Controllable anisotropic exchange coupling between spin qubits in quantum dots

The exchange coupling between quantum dot spin qubits is isotropic, which restricts the types of quantum gates that can be formed. Here, we propose a method for controlling anisotropic interactions between spins arranged in a bus geometry. The symmetry is broken by an external magnetic field, resulting in XXZ-type interactions that can efficiently generate Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states or universal gate sets for exchange-only quantum computing. Analysis of the bus ground state provides a link between quantum critical phenomena and the communication capacity.