Tuneable on-demand single-photon source

  1. Z.H. Peng,
  2. J. S. Tsai,
  3. and O. V. Astafiev
An on-demand single photon source is a key element in a series of prospective quantum technologies and applications. We demonstrate the operation of a tuneable on-demand microwave photon
source based on a fully controllable superconducting artificial atom strongly coupled to an open-end transmission line (a 1D half-space). The atom emits a photon upon excitation by a short microwave π-pulse applied through a control line weakly coupled to the atom. The emission and control lines are well decoupled from each other, preventing the direct leakage of radiation from the π-pulses used for excitation. The estimated efficiency of the source is higher than 75\% and remains to be about 50\% or higher over a wide frequency range from 6.7 to 9.1 GHz continuously tuned by an external magnetic field.

Correlated emission lasing in harmonic oscillators coupled via a single three-level artificial atom

  1. Z.H. Peng,
  2. Yu-xi Liu,
  3. J.T. Peltonen,
  4. T. Yamamoto,
  5. J. S. Tsai,
  6. and O. Astafiev
A single superconducting artificial atom provides a unique basis for coupling electromagnetic fields and photons hardly achieved with a natural atom. Bringing a pair of harmonic oscillators
into resonance with transitions of the three-level atom converts atomic spontaneous processes into correlated emission dynamics. We demonstrate two-mode correlated emission lasing on harmonic oscillators coupled via the fully controllable three-level artificial atom. Correlation of two different color emissions reveals itself as equally narrowed linewiths and quench of their mutual phase-diffusion. The mutual linewidth is more than four orders of magnitude narrower than the Schawlow-Townes limit. The interference between the different color lasing fields demonstrates the two-mode fields are strongly correlated.

Josephson parametric phase-locked oscillator and its application to dispersive readout of superconducting qubits

  1. Z. R. Lin,
  2. K. Inomata,
  3. K. Koshino,
  4. W. D. Oliver,
  5. Y. Nakamura,
  6. J. S. Tsai,
  7. and T. Yamamoto
The parametric phase-locked oscillator (PPLO), also known as a parametron, is a resonant circuit in which one of the reactances is periodically modulated. It can detect, amplify, and
store binary digital signals in the form of two distinct phases of self-oscillation. Indeed, digital computers using PPLOs based on a magnetic ferrite ring or a varactor diode as its fundamental logic element were successfully operated in 1950s and 1960s. More recently, basic bit operations have been demonstrated in an electromechanical resonator, and an Ising machine based on optical PPLOs has been proposed. Here, using a PPLO realized with Josephson-junction circuitry, we demonstrate the demodulation of a microwave signal digitally modulated by binary phase-shift keying. Moreover, we apply this demodulation capability to the dispersive readout of a superconducting qubit. This readout scheme enables a fast and latching-type readout, yet requires only a small number of readout photons in the resonator to which the qubit is coupled, thus featuring the combined advantages of several disparate schemes. We have achieved high-fidelity, single-shot, and non-destructive qubit readout with Rabi-oscillation contrast exceeding 90%, limited primarily by the qubit’s energy relaxation.

Microwave Down-Conversion with an Impedance-Matched Λ System in Driven Circuit QED

  1. K. Inomata,
  2. K. Koshino,
  3. Z. R. Lin,
  4. W. D. Oliver,
  5. J. S. Tsai,
  6. Y. Nakamura,
  7. and T. Yamamoto
By driving a dispersively coupled qubit-resonator system, we realize an „impedance-matched“ Λ system that has two identical radiative decay rates from the top level and
interacts with a semi-infinite waveguide. It has been predicted that a photon input from the waveguide deterministically induces a Raman transition in the system and switches its electronic state. We confirm this through microwave response to a continuous probe field, observing near-perfect (99.7%) extinction of the reflection and highly efficient (74%) frequency down-conversion. These proof-of-principle results lead to deterministic quantum gates between material qubits and microwave photons and open the possibility for scalable quantum networks interconnected with waveguide photons.

Single-shot readout of a superconducting flux qubit with a flux-driven Josephson parametric amplifier

  1. Z. R. Lin,
  2. K. Inomata,
  3. W. D. Oliver,
  4. K. Koshino,
  5. Y. Nakamura,
  6. J. S. Tsai,
  7. and T. Yamamoto
We report single-shot readout of a superconducting flux qubit by using a flux-driven Josephson parametric amplifier (JPA). After optimizing the readout power, gain of the JPA and timing
of the data acquisition, we observe the Rabi oscillations with a contrast of 74% which is mainly limited by the bandwidth of the JPA and the energy relaxation of the qubit. The observation of quantum jumps between the qubit eigenstates under continuous monitoring indicates the nondestructiveness of the readout scheme.

Large Dispersive Shift of Cavity Resonance Induced by a Superconducting Flux Qubit in the Straddling Regime

  1. K. Inomata,
  2. T. Yamamoto,
  3. P.-M. Billangeon,
  4. Y. Nakamura,
  5. and J. S. Tsai
We demonstrate enhancement of the dispersive frequency shift in a coplanar waveguide resonator induced by a capacitively-coupled superconducting flux qubit in the straddling regime.
The magnitude of the observed shift, 80 MHz for the qubit-resonator detuning of 5 GHz, is quantitatively explained by the generalized Jaynes-Cummings model which takes into account the contribution of the qubit higher energy levels. By applying the enhanced dispersive shift to the qubit readout, we achieved 90% contrast of the Rabi oscillations which is mainly limited by the energy relaxation of the qubit.