A frequency-agile microwave-optical interface for superconducting qubits

  1. Yufeng Wu,
  2. Yiyu Zhou,
  3. Haoqi Zhao,
  4. Danqing Wang,
  5. Matthew D. LaHaye,
  6. Daniel L. Campbell,
  7. and Hong X. Tang
Superconducting quantum processors operate at microwave frequencies in millikelvin environments, making it challenging to interconnect distant nodes using conventional microwave wiring.
Coherent microwave-to-optical (M2O) transduction enables superconducting quantum networks by interfacing itinerant microwave photons with low-loss optical fiber. However, many state-of-the-art transducers provide efficient conversion only over a narrow frequency span, complicating deployment with heterogeneous superconducting devices that are detuned by gigahertz-scale offsets. Here we demonstrate a frequency-agile microwave-optical interface that overcomes this bandwidth mismatch by cascading an electro-optic M2O transducer with a multimode microwave-to-microwave (M2M) frequency converter, with in situ tunability of the microwave resonances in both stages. Using this architecture, we realize continuous frequency coverage from 5.0 to 8.5 GHz within a single system. As an application relevant to superconducting-qubit networking, we use the cascaded M2M-M2O interface to optically read out a superconducting qubit whose readout resonator is detuned by 1.7 GHz from the native M2O microwave resonance, demonstrating a scalable route toward fiber-linked superconducting quantum nodes.

Broad Spectrum Coherent Frequency Conversion with Kinetic Inductance Superconducting Metastructures

  1. Yufeng Wu,
  2. Chaofan Wang,
  3. Danqing Wang,
  4. Mingrui Xu,
  5. Yiyu Zhou,
  6. and Hong X. Tang
arametric frequency converters (PFCs) play a critical role in bridging the frequency gap between quantum information carriers. PFCs in the microwave band are particularly important
for superconducting quantum processors, but their operating bandwidth is often strongly limited. Here, we present a multimode kinetic metastructure for parametric frequency conversion between broadly spanning frequency modes. This device comprises a chain of asymmetric kinetic inductance grids designed to deliver efficient three-wave mixing nonlinearity. We demonstrate high efficient coherent conversion among broadly distributed modes, and the mode frequency is continuously tunable by controlling the external magnetic field strength, making it ideally suited for quantum computing and communication applications requiring flexible and efficient frequency conversion.