changing its magnetization orientation within sub-nanoseconds to generate ultrafast switchable SOC. Based on the switchable SOC architecture, both SWAP operation of neighbor spin qubits and resonant QST between distant spins can be realized with fidelity exceeding 99% while considering the realistic experimental parameters. Benefiting from the compatible processes with the modern semiconductor industry and experimental advances in spin valves and spin qubits, our results pave the way for future construction of silicon-based quantum chips.