Broadband parametric amplification in DARTWARS

  1. Felix Ahrens,
  2. Elena Ferri,
  3. Guerino Avallone,
  4. Carlo Barone,
  5. Matteo Borghesi,
  6. Luca Callegaro,
  7. Giovanni Carapella,
  8. Anna Paola Caricato,
  9. Iacopo Carusotto,
  10. Alessandro Cian,
  11. Alessandro D'Elia,
  12. Daniele Di Gioacchino,
  13. Emanuele Enrico,
  14. Paolo Falferi,
  15. Luca Fasolo,
  16. Marco Faverzani,
  17. Giovanni Filatrella,
  18. Claudio Gatti,
  19. Andrea Giachero,
  20. Damiano Giubertoni,
  21. Veronica Granata,
  22. Claudio Guarcello,
  23. Danilo Labranca,
  24. Angelo Leo,
  25. Carlo Ligi,
  26. Giovanni Maccarrone,
  27. Federica Mantegazzini,
  28. Benno Margesin,
  29. Giuseppe Maruccio,
  30. Renato Mezzena,
  31. Anna Grazia Monteduro,
  32. Roberto Moretti,
  33. Angelo Nucciotti,
  34. Luca Oberto,
  35. Luca Origo,
  36. Sergio Pagano,
  37. Alex Stephane Piedjou,
  38. Luca Piersanti,
  39. Alessio Rettaroli,
  40. Silvia Rizzato,
  41. Simone Tocci,
  42. Andrea Vinante,
  43. and Mario Zannoni
Superconducting parametric amplifiers offer the capability to amplify feeble signals with extremely low levels of added noise, potentially reaching quantum-limited amplification. This
characteristic makes them essential components in the realm of high-fidelity quantum computing and serves to propel advancements in the field of quantum sensing. In particular, Traveling-Wave Parametric Amplifiers (TWPAs) may be especially suitable for practical applications due to their multi-Gigahertz amplification bandwidth, a feature lacking in Josephson Parametric Amplifiers (JPAs), despite the latter being a more established technology. This paper presents recent developments of the DARTWARS (Detector Array Readout with Traveling Wave AmplifieRS) project, focusing on the latest prototypes of Kinetic Inductance TWPAs (KITWPAs). The project aims to develop a KITWPA capable of achieving 20 dB of amplification. To enhance the production yield, the first prototypes were fabricated with half the length and expected gain of the final device. In this paper, we present the results of the characterization of one of the half-length prototypes. The measurements revealed an average amplification of approximately 9dB across a 2GHz bandwidth for a KITWPA spanning 17mm in length.

