Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2211.10053 · Nature Communications

An ultra-high gain single-photon transistor in the microwave regime

Zhiling Wang, Zenghui Bao, Yan Li, Yukai Wu, Weizhou Cai, Weiting Wang, Xiyue Han, Jiahui Wang, Yipu Song, Luyan Sun, Hongyi Zhang, L.-M. Duan

Published Oct 15, 2022• 14 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

A photonic transistor that can switch or amplify an optical signal with a single gate photon requires strong non-linear interaction at the single-photon level. Circuit quantum electrodynamics provides great flexibility to generate such an interaction, and thus could serve as an effective platform to realize a high-performance single-photon transistor. Here we demonstrate such a photonic transistor in the microwave regime. Our device consists of two microwave cavities dispersively coupled to a superconducting qubit. A single gate photon imprints a phase shift on the qubit state through one cavity, and further shifts the resonance frequency of the other cavity. In this way, we realize a gain of the transistor up to 53.4 dB, with an extinction ratio better than 20 dB. Our device outperforms previous devices in the optical regime by several orders in terms of optical gain, which indicates a great potential for application in the field of microwave quantum photonics and quantum information processing.

DOI
10.1038/s41467-022-33921-6

Related papers

A single-photon switch and transistor enabled by a solid-state quantum memory

Shuo Sun, Hyochul Kim, Zhouchen Luo +2 more

Single-photon switches and transistors generate strong photon-photon interactions that are essential for quantum circuits and networks. However, the deterministic control of an optical signal with a single photon requires strong interactions with a quantum memory, which has been challenging to achieve in a solid-state platform. We demonstrate a single-photon switch and transistor enabled by a solid-state quantum memory. Our device consists of a semiconductor spin qubit strongly coupled to a nanophotonic cavity. The spin qubit enables a single 63-picosecond gate photon to switch a signal field containing up to an average of 27.7 photons before the internal state of the device resets. Our results show that semiconductor nanophotonic devices can produce strong and controlled photon-photon interactions that could enable high-bandwidth photonic quantum information processing.

arXiv:1805.01964•Science•Jul 5, 2018•207 citations

Multiple-output microwave single-photon source using superconducting circuits with longitudinal and transverse couplings

Xin Wang, Adam Miranowicz, Hongrong Li +1 more

Single-photon devices at microwave frequencies are important for applications in quantum information processing and communication in the microwave regime. In this work we describe a proposal of a multioutput single-photon device. We consider two superconducting resonators coupled to a gap-tunable qubit via both its longitudinal and transverse degrees of freedom. Thus, this qubit-resonator coupling differs from the coupling in standard circuit quantum-electrodynamic systems described by the Jaynes-Cummings model. We demonstrate that an effective quadratic coupling between one of the normal modes and the qubit can be induced and this induced second-order nonlinearity is much larger than that for conventional Kerr-type systems exhibiting photon blockade. Assuming that a coupled normal mode is resonantly driven, we observe that the output fields from the resonators exhibit strong sub-Poissonian photon-number statistics and photon antibunching. Contrary to previous studies on resonant photon blockade, the first-excited state of our device is a pure single-photon Fock state rather than a polariton state, i.e., a highly hybridized qubit-photon state. In addition, it is found that the optical state truncation caused by the strong qubit-induced nonlinearity can lead to an entanglement between the two resonators, even in their steady state under the Markov approximation.

arXiv:1607.08730•Physical Review A•Nov 30, 2016•40 citations

Superconducting Qubit Enabled Single Microwave Photon Detection

John Mark Kreikebaum

Superconducting quantum bits (qubits) are a leading candidate towards realizing a processor that is able to outperform existing classical computers at select tasks. One particular qubit architecture, the transmon, boasts long coherence times compared to required gate lengths and flexibility with respect to circuit couplings as these 'artificial atoms' are photolithographically defined. These attributes allow qubits to be leveraged for other tasks as well — such as efficiently detecting itinerant microwave photons. Such a device may prove useful for remote entanglement protocols, quantum optics experiments in the microwave regime, and as a detector for low-mass dark matter.Through a blend of circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) and waveguide quantum electrodynamics (wQED) theories, high detector performance was achieved even when the photon arrival time was not known. Utilizing an ensemble (N = 4) of identical transmon absorbers, photon mediated interactions along a common waveguide enable absorbed itinerant photons to be trapped for longer than the inverse of the bandwidth of an individual qubit. This extended trapping time allows for sufficient integration of the dispersively shifted readout resonator to resolve deviations from vacuum with high fidelity.

