Electronic Correlations in Multielectron Silicon Quantum Dots

Silicon quantum computing has the potential to revolutionize technology with capabilities to solve real-life problems that are computationally complex or even intractable for modern computers [1] by offering sufficient high quality qubits to perform complex error-corrected calculations. Silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor based quantum dots present a promising pathway for realizing practical quantum computers. To improve certain qubit properties, it is a common strategy to incorporate multiple electrons in the same dot in order to form qubits in higher confined orbital states. Theoretical modelling is an essential part of understanding the quantum behaviour of these electrons, providing a basis for validating the physical working of device models as well as providing insights into experimental data. Hartree-Fock theory is an imperative tool for the electronic structure modelling of multi-electron quantum dots due to its ability to simulate a large number of electrons with manageable computation load. However, an efficient calculation of the self-consistent field becomes hard because dot formations in silicon are characterized by strong electron-electron interactions and conduction band valleys, besides the relatively high comparative effective mass, which add to create a behaviour dominated by repulsion between electrons rather than a well established shell structure. In this paper, we present a Hartree-Fock-based method that accounts for these complexities for the modelling of silicon quantum dots. With this method, we first establish the significance of including electron-electron interactions and valley degree of freedom and their implications. We then explore a simple case of anisotropic dots and observe the impact of anisotropy on dot formations.