I am going to post here all newly submitted articles on the arXiv related to superconducting circuits. If your article has been accidentally forgotten, feel free to contact me
14
Dez
2022
Fast parametric two-qubit gate for highly detuned fixed-frequency superconducting qubits using a double-transmon coupler
High-performance two-qubit gates have been reported with superconducting qubits coupled via a single-transmon coupler (STC). Most of them are implemented for qubits with a small detuning
since reducing residual ZZ coupling for highly detuned qubits by an STC is challenging. In terms of the frequency crowding and crosstalk, however, highly detuned qubits are desirable. Here, we numerically demonstrate a high-performance parametric gate for highly detuned fixed-frequency qubits using a recently proposed tunable coupler called a double-transmon coupler (DTC). Applying an ac flux pulse, we can perform a maximally entangling universal gate (iSWAP‾‾‾‾‾‾‾√) with an average fidelity over 99.99% and a short gate time of about 24 ns. This speed is comparable to resonance-based gates for slightly detuned tunable qubits. Moreover, using a dc flux pulse alternatively, we can achieve another kind of entangling gate called a CZ gate with an average fidelity over 99.99% and a gate time of about 18 ns. Given the frexibility and feasible settings, we can expect that the DTC will contribute to realizing a high-performance quantum computer in the near future.
13
Dez
2022
Improving Josephson junction reproducibility for superconducting quantum circuits: shadow evaporation and oxidation
The most commonly used physical realization of superconducting qubits for quantum circuits is a transmon. There are a number of superconducting quantum circuits applications, where
Josephson junction critical current reproducibility over a chip is crucial. Here, we report on a robust chip scale Al/AlOx/Al junctions fabrication method due to comprehensive study of shadow evaporation and oxidation steps. We experimentally demonstrate the evidence of optimal Josephson junction electrodes thickness, deposition rate and deposition angle, which ensure minimal electrode surface and line edge roughness. The influence of oxidation method, pressure and time on critical current reproducibility is determined. With the proposed method we demonstrate Al/AlOx/Al junction fabrication with the critical current variation (σ/Ic) less than 3.9% (from 150×200 to 150×600 nm2 area) and 7.7% (for 100×100 nm2 area) over 20×20 mm2 chip. Finally, we fabricate separately three 5×10 mm2 chips with 18 transmon qubits (near 4.3 GHz frequency) showing less than 1.9% frequency variation between qubit on different chips. The proposed approach and optimization criteria can be utilized for a robust wafer-scale superconducting qubit circuits fabrication.
Soliton versus single photon quantum dynamics in arrays of superconducting qubits
Superconducting circuits constitute a promising platform for future implementation of quantum processors and simulators. Arrays of capacitively coupled transmon qubits naturally implement
the Bose-Hubbard model with attractive on-site interaction. The spectrum of such many-body systems is characterised by low-energy localised states defining the lattice analog of bright solitons. Here, we demonstrate that these bright solitons can be pinned in the system, and we find that a soliton moves while maintaining its shape. Its velocity obeys a scaling law in terms of the combined interaction and number of constituent bosons. In contrast, the source-to-drain transport of photons through the array occurs through extended states that have higher energy compared to the bright soliton. For weak coupling between the source/drain and the array, the populations of the source and drain oscillate in time, with the chain remaining nearly unpopulated at all times. Such a phenomenon is found to be parity dependent. Implications of our results for the actual experimental realisations are discussed.
12
Dez
2022
Architectures for Multinode Superconducting Quantum Computers
Many proposals to scale quantum technology rely on modular or distributed designs where individual quantum processors, called nodes, are linked together to form one large multinode
quantum computer (MNQC). One scalable method to construct an MNQC is using superconducting quantum systems with optical interconnects. However, a limiting factor of these machines will be internode gates, which may be two to three orders of magnitude noisier and slower than local operations. Surmounting the limitations of internode gates will require a range of techniques, including improvements in entanglement generation, the use of entanglement distillation, and optimized software and compilers, and it remains unclear how improvements to these components interact to affect overall system performance, what performance from each is required, or even how to quantify the performance of each. In this paper, we employ a `co-design‘ inspired approach to quantify overall MNQC performance in terms of hardware models of internode links, entanglement distillation, and local architecture. In the case of superconducting MNQCs with microwave-to-optical links, we uncover a tradeoff between entanglement generation and distillation that threatens to degrade performance. We show how to navigate this tradeoff, lay out how compilers should optimize between local and internode gates, and discuss when noisy quantum links have an advantage over purely classical links. Using these results, we introduce a roadmap for the realization of early MNQCs which illustrates potential improvements to the hardware and software of MNQCs and outlines criteria for evaluating the landscape, from progress in entanglement generation and quantum memory to dedicated algorithms such as distributed quantum phase estimation. While we focus on superconducting devices with optical interconnects, our approach is general across MNQC implementations.
Resolving non-perturbative renormalization of a microwave-dressed weakly anharmonic superconducting qubit
Microwave driving is a ubiquitous technique for superconducting qubits (SCQs), but the dressed states description based on the conventionally used perturbation theory and rotating wave
approximation cannot fully capture the dynamics in the strong driving limit. Comprehensive experimental works beyond these approximations applicable for transmons is unfortunately rare, which receive rising interests in quantum technologies. In this work, we investigate a microwave-dressed transmon over a wide range of driving parameters. We find significant renormalization of Rabi frequencies, energy relaxation times, and the coupling rates with a readout resonator, all of which are not quantified without breaking the conventional approximations. We also establish a concise non-Floquet theory beyond the two-state model while dramatically minimizing the approximations, which excellently quantifies the experiments. This work expands our fundamental understanding of time-periodically driven systems and will have an important role in accurately estimating the dynamics of weakly anharmonic qubits. Furthermore, our non-Floquet approach is beneficial for theoretical analysis since one can avoid additional efforts such as the choice of proper Floquet modes, which is more complicated for multi-level systems.
