Hybrid Coupling Topology with Dynamic ZZ Suppression for Optimizing Circuit Depth during Runtime in Superconducting Quantum Processor

To reduce circuit depth when executing Quantum algorithms, it is necessary to maximize qubit connectivity on a near-term quantum processor. While addressing this, we also need to ensure high gate fidelity, suppression of unwanted ZZ cross-talk, a compact layout footprint, and minimal control hardware complexity to support scalability. In current superconducting quantum chips, fixed coupling is used as it is easier to scale, but it is limited by unwanted static ZZ interaction during single qubit operations, which degrades system performance. To overcome these challenges, we have introduced a first-of-its-kind hybrid tunable-coupling architecture that connects four fixed-frequency transmon qubits using a single coupler. This hybrid coupler uses off-resonant Stark drives to tune ZZ strength between qubit pairs. Experimentally backed simulation results indicate that our proposed hybrid design maximizes the qubit connectivity while reducing control overhead. This design achieves a near 20% reduction in circuit depth compared to IBM’s Heavy-Hexagonal layout, showing its potential for scalability.