Magnetic resonance with squeezed microwaves

  1. A. Bienfait,
  2. P. Campagne-Ibarcq,
  3. A. Holm-Kiilerich,
  4. X. Zhou,
  5. S. Probst,
  6. J.J. Pla,
  7. T. Schenkel,
  8. D. Vion,
  9. D. Esteve,
  10. J.J.L. Morton,
  11. K. Moelmer,
  12. and P. Bertet
Although vacuum fluctuations appear to represent a fundamental limit to the sensitivity of electromagnetic field measurements, it is possible to overcome them by using so-called squeezed
states. In such states, the noise in one field quadrature is reduced below the vacuum level while the other quadrature becomes correspondingly more noisy, as required by Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. Squeezed optical fields have been proposed and demonstrated to enhance the sensitivity of interferometric measurements beyond the photon shot-noise limit, with applications in gravitational wave detection. They have also been used to increase the sensitivity of atomic absorption spectroscopy, imaging, atom-based magnetometry, and particle tracking in biological systems. At microwave frequencies, cryogenic temperatures are required for the electromagnetic field to be in its vacuum state. Squeezed microwaves have been produced, used for fundamental studies of light-matter interaction and for enhanced sensing of a mechanical resonator, and proposed to enhance the sensitivity of the readout of superconducting qubits. Here we report the use of squeezed microwave fields to enhance the sensitivity of magnetic resonance spectroscopy of an ensemble of electronic spins. Our scheme consists in sending a squeezed vacuum state to the input of a cavity containing the spins while they are emitting an echo, with the phase of the squeezed quadrature aligned with the phase of the echo. We demonstrate a total noise reduction of 1.2\,dB at the spectrometer output due to the squeezing. These results provide a motivation to examine the application of the full arsenal of quantum metrology to magnetic resonance detection.

Multiplexed Readout of Transmon Qubits with Josephson Bifurcation Amplifiers

  1. V. Schmitt,
  2. X. Zhou,
  3. K. Juliusson,
  4. A. Blais,
  5. P. Bertet,
  6. D. Vion,
  7. and D. Esteve
Achieving individual qubit readout is a major challenge in the development of scalable superconducting quantum processors. We have implemented the multiplexed readout of a four transmon
qubit circuit using non-linear resonators operated as Josephson bifurcation amplifiers. We demonstrate the simultaneous measurement of Rabi oscillations of the four transmons. We find that multiplexed Josephson bifurcation is an high-fidelity readout method, the scalability of which is not limited by the need of a large bandwidth nearly quantum-limited amplifier as is the case with linear readout resonators.

High-gain weakly nonlinear flux-modulated Josephson parametric amplifier using a SQUID-array

  1. X. Zhou,
  2. V. Schmitt,
  3. P. Bertet,
  4. D. Vion,
  5. W. Wustmann,
  6. V. Shumeiko,
  7. and D. Esteve
We have developed and measured a high-gain quantum-limited microwave parametric amplifier based on a superconducting lumped LC resonator with the inductor L including an array of 8
superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). This amplifier is parametrically pumped by modulating the flux threading the SQUIDs at twice the resonator frequency. Around 5 GHz, a maximum gain of 31 dB, a product amplitude-gain x bandwidth above 60 MHz, and a 1 dB compression point of -123 dBm at 20 dB gain are obtained in the non-degenerate mode of operation. Phase sensitive amplification-deamplification is also measured in the degenerate mode and yields a maximum gain of 37 dB. The compression point obtained is 18 dB above what would be obtained with a single SQUID of the same inductance, due to the smaller nonlinearity of the SQUID array.