The addition of tunable couplers to superconducting quantum architectures offers significant advantages for scaling compared to fixed coupling approaches. In principle, tunable couplersallow for exact cancellation of qubit-qubit coupling through the interference of two parallel coupling pathways between qubits. However, stray microwave couplings can introduce additional pathways which complicate the interference effect. Here we investigate the primary spectator induced errors of the bus below qubit (BBQ) architecture in a six qubit device. We identify the key design parameters which inhibit ideal cancellation and demonstrate that dynamic cancellation pulses can further mitigate spectator errors.
Fixed-frequency qubits can suffer from always-on interactions that inhibit independent control. Here, we address this issue by experimentally demonstrating a superconducting architectureusing qubits that comprise of two capacitively-shunted Josephson junctions connected in series. Historically known as tunable coupling qubits (TCQs), such two-junction qubits support two modes with distinct frequencies and spatial symmetries. By selectively coupling only one type of mode and using the other as our computational basis, we greatly suppress crosstalk between the data modes while permitting all-microwave two-qubit gates.
Implementation of high-fidelity two-qubit operations is a key ingredient for scalable quantum error correction. In superconducting qubit architectures tunable buses have been exploredas a means to higher fidelity gates. However, these buses introduce new pathways for leakage. Here we present a modified tunable bus architecture appropriate for fixed-frequency qubits in which the adiabaticity restrictions on gate speed are reduced. We characterize this coupler on a range of two-qubit devices achieving a maximum gate fidelity of 99.85%. We further show the calibration is stable over one day.