Ioan M. Pop

Non-Poissonian Quantum Jumps of a Fluxonium Qubit due to Quasiparticle Excitations

  1. Uri Vool,
  2. Ioan M. Pop,
  3. Katrina Sliwa,
  4. Baleegh Abdo,
  5. Chen Wang,
  6. Teresa Brecht,
  7. Yvonne Y. Gao,
  8. Shyam Shankar,
  9. Michael Hatridge,
  10. Gianluigi Catelani,
  11. Mazyar Mirrahimi,
  12. Luigi Frunzio,
  13. Robert J. Schoelkopf,
  14. Leonid I. Glazman,
  15. and Michel H. Devoret
As the energy relaxation time of superconducting qubits steadily improves, non-equilibrium quasiparticle excitations above the superconducting gap emerge as an increasingly relevant
limit for qubit coherence. We measure fluctuations in the number of quasiparticle excitations by continuously monitoring the spontaneous quantum jumps between the states of a fluxonium qubit, in conditions where relaxation is dominated by quasiparticle loss. Resolution on the scale of a single quasiparticle is obtained by performing quantum non-demolition projective measurements within a time interval much shorter than T1, using a quantum limited amplifier (Josephson Parametric Converter). The quantum jumps statistics switches between the expected Poisson distribution and a non-Poissonian one, indicating large relative fluctuations in the quasiparticle population, on time scales varying from seconds to hours. This dynamics can be modified controllably by injecting quasiparticles or by seeding quasiparticle-trapping vortices by cooling down in magnetic field.
arxiv pdf

Implementation of low-loss superinductances for quantum circuits

  1. Nicholas A. Masluk,
  2. Ioan M. Pop,
  3. Archana Kamal,
  4. Zlatko K. Minev,
  5. and Michel H. Devoret
The simultaneous suppression of charge fluctuations and offsets is crucial for preserving quantum coherence in devices exploiting large quantum fluctuations of the superconducting phase.
This requires an environment with both extremely low DC and high RF impedance. Such an environment is provided by a superinductance, defined as a zero DC resistance inductance whose impedance exceeds the resistance quantum $R_Q = h/(2e)^2 simeq 6.5 mathrm{kOmega}$ at frequencies of interest (1 – 10 GHz). In addition, the superinductance must have as little dissipation as possible, and possess a self-resonant frequency well above frequencies of interest. The kinetic inductance of an array of Josephson junctions is an ideal candidate to implement the superinductance provided its phase slip rate is sufficiently low. We successfully implemented such an array using large Josephson junctions ($E_J >> E_C$), and measured internal losses less than 20 ppm, self-resonant frequencies greater than 10 GHz, and phase slip rates less than 1 mHz.
arxiv pdf