The impact of nuclear spin dynamics on electron transport through donors

Abstract

We present an analysis of electron transport through two weakly coupled precision placed phosphorus donors in silicon. In particular, we examine the (1,1) to (0,2) charge transition where we predict a new type of current blockade driven entirely by the nuclear spin dynamics. Using this nuclear spin blockade mechanism we devise a protocol to readout the state of single nuclear spins using electron transport measurements only. We extend our model to include realistic effects such as Stark shifted hyperfine interactions and multi-donor clusters. In the case of multi-donor clusters we show how nuclear spin blockade can be alleviated allowing for low magnetic field electron spin measurements.