Development of KI-TWPAs for the DARTWARS project

  1. Felix Ahrens,
  2. Elena Ferri,
  3. Guerino Avallone,
  4. Carlo Barone,
  5. Matteo Borghesi,
  6. Luca Callegaro,
  7. Giovanni Carapella,
  8. Anna Paola Caricato,
  9. Iacopo Carusotto,
  10. Alessandro Cian,
  11. Alessandro D'Elia,
  12. Daniele Di Gioacchino,
  13. Emanuele Enrico,
  14. Paolo Falferi,
  15. Luca Fasolo,
  16. Marco Faverzani,
  17. Giovanni Filatrella,
  18. Claudio Gatti,
  19. Andrea Giachero,
  20. Damiano Giubertoni,
  21. Veronica Granata,
  22. Claudio Guarcello,
  23. Danilo Labranca,
  24. Angelo Leo,
  25. Carlo Ligi,
  26. Giovanni Maccarrone,
  27. Federica Mantegazzini,
  28. Benno Margesin,
  29. Giuseppe Maruccio,
  30. Renato Mezzena,
  31. Anna Grazia Monteduro,
  32. Roberto Moretti,
  33. Angelo Nucciotti,
  34. Luca Oberto,
  35. Luca Origo,
  36. Sergio Pagano,
  37. Alex Stephane Piedjou,
  38. Luca Piersanti,
  39. Alessio Rettaroli,
  40. Silvia Rizzato,
  41. Simone Tocci,
  42. Andrea Vinante,
  43. and Mario Zannoni
Noise at the quantum limit over a broad bandwidth is a fundamental requirement for future cryogenic experiments for neutrino mass measurements, dark matter searches and Cosmic Microwave
Background (CMB) measurements as well as for fast high-fidelity read-out of superconducting qubits. In the last years, Josephson Parametric Amplifiers (JPA) have demonstrated noise levels close to the quantum limit, but due to their narrow bandwidth, only few detectors or qubits per line can be read out in parallel. An alternative and innovative solution is based on superconducting parametric amplification exploiting the travelling-wave concept. Within the DARTWARS (Detector Array Readout with Travelling Wave AmplifieRS) project, we develop Kinetic Inductance Travelling-Wave Parametric Amplifiers (KI-TWPAs) for low temperature detectors and qubit read-out. KI-TWPAs are typically operated in a threewave mixing (3WM) mode and are characterised by a high gain, a high saturation power, a large amplification bandwidth and nearly quantum limited noise performance. The goal of the DARTWARS project is to optimise the KI-TWPA design, explore new materials, and investigate alternative fabrication processes in order to enhance the overall performance of the amplifier. In this contribution we present the advancements made by the DARTWARS collaboration to produce a working prototype of a KI-TWPA, from the fabrication to the characterisation.

Characterization of a Transmon Qubit in a 3D Cavity for Quantum Machine Learning and Photon Counting

  1. Alessandro D'Elia,
  2. Boulos Alfakes,
  3. Anas Alkhazaleh,
  4. Leonardo Banchi,
  5. Matteo Beretta,
  6. Stefano Carrazza,
  7. Fabio Chiarello,
  8. Daniele Di Gioacchino,
  9. Andrea Giachero,
  10. Felix Henrich,
  11. Alex Stephane Piedjou Komnang,
  12. Carlo Ligi,
  13. Giovanni Maccarrone,
  14. Massimo Macucci,
  15. Emanuele Palumbo,
  16. Andrea Pasquale,
  17. Luca Piersanti,
  18. Florent Ravaux,
  19. Alessio Rettaroli,
  20. Matteo Robbiati,
  21. Simone Tocci,
  22. and Claudio Gatti
In this paper we report the use of superconducting transmon qubit in a 3D cavity for quantum machine learning and photon counting applications. We first describe the realization and
characterization of a transmon qubit coupled to a 3D resonator, providing a detailed description of the simulation framework and of the experimental measurement of important parameters, like the dispersive shift and the qubit anharmonicity. We then report on a Quantum Machine Learning application implemented on the single-qubit device to fit the u-quark parton distribution function of the proton. In the final section of the manuscript we present a new microwave photon detection scheme based on two qubits coupled to the same 3D resonator. This could in principle decrease the dark count rate, favouring applications like axion dark matter searches.