•Jan 1, 2020•0 citations

Single-photon microwave switch with a recoverable control photon

Davide Rinaldi, Davide Nigro, Dario Gerace

Scalable quantum technologies may be applied in prospective architectures employing traditional information processing elements, such as transistors, rectifiers, or switches modulated by low-power inputs. In this respect, recently developed quantum processors based, e.g., on superconducting circuits may alternatively be employed as the basic platform for ultra-low-power consumption classical processors, in addition to obvious applications in quantum information processing and quantum computing. Here we propose a single-photon microwave switch based on a circuit quantum electrodynamics setup, in which a single control photon in a transmission line is able to switch on or off the propagation of another single photon in a separate line. The performances of this single-photon switch are quantified in terms of the photon flux through the output channel, providing a direct comparison of our results with available data. Furthermore, we show how the design of this microwave switch enables the recovery of the single control photon after the switching process. This proposal may be readily realized in state-of-art superconducting circuit technology.

arXiv:2407.20092•Physical Review A•Jan 3, 2025•3 citations

Single-photon transistor based on tunable coupling in a cavity quantum electrodynamics system

Shuang Xu, H. Z. Shen, X. X. Yi

We propose a single-photon transistor scheme based on cavity quantum electrodynamics that employs variable coupling between a resonator and a waveguide. We show that the effective absorption of a single photon of arbitrary shape can be realized through controlled variation of the coupling. Subsequently, with coupling turned off, the absorbed photon would remain inside the resonator, alter the effective frequency of the artificial atom, and enable the controlled resonant transmission of multiple source photons. Moreover, the gate photon can be easily retrieved. Our results provide a promising platform for coherent manipulation and individual microwave photon detection, which has potential applications in quantum information processing and quantum communication.

Journal of the Optical Society of America B•Jul 7, 2016•7 citations

Continuous-Wave Single-Photon Transistor Based on a Superconducting Circuit

Oleksandr Kyriienko, Anders Søndberg Sørensen

We propose a microwave frequency single-photon transistor which can operate under continuous wave probing and represents an efficient single microwave photon detector. It can be realized using an impedance matched system of a three level artificial ladder-type atom coupled to two microwave cavities connected to input-output waveguides. Using a classical drive on the upper transition, we find parameter space where a single photon control pulse incident on one of the cavities can be fully absorbed into hybridized excited states. This subsequently leads to series of quantum jumps in the upper manifold and the appearance of a photon flux leaving the second cavity through a separate input-output port. The proposal does not require time variation of the probe signals, thus corresponding to a passive version of a single-photon transistor. The resulting device is robust to qubit dephasing processes, possesses low dark count rate for large anharmonicity, and can be readily implemented using current technology.

