Optical Control of an Electron Spin in a Single Self-Assembled Quantum Dot

Optically driven self-assembled quantum dots are a leading candidate for next generation quantum computers because of their high speed and potential for relatively compact design. In this approach, each dot is charged with a single electron (or hole) whose spin serves as the quantum bit (``qubit''). We present our recent experimental results demonstrating qubit initialization, rotation through a stimulated Raman excitation, and optical readout, as well as a geometric phase gate. Optically induced coupling between the dots through the negatively charged exciton should allow for the critical entangling operations and for conditional two-qubit gates. Conditional gates combined with single qubit gates form the building blocks from which any quantum computing algorithm can be constructed.