High-fidelity quantum non-demolition qubit measurement is critical to error correction and rapid qubit feedback in large-scale quantum computing. High-fidelity readout requires passinga short and strong pulse through the qubit’s readout resonator, which is then processed by a sufficiently high bandwidth, high saturation power, and quantum-limited amplifier. We have developed a design pipeline that combines time-domain simulation of the un-truncated device Hamiltonian, fabrication constraints, and maximization of saturation power. We have realized an amplifier based on a modified NIST tri-layer Nb fabrication suite which utilizes an array of 25 radio frequency Superconducting QUantum Interference Devices (rf SQUIDs) embedded within a low-Q resonator powered by a high-power voltage pump delivered via a diplexer on the signal port. We show that, despite the intensity of the pump, the device is quantum-efficient and capable of high-fidelity measurement limited by state transitions in the transmon. We present experimental data demonstrating up to -91.2 dBm input saturation power with 20 dB gain, up to 28 MHz instantaneous bandwidth, and phase-preserving qubit measurements with 62% quantum efficiency.
Circuit QED based quantum information processing relies on low noise amplification for signal readout. In the realm of microwave superconducting circuits, this amplification is oftenachieved via Josephson parametric amplifiers (JPA). In the past, these amplifiers exhibited low power added efficiency (PAE), which is roughly the fraction of pump power that is converted to output signal power. This is increasingly relevant because recent attempts to build high saturation power amplifiers achieve this at the cost of very low PAE, which in turn puts a high heat load on the cryostat and limits the number of these devices that a dilution refrigerator can host. Here, we numerically investigate upper bounds on PAE. We focus on a class of parametric amplifiers that consists of a capacitor shunted by a nonlinear inductive block. We first set a benchmark for this class of amplifiers by considering nonlinear blocks described by an arbitrary polynomial current-phase relation. Next, we propose two circuit implementations of the nonlinear block. Finally, we investigate chaining polynomial amplifiers. We find that while amplifiers with higher gain have a lower PAE, regardless of the gain there is considerable room to improve as compared to state of the art devices. For example, for a phase-sensitive amplifier with a power gain of 20 dB, the PAE is ~0.1% for typical JPAs, 5.9% for our simpler circuit JPAs, 34% for our more complex circuit JPAs, 48% for our arbitrary polynomial amplifiers, and at least 95% for our chained amplifiers.
Increasing the fidelity of single-qubit gates requires a combination of faster pulses and increased qubit coherence. However, with resonant qubit drive via a capacitively coupled port,these two objectives are mutually contradictory, as higher qubit quality factor requires a weaker coupling, necessitating longer pulses for the same applied power. Increasing drive power, on the other hand, can heat the qubit’s environment and degrade coherence. In this work, by using the inherent non-linearity of the transmon qubit, we circumvent this issue by introducing a new parametric driving scheme to perform single-qubit control. Specifically, we achieve rapid gate speed by pumping the transmon’s native Kerr term at approximately one third of the qubit’s resonant frequency. Given that transmons typically operate within a fairly narrow range of anharmonicity, this technique is applicable to all transmons. In both theory and experiment, we show that the Rabi rate of the process is proportional to applied drive amplitude cubed, allowing for rapid gate speed with only modest increases in applied power. In addition, we demonstrate that filtering can be used to protect the qubit’s coherence while performing rapid gates, and present theoretical calculations indicating that decay due to multi-photon losses, even in very strongly coupled drive lines, will not limit qubit lifetime. We demonstrate π/2 pulses as short as tens of nanoseconds with fidelity as high as 99.7\%, limited by the modest coherence of our transmon. We also present calculations indicating that this technique could reduce cryostat heating for fast gates, a vital requirement for large-scale quantum computers.
Many proposals to scale quantum technology rely on modular or distributed designs where individual quantum processors, called nodes, are linked together to form one large multinodequantum computer (MNQC). One scalable method to construct an MNQC is using superconducting quantum systems with optical interconnects. However, a limiting factor of these machines will be internode gates, which may be two to three orders of magnitude noisier and slower than local operations. Surmounting the limitations of internode gates will require a range of techniques, including improvements in entanglement generation, the use of entanglement distillation, and optimized software and compilers, and it remains unclear how improvements to these components interact to affect overall system performance, what performance from each is required, or even how to quantify the performance of each. In this paper, we employ a `co-design‘ inspired approach to quantify overall MNQC performance in terms of hardware models of internode links, entanglement distillation, and local architecture. In the case of superconducting MNQCs with microwave-to-optical links, we uncover a tradeoff between entanglement generation and distillation that threatens to degrade performance. We show how to navigate this tradeoff, lay out how compilers should optimize between local and internode gates, and discuss when noisy quantum links have an advantage over purely classical links. Using these results, we introduce a roadmap for the realization of early MNQCs which illustrates potential improvements to the hardware and software of MNQCs and outlines criteria for evaluating the landscape, from progress in entanglement generation and quantum memory to dedicated algorithms such as distributed quantum phase estimation. While we focus on superconducting devices with optical interconnects, our approach is general across MNQC implementations.
