Kerr nonlinearity and three-wave mixing in superconducting resonators hosting Al-InAs weak links

  1. Vittorio Buccheri,
  2. Ivo P. C. Cools,
  3. Nermin Trnjanin,
  4. Ankit Khola,
  5. Oleg Shvetsov,
  6. Thomas Kanne,
  7. Jesper Nygård,
  8. Attila Geresdi,
  9. and Simone Gasparinetti
Nonlinear microwave resonators are a versatile tool in quantum information processing, enabling parametric amplification, continuous variable quantum computing, and engineered mode interactions. Many of these applications especially benefit from cubic nonlinearities enabling three-wave mixing; at the same time, they are limited by quartic nonlinearities giving rise to undesired Kerr effects. A recurrent challenge is therefore to engineer resonators with a finite cubic nonlinearity while suppressing quartic terms. Here, we investigate a superconducting resonator hosting two weak links fabricated from an aluminum-capped indium arsenide nanowire. We characterize the Kerr nonlinearity as a function of magnetic flux and gate bias, showing that it can be tuned to zero with either control parameter. Furthermore, we experimentally demonstrate three-wave mixing in a semiconductor-superconductor hybrid device, establishing nonzero cubic nonlinearity. An effective model based on Andreev bound states qualitatively captures the observed trends. Our results validate semiconductor-superconductor hybrid devices as a promising platform for tunable nonlinear superconducting circuits, with applications in parametric amplification, quantum control of bosonic modes, and engineering interactions between microwave modes.

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