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arXiv:2105.01107 · Nature Communications

Improving qubit coherence using closed-loop feedback

Antti P. Vepsäläinen, Roni Winik, Amir H. Karamlou, Jochen Braumüller, Agustín Di Paolo, Youngkyu Sung, Bharath Kannan, Morten Kjærgaard, David K. Kim, Alexander J. Melville, Bethany M. Niedzielski, Jonilyn Yoder, Simon Gustavsson, William D. Oliver

Published Apr 11, 2022• 44 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract Superconducting qubits are a promising platform for building a larger-scale quantum processor capable of solving otherwise intractable problems. In order for the processor to reach practical viability, the gate errors need to be further suppressed and remain stable for extended periods of time. With recent advances in qubit control, both single- and two-qubit gate fidelities are now in many cases limited by the coherence times of the qubits. Here we experimentally employ closed-loop feedback to stabilize the frequency fluctuations of a superconducting transmon qubit, thereby increasing its coherence time by 26% and reducing the single-qubit error rate from (8.5 ± 2.1) × 10−4 to (5.9 ± 0.7) × 10−4. Importantly, the resulting high-fidelity operation remains effective even away from the qubit flux-noise insensitive point, significantly increasing the frequency bandwidth over which the qubit can be operated with high fidelity. This approach is helpful in large qubit grids, where frequency crowding and parasitic interactions between the qubits limit their performance.