Noisy, Intermediate Scale Quantum (NISQ) computers have reached the point where they can show the potential for quantum advantage over classical computing. Unfortunately, NISQ machinesintroduce sufficient noise that even for moderate size quantum circuits the results can be unreliable. We propose a collaboratively designed superconducting quantum computer using a Superconducting Nonlinear Asymmetric Inductive eLement (SNAIL) modulator. The SNAIL modulator is designed by considering both the ideal fundamental qubit gate operation while maximizing the qubit coupling capabilities. We and others have demonstrated that the family, and particularly ‾‾‾‾‾‾√, provides an advantage over as a basis gate. In this work, we show how the SNAIL natively implements ‾‾‾‾‾‾√n functions with high-degree couplings and implementation of gates realized through proportionally scaled pulse lengths. Based on our previously demonstrated SNAIL-based quantum state router we present preliminary data extending the SNAIL-based modulator to four qubit modules. Furthermore, in this work, we co-design future SNAIL-based quantum computers that utilize the construction of richer interconnections based on classical 4-ary tree and hypercubes and compare their advantage to the traditional lattice and heavy-hex lattice for a suite of common quantum algorithms. To make our results more general, we consider both scenarios in which the total circuit time, for implementations dominated by decoherence, or total gate count, for implementations dominated by control imperfections. We demonstrate the co-design advantage based on real hardware SNAIL implementations and extrapolate to larger system sizes characterized from our real multi ‾‾‾‾‾‾√n qubit system with 4-ary tree and hypercube inspired interconnects.
In this work, we present the design of a superconducting, microwave quantum state router which can realize all-to-all couplings among four quantum modules. Each module consists of asingle transmon, readout mode, and communication mode coupled to the router. The router design centers on a parametrically driven, Josephson-junction based three-wave mixing element which generates photon exchange among the modules‘ communication modes. We first demonstrate SWAP operations among the four communication modes, with an average full-SWAP time of 760 ns and average inter-module gate fidelity of 0.97, limited by our modes‘ coherences. We also demonstrate photon transfer and pairwise entanglement between the modules‘ qubits, and parallel operation of simultaneous SWAP gates across the router. These results can readily be extended to faster and higher fidelity router operations, as well as scaled to support larger networks of quantum modules.
Josephson Parametric Amplifiers (JPA) are nonlinear devices that are used for quantum sensing and qubit readout in the microwave regime. While JPAs regularly operate in the quantumlimit, their gain saturates for very small (few photon) input power. In a previous work, we showed that the saturation power of JPAs is not limited by pump depletion, but instead by the high-order nonlinearity of Josephson junctions, the nonlinear circuit elements that enables amplification in JPAs. Here, we present a systematic study of the nonlinearities in JPAs, we show which nonlinearities limit the saturation power, and present a strategy for optimizing the circuit parameters for achieving the best possible JPA. For concreteness, we focus on JPAs that are constructed around a Josephson Ring Modulator (JRM). We show that by tuning the external and shunt inductors, we should be able to take the best experimentally available JPAs and improve their saturation power by ∼15 dB. Finally, we argue that our methods and qualitative results are applicable to a broad range of cavity based JPAs.
Two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) superconductors have unique and desirable properties for integration with conventional superconducting circuits. These includethe ability to form atomically-flat and clean interfaces with stable tunnel barriers, increased kinetic inductance due to the atomically-thin geometry, and resilience to very high in-plane magnetic fields. However, integration of 2D TMD superconductors in conventional superconducting circuits, particularly those employing microwave drive and readout of qubits, requires that a fully superconducting contact be made between the 2D material and a three-dimensional (3D) superconductor. Here, we present an edge contact method for creating zero-resistance contacts between 2D \nbse and 3D aluminum. These hybrid Al-NbSe_2 Josephson junctions (JJs) display a Fraunhofer response to magnetic field with micron2-scale effective areas as the thin NbSe_2 allows field to uniformly penetrate the flake. We present a model for the supercurrent flow in a 2D-3D superconducting structure by numerical solution of the Ginzburg-Landau equations and find good agreement with experiment. The devices formed from 2D TMD superconductors are strongly influenced by the geometry of the flakes themselves as well as the placement of the contacts to bulk 3D superconducting leads. These results demonstrate our ability to graft 2D TMD superconductors and nano-devices onto conventional 3D superconducting materials, opening the way to a new generation of hybrid superconducting quantum circuits.
We demonstrate and contrast two approaches to the stabilization of qubit entanglement by feedback. Our demonstration is built on a feedback platform consisting of two superconductingqubits coupled to a cavity which are measured by a nearly-quantum-limited measurement chain and controlled by high-speed classical logic circuits. This platform is used to stabilize entanglement by two nominally distinct schemes: a „passive“ reservoir engineering method and an „active“ correction based on conditional parity measurements. In view of the instrumental roles that these two feedback paradigms play in quantum error-correction and quantum control, we directly compare them on the same experimental setup. Further, we show that a second layer of feedback can be added to each of these schemes, which heralds the presence of a high-fidelity entangled state in realtime. This „nested“ feedback brings about a marked entanglement fidelity improvement without sacrificing success probability.
We show that a quantum-limited phase-preserving amplifier can act as a which-path information eraser when followed by detection of both quadratures. This beam splitter with gain implementsa continuous joint measurement on the signal sources. As an application, we propose heralded remote entanglement generation between two qubits coupled dispersively to separate cavities. Dissimilar qubit-cavity pairs can be made indistinguishable by simple engineering of the cavity driving fields providing experimental flexibility and the prospect for scalability. Additionally, we find an analytic solution for the stochastic master equation, a quantum filter, yielding a thorough physical understanding of the nonlinear measurement process leading to an entangled state of the qubits.