Solid state superconducting devices coupled to coplanar transmission lines offer an exquisite architecture for quantum optical phenomena probing as well as for quantum computation implementation, being the object of intense theoretical and experimental investigation lately. In appropriate conditions the transmission line radiation modes can get strongly coupled to a superconducting device with only two levels -for that reason called artificial atom or qubit. Employing this system we propose a hybrid two-quantum bit gate encoding involving quantum electromagnetic field qubit states prepared in a coplanar transmission line capacitively coupled to a single charge qubit. Since dissipative effects are more drastic in the solid state qubit than in the field one, it can be employed for storage of information, whose efficiency against the action of an ohmic bath show that this encoding can be readily implemented with present day technology. We extend the investigation to generate entanglement between several solid state qubits and the field qubit through the action of external classical magnetic pulses.
Solid state superconducting devices coupled to coplanar transmission lines offer an exquisite architecture for quantum optical phenomena probing as well as for quantum computation implementation, being the object of intense theoretical and experimental investigation lately. In appropriate conditions the transmission line radiation modes can get strongly coupled to a superconducting device with only two levels -for that reason called artificial atom or qubit. Employing this system we propose a hybrid two-quantum bit gate encoding involving quantum electromagnetic field qubit states prepared in a coplanar transmission line capacitively coupled to a single charge qubit. Since dissipative effects are more drastic in the solid state qubit than in the field one, it can be employed for storage of information, whose efficiency against the action of an ohmic bath show that this encoding can be readily implemented with present day technology. We extend the investigation to generate entanglement between several solid state qubits and the field qubit through the action of external classical magnetic pulses.
A quantum computer will use the properties of quantum physics to solve certain computational problems much faster than otherwise possible. One promising potential implementation is to use superconducting quantum bits in the circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) architecture. There, the low energy states of a nonlinear electronic oscillator are isolated and addressed as a qubit. These qubits are capacitively coupled to the modes of a microwave-frequency transmission line resonator which serves as a quantum communication bus. Microwave electrical pulses are applied to the resonator to manipulate or measure the qubit state. State control is calibrated using diagnostic sequences that expose systematic errors. Hybridization of the resonator with the qubit gives it a nonlinear response when driven strongly, useful for amplifying the measurement signal to enhance accuracy. Qubits coupled to the same bus may coherently interact with one another via the exchange of virtual photons. A two-qubit conditional phase gate mediated by this interaction can deterministically entangle its targets, and is used to generate two-qubit Bell states and three-qubit GHZ states. These three-qubit states are of particular interest because they redundantly encode quantum information. They are the basis of the quantum repetition code prototypical of more sophisticated schemes required for quantum computation. Using a three-qubit Toffoli gate, this code is demonstrated to autonomously correct either bit- or phase-flip errors. Despite observing the expected behavior, the overall fidelity is low because of decoherence. A superior implementation of cQED replaces the transmission-line resonator with a three-dimensional box mode, increasing lifetimes by an order of magnitude. In-situ qubit frequency control is enabled with control lines, which are used to fully characterize and control the system Hamiltonian.
We demonstrate how a superposition of coherent states can be generated for a microwave field inside a coplanar transmission line coupled to a single superconducting charge qubit, with the addition of a single classical magnetic pulse for chirping of the qubit transition frequency. We show how the qubit dephasing induces decoherence on the field superposition state, and how it can be probed by the qubit charge detection. The character of the charge qubit relaxation process itself is imprinted in the field state decoherence profile.
Compared with a qubit, a qudit (i.e., a d-level or d-state quantum system) provides a larger Hilbert space to store and process information. On the other hand, qudit-based hybrid quantum computing usually requires performing hybrid quantum gates with qudits that are different in their nature or in their encoding format. In this work, we consider the qutrit case, i.e., the case for a qudit with d=3. We propose a simple method to realize a hybrid quantum controlled-sum gate with one superconducting (SC) qutrit and a cat-state qutrit. This gate plus single-qutrit gates form a universal set of ternary logic gates for quantum computing with qutrits. Our proposal is based on circuit QED and operates essentially by employing a SC ququart (a four-level quantum system) dispersively coupled to a microwave cavity. The gate implementation is quite simple because it only requires a single basic operation. Neither classical pulse nor measurement is needed. The auxiliary higher energy level of the SC ququart is virtually excited during the gate operation, thus decoherence from this level is greatly suppressed. As an application of this gate, we discuss the generation of a hybrid maximally entangled state of one SC qutrit and one cat-state qutrit. We further analyze the experimental feasibility of creating such a hybrid entangled state in circuit QED. This proposal is quite general and can be extended to accomplish the same task in a wide range of physical system, such as a four-level natural or artificial atom coupled to an optical or microwave cavity.
