Quasiparticle poisoning bottlenecks superconducting qubits, limiting coherence and the scalability of quantum processors. In this work, we systematically investigate quasiparticle poisoningin superconducting qubits under three infrared (IR) shielding configurations, ranging from a dedicated multi-layer design to a simplified implementation. By measuring quasiparticle-induced parity switching, we demonstrate a suppression of the switching rate by over four orders of magnitude via the implementation of improved shielding. In the best configuration, the rate decreases over time following cooldown and reaches 0.069Hz on day 34, corresponding to an anticipated quasiparticle density per Cooper pair of 1.88×10−11. To our knowledge, this represents the lowest quasiparticle density reported in the literature to date. The remaining quasiparticle population is likely dominated by sporadic phonon bursts stemming from mechanical stress release in the on-chip films, as well as from the surrounding environment. The effective qubit temperature follows the phonon bath down to 17mK, enabling initialization errors of ∼0.01% for 3GHz qubits. These results demonstrate that proper IR shielding and thermalization are essential for suppressing quasiparticle poisoning and enabling high-coherence, scalable superconducting qubit systems.
Microwave storage and retrieval are essential capabilities for superconducting quantum circuits. Here, we demonstrate an on-chip multimode resonator in which strong parametric modulationinduces a large and tunable normal-mode splitting that enables microwave storage. When the spectral bandwidth of a short microwave pulse covers the two dressed-state absorption peaks, part of the pulse is absorbed and undergoes coherent energy exchange between the modes, producing a clear time-domain beating signal. By switching off the modulation before the beating arrives, we realize on-demand storage and retrieval, demonstrating an alternative approach to microwave photonic quantum memory. This parametric-normal-mode-splitting protocol offers a practical route toward a controllable quantum-memory mechanism in superconducting circuits.
A microwave memory using a superconducting artificial chiral atom embedded in a one-dimensional open transmission line is theoretically investigated. By applying a coupling field toa single artificial atom, we modify its dispersion, resulting in a slow probe pulse similar to electromagnetically induced transparency. The single atom’s intrinsic chirality, along with optimal control of the coupling field, enables a storage efficiency exceeding 99% and near-unity fidelity across a broad range of pulse durations. Our scheme provides a feasible pathway toward highly efficient quantum information processing in superconducting circuits.
Recent progresses in Josephson-junction-based superconducting circuits have propelled quantum information processing forward. However, the lack of a metastable state in most superconductingartificial atoms hinders the development of photonic quantum memory in this platform. Here, we use a single superconducting qubit-resonator system to realize a desired Λ-type artificial atom, and to demonstrate slow light with a group velocity of 3.6 km/s and the microwave storage with a memory time extending to several hundred nanoseconds via electromagnetically induced transparency. Our results highlight the potential of achieving microwave quantum memory, promising substantial advancements in quantum information processing within superconducting circuits.