Josephson parametric amplifiers (JPA) have become key devices in quantum science and technology with superconducting circuits. In particular, they can be utilized as quantum-limitedamplifiers or as a source of squeezed microwave fields. Here, we report on the detailed measurements of five flux-driven JPAs, three of them exhibiting a hysteretic dependence of the resonant frequency versus the applied magnetic flux. We model the measured characteristics by numerical simulations based on the two-dimensional potential landscape of the dc superconducting quantum interference devices (dc-SQUID), which provide the JPA nonlinearity, for a finite screening parameter βL>0 and demonstrate excellent agreement between the numerical results and the experimental data. Furthermore, we study the nondegenerate response of different JPAs and accurately describe the experimental results with our theory.
Single photon detection is a requisite technique in quantum-optics experiments in both the optical and the microwave domains. However, the energy of microwave quanta are four to fiveorders of magnitude less than their optical counterpart, making the efficient detection of single microwave photons extremely challenging. Here, we demonstrate the detection of a single microwave photon propagating through a waveguide. The detector is implemented with an „impedance-matched“ artificial Λ system comprising the dressed states of a driven superconducting qubit coupled to a microwave resonator. We attain a single-photon detection efficiency of 0.66±0.06 with a reset time of ∼400~ns. This detector can be exploited for various applications in quantum sensing, quantum communication and quantum information processing.
We propose a scheme for continuous detection of itinerant microwave photons in circuit quantum electrodynamics. In the proposed device, a superconducting qubit is coupled dispersivelyto two resonators: one is used to form an impedance-matched Λ system that deterministically captures incoming photons, and the other is used for continuous monitoring of the event. The present scheme enables efficient photon detection: for realistic system parameters, the detection efficiency reaches 0.9 with a bandwidth of about ten megahertz.
The techniques of microwave quantum optics are applied to collective spin excitations in a macroscopic sphere of ferromagnetic insulator. We demonstrate, in the single-magnon limit,strong coupling between a magnetostatic mode in the sphere and a microwave cavity mode. Moreover, we introduce a superconducting qubit in the cavity and couple the qubit with the magnon excitation via the virtual photon excitation. We observe the magnon-vacuum-induced Rabi splitting. The hybrid quantum system enables generation and characterization of non-classical quantum states of magnons.
By properly driving a qubit-resonator system in the strong dispersive regime, we implement an „impedance-matched“ Λ system in the dressed states, where a resonant singlephoton deterministically induces a Raman transition and excites the qubit. Combining this effect and a fast dispersive readout of the qubit, we realize a detector of itinerant microwave photons. We theoretically analyze the single-photon response of the Λ system and evaluate its performance as a detector. We achieve a high detection efficiency close to unity without relying on precise temporal control of the input pulse shape and under a conservative estimate of the system parameters. The detector can also be reset quickly by applying microwave pulses, which allows a short dead time and a high repetition rate.
Rigidity of an ordered phase in condensed matter results in collective excitation modes spatially extending in macroscopic dimensions. Magnon is a quantum of an elementary excitationin the ordered spin system, such as ferromagnet. Being low dissipative, dynamics of magnons in ferromagnetic insulators has been extensively studied and widely applied for decades in the contexts of ferromagnetic resonance, and more recently of Bose-Einstein condensation as well as spintronics. Moreover, towards hybrid systems for quantum memories and transducers, coupling of magnons and microwave photons in a resonator have been investigated. However, quantum-state manipulation at the single-magnon level has remained elusive because of the lack of anharmonic element in the system. Here we demonstrate coherent coupling between a magnon excitation in a millimetre-sized ferromagnetic sphere and a superconducting qubit, where the interaction is mediated by the virtual photon excitation in a microwave cavity. We obtain the coupling strength far exceeding the damping rates, thus bringing the hybrid system into the strong coupling regime. Furthermore, we find a tunable magnon-qubit coupling scheme utilising a parametric drive with a microwave. Our approach provides a versatile tool for quantum control and measurement of the magnon excitations and thus opens a new discipline of quantum magnonics.
We demonstrate large normal splitting between a magnetostatic mode (the Kittel mode) in a ferromagnetic sphere of yttrium iron garnet and a microwave cavity mode. Strong coupling isachieved in the quantum regime where the average numbers of thermally and externally excited magnons and photons are less than one. We also confirm that the coupling strength is proportional to the square root of the number of spins. Non-monotonous temperature dependence of the Kittel-mode linewidth is observed below 1 K and is attributed to the dissipation due to the coupling with a bath of two-level systems.
We infer the high-frequency flux noise spectrum in a superconducting flux qubit by studying the decay of Rabi oscillations under strong driving conditions. The large anharmonicity ofthe qubit and its strong inductive coupling to a microwave line enabled high-amplitude driving without causing significant additional decoherence. Rabi frequencies up to 1.7 GHz were achieved, approaching the qubit’s level splitting of 4.8 GHz, a regime where the rotating-wave approximation breaks down as a model for the driven dynamics. The spectral density of flux noise observed in the wide frequency range decreases with increasing frequency up to 300 MHz, where the spectral density is not very far from the extrapolation of the 1/f spectrum obtained from the free-induction-decay measurements. We discuss a possible origin of the flux noise due to surface electron spins.
We present a new method for determining pulse imperfections and improving the
single-gate fidelity in a superconducting qubit. By applying consecutive
positive and negative $pi$ pulses,we amplify the qubit evolution due to
microwave pulse distortion, which causes the qubit state to rotate around an
axis perpendicular to the intended rotation axis. Measuring these rotations as
a function of pulse period allows us to reconstruct the shape of the microwave
pulse arriving at the sample. Using the extracted response to predistort the
input signal, we are able to improve the pulse shapes and to reach an average
single-qubit gate fidelity higher than 99.8%.
We implement dynamical decoupling techniques to mitigate noise and enhance
the lifetime of an entangled state that is formed in a superconducting flux
qubit coupled to a microscopictwo-level system. By rapidly changing the
qubit’s transition frequency relative to the two-level system, we realize a
refocusing pulse that reduces dephasing due to fluctuations in the transition
frequencies, thereby improving the coherence time of the entangled state. The
coupling coherence is further enhanced when applying multiple refocusing
pulses, in agreement with our $1/f$ noise model. The results are applicable to
any two-qubit system with transverse coupling, and they highlight the potential
of decoupling techniques for improving two-qubit gate fidelities, an essential
prerequisite for implementing fault-tolerant quantum computing.