The technology of quantum computing is believed to solve certain computational problems significantly faster than classical computers, enabling classically inaccessible problems. However, the technology is still in its infancy and it is still too early to conclude which physical system(s) will form the basis of tomorrow's quantum computer. Small-scale quantum processors, built on the superconducting transmon qubit, demonstrated already the anticipated quantum speed-up. Despite this tremendous milestone, scaling up to a full-fledged quantum computer is far from trivial: with these qubits, the flux-control causes crosstalk between qubits and heating, the room-temperature microwave control is hardly scalable and comes with high energetic radiation, and most importantly, the loss of quantum information in time leads to computational errors. Recent advances in various hybrid semiconductor materials enabled novel voltage-controlled transmons, gatemons, which are less susceptible to heating and crosstalk. Even more exciting, gatemons can be designed to host Majorana zero modes in a way that renders the qubit inherently protected against decoherence. In order to induce Majorana zero modes in such nanowire systems strong magnetic fields are required. Problematically, magnetic fields destroy the superconductivity that these microwave circuits rely on. In this thesis we integrate three types of hybrid Josephson junctions in magnetic field compatible microwave devices. Chapter 4 demonstrates the first graphene-based transmon. Due to the mono-atomic thickness of graphene in combination with magnetic field resilient coplanar waveguide resonators, we are able to operate the transmon circuit at an in-plane magnetic field of 1 Tesla. Chapter 5 embeds an InAs-Al semiconducting nanowire Josephson junction in a high quality factor superconducting transmission line resonator, demonstrating on-chip microwave generation. The gate-controllable semiconducting platform lends itself for fast pulse control, providing a perspective for the coherent on-chip manipulation of artificial two-level systems, in particular superconducting qubits such as transmons. Chapter 6 continues the development of InAs-Al nanowire transmons. The offset-charge-sensitive regime, additional plunger gates and magnetic field compatibility prepares the platform for the detection of coherent coupling between Majorana zero modes, a phenomena which unfortunately still remains unobserved. Additionally, we realise the first InSb-Al gatemon. The higher spin-orbit coupling makes InSb to be a preferred material in the search for Majorana signatures. Chapter 7 reports on the dynamics of quasiparticle tunneling events in real-time across the InAs-Al nanowire junction in a transmon architecture. The magnetic field compatibility of our device up to 1 Tesla together with in-situ voltage-controlled quasiparticle trap engineering, allows us to measure the survival of the charge-parity lifetime up to strong magnetic fields. A result which is extremely important in the research field of topological quantum computing, where the qubit space is defined in the charge-parity.
Hybrid qubits have recently drawn intense attention in quantum computing. We here propose a method to implement a universal controlled-phase gate of two hybrid qubits via two three-dimensional (3D) microwave cavities coupled to a superconducting flux qutrit. For the gate considered here, the control qubit is a microwave photonic qubit (particle-like qubit), whose two logic states are encoded by the vacuum state and the single-photon state of a cavity, while the target qubit is a cat-state qubit (wave-like qubit), whose two logic states are encoded by the two orthogonal cat states of the other cavity. During the gate operation, the qutrit remains in the ground state; therefore, decoherence from the qutrit is greatly suppressed. The gate realization is quite simple, because only a single basic operation is employed and neither classical pulse nor measurement is used. Our numerical simulations demonstrate that with current circuit quantum electrodynamics technology, this gate can be realized with a high fidelity. The generality of this proposal allows implementing the proposed gate in a wide range of physical systems, such as two 1D or 3D microwave or optical cavities coupled to a natural or artificial three-level atom. Finally, this proposal can be applied to create a novel entangled state between a particle-like photonic qubit and a wave-like cat-state qubit.
Quantum bits (qubits) are at the heart of quantum information processing schemes. Currently, solid-state qubits, and in particular the superconducting ones, seem to satisfy the requirements for being the building blocks of viable quantum computers, since they exhibit relatively long coherence times, extremely low dissipation, and scalability. The possibility of achieving quantum coherence in macroscopic circuits comprising Josephson junctions, envisioned by Legett in the 1980's, was demonstrated for the first time in a charge qubit; since then, the exploitation of macroscopic quantum effects in low-capacitance Josephson junction circuits allowed for the realization of several kinds of superconducting qubits. Furthermore, coupling between qubits has been successfully achieved that was followed by the construction of multiple-qubit logic gates and the implementation of several algorithms. Here it is demonstrated that induced qubit lattice coherence as well as two remarkable quantum coherent optical phenomena, i.e., self-induced transparency and Dicke-type superradiance, may occur during light-pulse propagation in quantum metamaterials comprising superconducting charge qubits. The generated qubit lattice pulse forms a compound "quantum breather" that propagates in synchrony with the electromagnetic pulse. The experimental confirmation of such effects in superconducting quantum metamaterials may open a new pathway to potentially powerful quantum computing.