Nanomechanical read-out of a single spin

TL;DR

This paper proposes a method to read out the spin state of a single electron in a suspended carbon nanotube by coupling its spin to the nanotube's mechanical vibrations, enabling spin detection via mechanical motion measurement.

Contribution

It introduces a novel spin read-out technique using spin-mechanical coupling in carbon nanotubes, modeled with a Jaynes-Cummings framework and validated through quantum master equation analysis.

Findings

Spin state can be inferred from mechanical motion measurements.

Mechanical response correlates with the electron's spin state.

Method is compatible with current experimental parameters.

Abstract

The spin of a single electron in a suspended carbon nanotube can be read out by using its coupling to the nano-mechanical motion of the nanotube. To show this, we consider a single electron confined within a quantum dot formed by the suspended carbon nanotube. The spin- orbit interaction induces a coupling between the spin and one of the bending modes of the suspended part of the nanotube. We calculate the response of the system to pulsed external driving of the mechanical motion using a Jaynes-Cummings model. To account for resonator damping, we solve a quantum master equation, with parameters comparable to those used in recent experiments, and show how information of the spin state of the system can be acquired by measuring its mechanical motion. The latter can be detected by observing the current through a nearby charge detector.