Quantum Sensing with superconducting qubits for Fundamental Physics

  1. Roberto Moretti,
  2. Hervè Atsè Corti,
  3. Danilo Labranca,
  4. Felix Ahrens,
  5. Guerino Avallone,
  6. Danilo Babusci,
  7. Leonardo Banchi,
  8. Carlo Barone,
  9. Matteo Mario Beretta,
  10. Matteo Borghesi,
  11. Bruno Buonomo,
  12. Enrico Calore,
  13. Giovanni Carapella,
  14. Fabio Chiarello,
  15. Alessandro Cian,
  16. Alessando Cidronali,
  17. Filippo Costa,
  18. Alessandro Cuccoli,
  19. Alessandro D'Elia,
  20. Daniele Di Gioacchino,
  21. Stefano Di Pascoli,
  22. Paolo Falferi,
  23. Marco Fanciulli,
  24. Marco Faverzani,
  25. Giulietto Felici,
  26. Elena Ferri,
  27. Giovanni Filatrella,
  28. Luca Gennaro Foggetta,
  29. Claudio Gatti,
  30. Andrea Giachero,
  31. Francesco Giazotto,
  32. Damiano Giubertoni,
  33. Veronica Granata,
  34. Claudio Guarcello,
  35. Gianluca Lamanna,
  36. Carlo Ligi,
  37. Giovanni Maccarrone,
  38. Massimo Macucci,
  39. Giuliano Manara,
  40. Federica Mantegazzini,
  41. Paolo Marconcini,
  42. Benno Margesin,
  43. Francesco Mattioli,
  44. Andrea Miola,
  45. Angelo Nucciotti,
  46. Luca Origo,
  47. Sergio Pagano,
  48. Federico Paolucci,
  49. Luca Piersanti,
  50. Alessio Rettaroli,
  51. Stefano Sanguinetti,
  52. Sebastiano Fabio Schifano,
  53. Paolo Spagnolo,
  54. Simone Tocci,
  55. Alessandra Toncelli,
  56. Guido Torrioli,
  57. and Andrea Vinante
Quantum Sensing is a rapidly expanding research field that finds one of its applications in Fundamental Physics, as the search for Dark Matter. Recent developments in the fabrication
of superconducting qubits are contributing to driving progress in Quantum Sensing. Such devices have already been successfully applied in detecting few-GHz single photons via Quantum Non-Demolition measurement (QND). This technique allows us to detect the presence of the same photon multiple times without absorbing it, with remarkable sensitivity improvements and dark count rate suppression in experiments based on high-precision microwave photon detection, such as Axions and Dark Photons search experiments. In this context, the INFN Qub-IT project goal is to realize an itinerant single-photon counter based on superconducting qubits that will exploit QND. The simulation step is fundamental for optimizing the design before manufacturing and finally characterizing the fabricated chip in a cryogenic environment. In this study we present Qub-IT’s status towards the characterization of its first superconducting transmon qubit devices, illustrating their design and simulation.

Microwave Quantum Radar using a Josephson Traveling Wave Parametric Amplifier

  1. Patrizia Livreri,
  2. Emanuele Enrico,
  3. Luca Fasolo,
  4. Angelo Greco,
  5. Alessio Rettaroli,
  6. David Vitali,
  7. Alfonso Farina,
  8. Francesco Marchetti,
  9. and Dario Giacomin
Detection of low-reflectivity objects can be improved by the so-called quantum illumination procedure. However, quantum detection probability exponentially decays with the source bandwidth.
The Josephson Parametric Amplifiers (JPAs) technology utilized as a source, generating a pair of entangled signals called two-mode squeezed vacuum states, shows a very narrow bandwidth limiting the operation of the microwave quantum radar (MQR). In this paper, for the first time, a microwave quantum radar setup based on quantum illumination protocol and using a Josephson Traveling Wave Parametric Amplifier (JTWPA) is proposed. Measurement results of the developed JTWPA, pumped at 12 GHz, show an ultrawide bandwidth equal to 10 GHz at X-band making our MQR a promising candidate for the detection of stealth objects.

Josephson-based scheme for the detection of microwave photons

  1. Claudio Guarcello,
  2. Alex Stephane Piedjou Komnang,
  3. Carlo Barone,
  4. Alessio Rettaroli,
  5. Claudio Gatti,
  6. Sergio Pagano,
  7. and Giovanni Filatrella
We propose a scheme for the detection of microwave induced photons through current-biased Josephson junction, from the point of view of the statistical decision theory. Our analysis
is based on the numerical study of the zero voltage lifetime distribution in response to a periodic train of pulses, that mimics the absorption of photons. The statistical properties of the detection are retrieved comparing the thermally induced transitions with the distribution of the switchings to the finite voltage state due to the joint action of thermal noise and of the incident pulses. The capability to discriminate the photon arrival can be quantified through the Kumar-Caroll index, which is a good indicator of the Signal-to-Noise-Ratio. The index can be exploited to identify the system parameters best suited for the detection of weak microwave photons.