Spin rotations induced by an ac electric field in a two-electron double quantum dot are studied by an exact numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation in the context of recent electric-dipole spin resonance experiments on gated nanowires. We demonstrate that the splitting of the main resonance line by the spin exchange coupling is accompanied by the appearance of fractional resonances and that both these effects are triggered by interdot tunnel coupling. We find that the ac-driven system generates residual but distinct harmonics of the driving frequency, which are amplified when tuned to the main transition frequency. The mechanism is universal for electron systems in electrically driven potentials and works also in the absence of electron-electron interaction or spin-orbit coupling.

• Received 30 April 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.86.125428