arXiv:1603.06615•Physical Review Letters•Sep 28, 2016•58 citations
A photonic transistor that can switch or amplify an optical signal with a single gate photon requires strong non-linear interaction at the single-photon level. Circuit quantum electrodynamics provides great flexibility to generate such an interaction, and thus could serve as an effective platform to realize a high-performance single-photon transistor. Here we demonstrate such a photonic transistor in the microwave regime. Our device consists of two microwave cavities dispersively coupled to a superconducting qubit. A single gate photon imprints a phase shift on the qubit state through one cavity, and further shifts the resonance frequency of the other cavity. In this way, we realize a gain of the transistor up to 53.4 dB, with an extinction ratio better than 20 dB. Our device outperforms previous devices in the optical regime by several orders in terms of optical gain, which indicates a great potential for application in the field of microwave quantum photonics and quantum information processing.
Single-photon switches and transistors generate strong photon-photon interactions that are essential for quantum circuits and networks. However, the deterministic control of an optical signal with a single photon requires strong interactions with a quantum memory, which has been challenging to achieve in a solid-state platform. We demonstrate a single-photon switch and transistor enabled by a solid-state quantum memory. Our device consists of a semiconductor spin qubit strongly coupled to a nanophotonic cavity. The spin qubit enables a single 63-picosecond gate photon to switch a signal field containing up to an average of 27.7 photons before the internal state of the device resets. Our results show that semiconductor nanophotonic devices can produce strong and controlled photon-photon interactions that could enable high-bandwidth photonic quantum information processing.
Single-photon devices at microwave frequencies are important for applications in quantum information processing and communication in the microwave regime. In this work we describe a proposal of a multioutput single-photon device. We consider two superconducting resonators coupled to a gap-tunable qubit via both its longitudinal and transverse degrees of freedom. Thus, this qubit-resonator coupling differs from the coupling in standard circuit quantum-electrodynamic systems described by the Jaynes-Cummings model. We demonstrate that an effective quadratic coupling between one of the normal modes and the qubit can be induced and this induced second-order nonlinearity is much larger than that for conventional Kerr-type systems exhibiting photon blockade. Assuming that a coupled normal mode is resonantly driven, we observe that the output fields from the resonators exhibit strong sub-Poissonian photon-number statistics and photon antibunching. Contrary to previous studies on resonant photon blockade, the first-excited state of our device is a pure single-photon Fock state rather than a polariton state, i.e., a highly hybridized qubit-photon state. In addition, it is found that the optical state truncation caused by the strong qubit-induced nonlinearity can lead to an entanglement between the two resonators, even in their steady state under the Markov approximation.
Superconducting quantum bits (qubits) are a leading candidate towards realizing a processor that is able to outperform existing classical computers at select tasks. One particular qubit architecture, the transmon, boasts long coherence times compared to required gate lengths and flexibility with respect to circuit couplings as these 'artificial atoms' are photolithographically defined. These attributes allow qubits to be leveraged for other tasks as well — such as efficiently detecting itinerant microwave photons. Such a device may prove useful for remote entanglement protocols, quantum optics experiments in the microwave regime, and as a detector for low-mass dark matter.Through a blend of circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) and waveguide quantum electrodynamics (wQED) theories, high detector performance was achieved even when the photon arrival time was not known. Utilizing an ensemble (N = 4) of identical transmon absorbers, photon mediated interactions along a common waveguide enable absorbed itinerant photons to be trapped for longer than the inverse of the bandwidth of an individual qubit. This extended trapping time allows for sufficient integration of the dispersively shifted readout resonator to resolve deviations from vacuum with high fidelity.
Scalable quantum technologies may be applied in prospective architectures employing traditional information processing elements, such as transistors, rectifiers, or switches modulated by low-power inputs. In this respect, recently developed quantum processors based, e.g., on superconducting circuits may alternatively be employed as the basic platform for ultra-low-power consumption classical processors, in addition to obvious applications in quantum information processing and quantum computing. Here we propose a single-photon microwave switch based on a circuit quantum electrodynamics setup, in which a single control photon in a transmission line is able to switch on or off the propagation of another single photon in a separate line. The performances of this single-photon switch are quantified in terms of the photon flux through the output channel, providing a direct comparison of our results with available data. Furthermore, we show how the design of this microwave switch enables the recovery of the single control photon after the switching process. This proposal may be readily realized in state-of-art superconducting circuit technology.
We propose a single-photon transistor scheme based on cavity quantum electrodynamics that employs variable coupling between a resonator and a waveguide. We show that the effective absorption of a single photon of arbitrary shape can be realized through controlled variation of the coupling. Subsequently, with coupling turned off, the absorbed photon would remain inside the resonator, alter the effective frequency of the artificial atom, and enable the controlled resonant transmission of multiple source photons. Moreover, the gate photon can be easily retrieved. Our results provide a promising platform for coherent manipulation and individual microwave photon detection, which has potential applications in quantum information processing and quantum communication.
We propose a microwave frequency single-photon transistor which can operate under continuous wave probing and represents an efficient single microwave photon detector. It can be realized using an impedance matched system of a three level artificial ladder-type atom coupled to two microwave cavities connected to input-output waveguides. Using a classical drive on the upper transition, we find parameter space where a single photon control pulse incident on one of the cavities can be fully absorbed into hybridized excited states. This subsequently leads to series of quantum jumps in the upper manifold and the appearance of a photon flux leaving the second cavity through a separate input-output port. The proposal does not require time variation of the probe signals, thus corresponding to a passive version of a single-photon transistor. The resulting device is robust to qubit dephasing processes, possesses low dark count rate for large anharmonicity, and can be readily implemented using current technology.