Striving for higher gate fidelity is crucial not only for enhancing existing noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices but also for unleashing the potential of fault-tolerantquantum computation through quantum error correction. A recently proposed theoretical scheme, the double-transmon coupler (DTC), aims to achieve both suppressed residual interaction and a fast high-fidelity two-qubit gate simultaneously, particularly for highly detuned qubits. Harnessing the state-of-the-art fabrication techniques and a model-free pulse-optimization process based on reinforcement learning, we translate the theoretical DTC scheme into reality, attaining fidelities of 99.92% for a CZ gate and 99.98% for single-qubit gates. The performance of the DTC scheme demonstrates its potential as a competitive building block for superconducting quantum processors.
Tunable couplers in superconducting quantum computers have enabled fast and accurate two-qubit gates, with reported high fidelities over 0.99 in various architectures and gate implementationschemes. However, there are few tunable couplers whose performance in multi-qubit systems is clarified, except for the most widely used one: single-transmon coupler (STC). Achieving similar accuracy to isolated two-qubit systems remains challenging due to various undesirable couplings but is necessary for scalability. In this work, we numerically analyze a system of three fixed-frequency qubits coupled via two double-transmon couplers (DTCs) where nearest-neighbor qubits are highly detuned and also next nearest-neighbor ones are nearly resonant. The DTC is a recently proposed tunable coupler, which consists of two fixed-frequency transmons coupled through a common loop with an additional Josephson junction. We find that the DTC can not only reduce undesired residual couplings sufficiently, as well as in isolated two-qubits systems, but also enables implementations of 30-ns CZ gates and 10-ns π/2 pulses with fidelities of 0.9999 or higher. For comparison, we also investigate the system where the DTCs are replaced by the STCs. The results show that the DTC outperforms the STC in terms of both residual coupling suppression and gate accuracy in the above systems. From these results, we expect that the DTC architecture is promising for realizing high-performance, scalable superconducting quantum computers.
Kerr-cat qubits are a promising candidate for fault-tolerant quantum computers owing to the biased nature of errors. The ZZ coupling between the qubits can be utilized for a two-qubitentangling gate, but the residual coupling causes unnecessary always-on gates and crosstalk. In order to resolve this problem, we propose a tunable ZZ-coupling scheme using two transmon couplers. By setting the detunings of the two couplers at opposite values, the residual ZZ couplings via the two couplers cancel each other out. We also apply our scheme to the Rzz(Θ) gate (ZZ rotation with angle Θ), one of the two-qubit entangling gates. We numerically show that the fidelity of the Rzz(−π/2) gate is higher than 99.9% in a case of 16 ns gate time and without decoherence.
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 detuningsince 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.
A Kerr-nonlinear parametric oscillator (KPO) is one of the promising devices to realize qubits for universal quantum computing. The KPO can stabilize two coherent states with oppositephases, yielding a quantum superposition called a Schrödinger cat state. Universal quantum computing with KPOs requires three kinds of quantum gates: Rz,Rx, and Rzz gates. We theoretically propose a two-qubit gate Rzz for highly detuned KPOs. In the proposed scheme, we add another two-photon drive for the first KPO. This leads to the Rzz gate based on the driving of the second KPO depending on the first-KPO state, which we call „conditional driving.“ First, we perform simulations using a conventional KPO Hamiltonian derived from a superconducting-circuit model under some approximations and evaluate the gate fidelity. Next, we also perform numerical simulations of the two-qubit gate using the superconducting-circuit model without the approximations. The simulation results indicate that two-qubit gates can be implemented with high fidelity (>99.9%) for rotation angles required for universality.
Although two-qubit entangling gates are necessary for universal quantum computing, they are notoriously difficult to implement with high fidelity. Recently, tunable couplers have becomea key component for realizing high-fidelity two-qubit gates in superconducting quantum computers. However, it is still difficult to achieve tunable coupling free of unwanted residual coupling for highly detuned qubits, which are desirable for mitigating qubit-frequency crowding or errors due to crosstalk between qubits. We thus propose a design for this kind of tunable coupler, which we call a double-transmon coupler, because this is composed of two transmon qubits coupled through a common loop with an additional Josephson junction. Controlling the magnetic flux in the loop, we can achieve not only fast high-fidelity two-qubit gates, but also no residual coupling during idle time, where computational qubits are highly detuned fixed-frequency transmons. The proposed coupler is expected to offer an alternative approach to higher-performance superconducting quantum computers.