The qubit is the fundamental building block of a quantum computer. We fabricate a qubit in a silicon double-quantum dot with an integrated micromagnet in which the qubit basis states are the singlet state and the spin-zero triplet state of two electrons. Because of the micromagnet, the magnetic field difference ΔB between the two sides of the double dot is large enough to enable the achievement of coherent rotation of the qubit's Bloch vector around two different axes of the Bloch sphere. By measuring the decay of the quantum oscillations, the inhomogeneous spin coherence time T2* is determined. By measuring T2* at many different values of the exchange coupling J and at two different values of ΔB, we provide evidence that the micromagnet does not limit decoherence, with the dominant limits on T2* arising from charge noise and from coupling to nuclear spins.
Keywords: quantum nanoelectronics; semiconductor spin qubit.