09
Dez
2022
Dynamically enhancing qubit-oscillator interactions with anti-squeezing
The interaction strength of an oscillator to a qubit grows with the oscillator’s vacuum field fluctuations. The well known degenerate parametric oscillator has revived interest
in the regime of strongly detuned squeezing, where its eigenstates are squeezed Fock states. Owing to these amplified field fluctuations, it was recently proposed that squeezing this oscillator would dynamically boost its coupling to a qubit. In a superconducting circuit experiment, we observe a two-fold increase in the dispersive interaction between a qubit and an oscillator at 5.5 dB of squeezing, demonstrating in-situ dynamical control of qubit-oscillator interactions. This work initiates the experimental coupling of oscillators of squeezed photons to qubits, and cautiously motivates their dissemination in experimental platforms seeking enhanced interactions.
Measurement-Induced State Transitions in a Superconducting Qubit: Within the Rotating Wave Approximation
Superconducting qubits typically use a dispersive readout scheme, where a resonator is coupled to a qubit such that its frequency is qubit-state dependent. Measurement is performed
by driving the resonator, where the transmitted resonator field yields information about the resonator frequency and thus the qubit state. Ideally, we could use arbitrarily strong resonator drives to achieve a target signal-to-noise ratio in the shortest possible time. However, experiments have shown that when the average resonator photon number exceeds a certain threshold, the qubit is excited out of its computational subspace, which we refer to as a measurement-induced state transition. These transitions degrade readout fidelity, and constitute leakage which precludes further operation of the qubit in, for example, error correction. Here we study these transitions using a transmon qubit by experimentally measuring their dependence on qubit frequency, average photon number, and qubit state, in the regime where the resonator frequency is lower than the qubit frequency. We observe signatures of resonant transitions between levels in the coupled qubit-resonator system that exhibit noisy behavior when measured repeatedly in time. We provide a semi-classical model of these transitions based on the rotating wave approximation and use it to predict the onset of state transitions in our experiments. Our results suggest the transmon is excited to levels near the top of its cosine potential following a state transition, where the charge dispersion of higher transmon levels explains the observed noisy behavior of state transitions. Moreover, occupation in these higher energy levels poses a major challenge for fast qubit reset.
08
Dez
2022
Small logical qubit architecture based on strong interactions and many-body dynamical decoupling
We propose a novel superconducting logical qubit architecture, called the Cold Echo Qubit (CEQ), which is capable of preserving quantum information for much longer timescales than any
of its component parts. The CEQ operates fully autonomously, requiring no measurement or feedback, and is compatible with relatively strong interaction elements, allowing for fast, high fidelity logical gates between multiple CEQ’s. Its quantum state is protected by a combination of strong interactions and microwave driving, which implements a form of many-body dynamical decoupling to suppress phase noise. Estimates based on careful theoretical analysis and numerical simulations predict improvements in lifetimes and gate fidelities by an order of magnitude or more compared to the current state of the art, assuming no improvements in base coherence. Here, we consider the simplest possible implementation of the CEQ, using a pair of fluxonium qubits shunted through a shared mutual inductance. While not necessarily the best possible implementation, it is the easiest to test experimentally and should display coherence well past breakeven (as compared to the limiting coherence times of its components). A more complex three-node circuit is also presented; it is expected to roughly double the coherence of its two-fluxonium counterpart.
Tunable Capacitor For Superconducting Qubits Using an InAs/InGaAs Heterostructure
Adoption of fast, parametric coupling elements has improved the performance of superconducting qubits, enabling recent demonstrations of quantum advantage in randomized sampling problems.
The development of low loss, high contrast couplers is critical for scaling up these systems. We present a blueprint for a gate-tunable coupler realized with a two-dimensional electron gas in an InAs/InGaAs heterostructure. Rigorous numerical simulations of the semiconductor and high frequency electromagnetic behavior of the coupler and microwave circuitry yield an on/off ratio of more than one order of magnitude. We give an estimate of the dielectric-limited loss from the inclusion of the coupler in a two qubit system, with coupler coherences ranging from a few to tens of microseconds.
02
Dez
2022
Initial experimental results on a superconducting-qubit reset based on photon-assisted quasiparticle tunneling
We present here our recent results on qubit reset scheme based on a quantum-circuit refrigerator (QCR). In particular, we use the photon-assisted quasiparticle tunneling through a superconductor–insulator–normal-metal–insulator–superconductor
junction to controllably decrease the energy relaxation time of the qubit during the QCR operation. In our experiment, we use a transmon qubit with dispersive readout. The QCR is capacitively coupled to the qubit through its normal-metal island. We employ rapid, square-shaped QCR control voltage pulses with durations in the range of 2–350 ns and a variety of amplitudes to optimize the reset time and fidelity. Consequently, we reach a qubit ground-state probability of roughly 97% with 80-ns pulses starting from the first excited state. The qubit state probability is extracted from averaged readout signal, where the calibration is based of the Rabi oscillations, thus not distinguishing the residual thermal population of the qubit.