DOI
10.1038/s41467-022-29287-4

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Abstract Superconducting qubits are a promising platform for building a larger-scale quantum processor capable of solving otherwise intractable problems. In order for the processor to reach practical viability, the gate errors need to be further suppressed and remain stable for extended periods of time. With recent advances in qubit control, both single- and two-qubit gate fidelities are now in many cases limited by the coherence times of the qubits. Here we experimentally employ closed-loop feedback to stabilize the frequency fluctuations of a superconducting transmon qubit, thereby increasing its coherence time by 26% and reducing the single-qubit error rate from (8.5 ± 2.1) × 10−4 to (5.9 ± 0.7) × 10−4. Importantly, the resulting high-fidelity operation remains effective even away from the qubit flux-noise insensitive point, significantly increasing the frequency bandwidth over which the qubit can be operated with high fidelity. This approach is helpful in large qubit grids, where frequency crowding and parasitic interactions between the qubits limit their performance.
Achieving fast and high-fidelity qubit operations is crucial for unlocking the potential of quantum computers. In particular, reaching low gate errors in two-qubit gates has been a long-standing challenge in the field of superconducting qubits due to their typically long duration relative to coherence times. To realize fast gates, we use the hybridization between fixed-frequency superconducting qubits with a strongly interacting coupler mode that is tunable in frequency. To reduce population leakage during required adiabatic passages through avoided level crossings, we employ a sensitivity-adaptive closed-loop optimization method to design complex pulse shapes. We compare the performance of Gaussian-square, Fourier-series, and piecewise-constant-slope pulse parametrizations and are able to reach 99.9% controlled- Z -gate fidelity using a 64-ns-long Fourier-series pulse defined by only seven parameters. These high-fidelity values are achieved by analyzing the optimized pulse shapes to identify and systematically mitigate signal-line distortions in the experiment. To improve the convergence speed of the optimization, we implement an adaptive cost function, which continuously maximizes the sensitivity. The demonstrated method can be used for tune-up and recalibration of superconducting quantum processors.
Superconducting flux qubits are promising candidates for the physical realization of a scalable quantum processor. Indeed, these circuits may have both a small decoherence rate and a large anharmonicity. These properties enable the application of fast quantum gates with high fidelity and reduce scaling limitations due to frequency crowding. The major difficulty of flux qubits' design consists of controlling precisely their transition energy - the so-called qubit gap - while keeping long and reproducible relaxation times. Solving this problem is challenging and requires extremely good control of e-beam lithography, oxidation parameters of the junctions and sample surface. Here we present measurements of a large batch of flux qubits and demonstrate a high level of reproducibility and control of qubit gaps, relaxation times and pure echo dephasing times. These results open the way for potential applications in the fields of quantum hybrid circuits and quantum computation.
Superconducting flux qubits are promising candidates for the physical realization of a scalable quantum processor. Indeed, these circuits may have both a small decoherence rate and a large anharmonicity. These properties enable the application of fast quantum gates with high fidelity and reduce scaling limitations due to frequency crowding. The major difficulty of flux qubits' design consists of controlling precisely their transition energy---the so-called qubit gap---while keeping long and reproducible relaxation times. Solving this problem is challenging and requires extremely good control of e-beam lithography, oxidation parameters of the junctions, and sample surface. Here we present measurements of a large batch of flux qubits and demonstrate a high level of reproducibility and control of qubit gaps ($\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.6\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\mathrm{GHz}$), relaxation times (151515--$20\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\text{\ensuremath{\mu}}\mathrm{s}$), and pure echo dephasing times (151515--$30\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\text{\ensuremath{\mu}}\mathrm{s}$). These results open the way for potential applications in the fields of quantum hybrid circuits and quantum computation.
Parasitic two-level-system (TLS) defects limit the stability and performance of solid-state quantum processors. Their interaction with a qubit can cause discrete, stochastic shifts of the qubit frequency, making the qubit bistable. We experimentally demonstrate an adaptive protocol for operating a bistable qubit with high fidelity using a classical controller powered by a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Our "1-bit feedback" protocol estimates the qubit's bistable frequency from only one single-shot measurement, reaching the information limit set by the qubit's intrinsic entropy. We validate the protocol in a superconducting qubit by suppressing TLS-induced Ramsey beating, and deploy it to stabilize gate fidelities over time with approximately 136 kHz estimation bandwidth and a 77% error reduction. Our approach provides a simple, yet fundamentally efficient strategy for mitigating dephasing errors induced by strongly coupled TLS defects, and may enable the operation of large future qubit arrays suffering from few remaining, discrete instabilities.
Superconducting qubits provide a promising path toward building large-scale quantum computers. The simple and robust transmon qubit has been the leading platform, achieving multiple milestones. However, fault-tolerant quantum computing calls for qubit operations at error rates significantly lower than those exhibited in the state of the art. Consequently, alternative superconducting qubits with better error protection have attracted increasing interest. Among them, fluxonium is a particularly promising candidate, featuring large anharmonicity and long coherence times. Here, we engineer a fluxonium-based quantum processor that integrates high qubit coherence, fast frequency tunability, and individual-qubit addressability for reset, readout, and gates. With simple and fast gate schemes, we achieve an average single-qubit gate fidelity of 99.97% and a two-qubit gate fidelity of up to 99.72%. This performance is comparable to the highest values reported in the literature of superconducting circuits. Thus our work, within the realm of superconducting qubits, reveals an alternative qubit platform that is competitive with the transmon system.
The technological development of hardware heading toward universal fault-tolerant quantum computation requires a large-scale processing unit with high performance. While fluxonium qubits are promising with high coherence and large anharmonicity, their scalability has not been systematically explored. In this work, we propose a superconducting quantum information processor based on compact high-coherence fluxoniums with suppressed crosstalk, reduced design complexity, improved operational efficiency, high-fidelity gates, and resistance to parameter fluctuations. In this architecture, the qubits are readout dispersively using individual resonators connected to a common bus and manipulated via combined on-chip RF and DC control lines, both of which can be designed to have low crosstalk. A multi-path coupling approach enables exchange interactions between the high-coherence computational states and at the same time suppresses the spurious static ZZ rate, leading to fast and high-fidelity entangling gates. We numerically investigate the cross resonance controlled-NOT and the differential AC-Stark controlled-Z operations, revealing low gate error for qubit-qubit detuning bandwidth of up to 1 GHz. Our study on frequency crowding indicates high fabrication yield for quantum processors consisting of over thousands of qubits. In addition, we estimate low resource overhead to suppress logical error rate using the XZZX surface code. These results promise a scalable quantum architecture with high performance for the pursuit of universal quantum computation.