arXiv:1904.06560 · Applied Physics Reviews

A quantum engineer's guide to superconducting qubits

Philip Krantz, Morten Kjærgaard, F. Yan, Terry P. Orlando, Simon Gustavsson, William D. Oliver

Published Jun 1, 2019• 2,036 citations

Abstract

The aim of this review is to provide quantum engineers with an introductory guide to the central concepts and challenges in the rapidly accelerating field of superconducting quantum circuits. Over the past twenty years, the field has matured from a predominantly basic research endeavor to a one that increasingly explores the engineering of larger-scale superconducting quantum systems. Here, we review several foundational elements—qubit design, noise properties, qubit control, and readout techniques—developed during this period, bridging fundamental concepts in circuit quantum electrodynamics and contemporary, state-of-the-art applications in gate-model quantum computation.

DOI: 10.1063/1.5089550

Related papers

Tutorial on Superconducting Quantum Circuits: From Basics to Applications

Denys Derlian Carvalho Brito, Fernando Valadares, André Jorge Carvalho Chaves

As superconducting circuits emerge as a leading platform for scalable quantum information processing, building comprehensive bridges from the foundational principles of macroscopic quantum phenomena to the architecture of modern quantum devices is increasingly essential for introducing new researchers to the field. This tutorial provides a self-contained, pedagogical introduction to superconducting quantum circuits at the undergraduate level. Beginning with an overview of superconductivity and the Josephson effect, the tutorial systematically develops the quantization of microwave circuits into the framework of circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED). The transmon qubit is then introduced as a state-of-the-art application, with a detailed derivation of its Hamiltonian and its interaction with control and readout circuitry. The theoretical formalism is consolidated through a numerical simulation of vacuum Rabi oscillations in a driven transmon-resonator system, a canonical experiment that demonstrates the coherent energy exchange characteristic of the strong coupling regime. This work serves as a foundational guide and first point of contact, equipping students and researchers with the conceptual and mathematical tools necessary to understand and engineer superconducting quantum hardware.

quant-pharXiv:2512.20913Brazilian Journal of PhysicsDec 25, 20252 citations

Review of Superconducting Qubit Devices and Their Large-Scale Integration

Hiu Yung Wong

The superconducting qubit quantum computer is one of the most promising quantum computing architectures for large-scale integration due to its maturity and close proximity to the well-established semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure. From an education perspective, it also bridges classical microwave electronics and quantum electrodynamics. In this paper, we will review the basics of quantum computers, superconductivity, and Josephson junctions. We then introduce important technologies and concepts related to DiVincenzo's criteria, which are the necessary conditions for the superconducting qubits to work as a useful quantum computer. Firstly, we will discuss various types of superconducting qubits formed with Josephson junctions, from which we will understand the trade-off across multiple design parameters, including their noise immunity. Secondly, we will discuss different schemes to achieve entanglement gate operations, which are a major bottleneck in achieving more efficient fault-tolerant quantum computing. Thirdly, we will review readout engineering, including the implementations of the Purcell filters and quantum-limited amplifiers. Finally, we will discuss the nature and review the studies of two-level system defects, which are currently the limiting factor of qubit coherence time. DiVincenzo's criteria are only the necessary conditions for a technology to be eligible for quantum computing. To have a useful quantum computer, large-scale integration is required. We will review proposals and developments for the large-scale integration of superconducting qubit devices. By comparing with the application of electronic design automation (EDA) in semiconductors, we will also review the use of EDA in superconducting qubit quantum computer design, which is necessary for its large-scale integration.

quant-pharXiv:2602.04831IEEE electron devices reviews.Feb 5, 20261 citation

Progress in superconducting qubits from the perspective of coherence and readout

Youpeng Zhong, Chunyan Li, Haohua Wang +1 more

Superconducting qubits are Josephson junction-based circuits that exhibit macroscopic quantum behavior and can be manipulated as artificial atoms. Benefiting from the well-developed technology of microfabrication and microwave engineering, superconducting qubits have great advantages in design flexibility, controllability, and scalability. Over the past decade, there has been rapid progress in the field, which greatly improved our understanding of qubit decoherence and circuit optimization. The single-qubit coherence time has been steadily raised to the order of 10 to 100 μs, allowing for the demonstration of high-fidelity gate operations and measurement-based feedback control. Here we review recent progress in the coherence and readout of superconducting qubits.

Chinese Physics BNov 1, 20137 citations

A practical guide for building superconducting quantum devices

Yvonne Y. Gao, Michiel Adriaan Rol, Steven Touzard +1 more

Quantum computing offers a powerful new paradigm of information processing that has the potential to transform a wide range of industries. In the pursuit of the tantalizing promises of a universal quantum computer, a multitude of new knowledge and expertise has been developed, enabling the construction of novel quantum algorithms as well as increasingly robust quantum hardware. In particular, we have witnessed rapid progress in the circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) technology, which has emerged as one of the most promising physical systems that is capable of addressing the key challenges in realizing full-stack quantum computing on a large scale. In this article, we present some of the most crucial building blocks developed by the cQED community in recent years and a précis of the latest achievements towards robust universal quantum computation. More importantly, we aim to provide a synoptic outline of the core techniques that underlie most cQED experiments and offer a practical guide for a novice experimentalist to design, construct, and characterize their first quantum device

arXiv:2106.06173Jun 11, 20212 citations

Practical Guide for Building Superconducting Quantum Devices

Yvonne Y. Gao, Michiel Adriaan Rol, Steven Touzard +1 more

Quantum computing offers a powerful new paradigm of information processing that has the potential to transform a wide range of industries.In the pursuit of the tantalizing promises of a universal quantum computer, a multitude of new knowledge and expertise has been developed, enabling the construction of novel quantum algorithms as well as increasingly robust quantum hardware.In particular, we have witnessed rapid progress in the circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) technology, which has emerged as one of the most promising physical systems that is capable of addressing the key challenges in realizing full-stack quantum computing on a large scale.In this Tutorial, we present some of the most crucial building blocks developed by the cQED community in recent years and a précis of the latest achievements towards robust universal quantum computation.More importantly, we aim to provide a synoptic outline of the core techniques that underlie most cQED experiments and offer a practical guide for a novice experimentalist to design, construct, and characterize their first quantum device.

PRX QuantumNov 18, 202186 citations

Superconducting Circuit Companion—an Introduction with Worked Examples

S. E. Rasmussen, K.S. Christensen, Simon Panyella Pedersen +4 more

This tutorial aims at giving an introductory treatment of the circuit analysis of superconducting qubits, i.e., two-level systems in superconducting circuits.It also touches upon couplings between such qubits and how microwave driving and these couplings can be used for single-and two-qubit gates, as well as how to include noise when calculating the dynamics of the system.We also discuss higher-dimensional superconducting qudits.The tutorial is intended for new researchers with limited or no experience with the field but should be accessible to anyone with a bachelor's degree in physics.The tutorial introduces the basic methods used in quantum circuit analysis, starting from a circuit diagram and ending with a quantized Hamiltonian, that may be truncated to the lowest levels.We provide examples of all the basic techniques throughout the discussion, while in the last part of the tutorial we discuss several of the most commonly used circuits for quantum-information applications.This includes both worked examples of single qubits and examples of how to analyze the coupling methods that allow multiqubit operations.In several detailed appendices, we provide the interested reader with an introduction to more advanced techniques for handling larger circuit designs.

arXiv:2103.01225PRX QuantumDec 14, 2021126 citations