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arXiv:2308.07888

Valley-polarized Josephson Junctions as gate-tunable $0$-$π$ qubit platforms

Zhong-Chang-Fei Li, Yuxuan Deng, Zi-Ting Sun, Jin-Xin Hu, K. T. Law

Published Aug 15, 2023• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Recently, gate-defined Josephson junctions based on magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) have been fabricated. In such a junction, local electrostatic gating can create two superconducting regions connected by an interaction-driven valley-polarized state as the weak link. Due to the spontaneous time-reversal and inversion symmetry breaking of the valley-polarized state, novel phenomena such as the Josephson diode effect have been observed without applying external fields. Importantly, when the so-called nonreciprocity efficiency (which measures the sign and strength of the Josephson effect) changes sign, the energy-phase relation of the junction is approximate $F(ϕ) \approx \cos(2ϕ)$ where $F$ is the free energy and $ϕ$ is the phase difference of the two superconductors. In this work, we show that such a MATBG-based Josephson junction, when shunted by a capacitor, can be used to realize the long-sought-after $0$-$π$ qubits which are protected from local perturbation-induced decoherence. Interestingly, by changing the junction parameters, transmon-like qubits with large anharmonicity can also be realized. In short, by utilizing the novel interaction-driven valley-polarized state in MATBG, a single gate-defined Josephson junction can be used to replace complicated superconducting circuits for realizing qubits that are protected from local perturbations.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2308.07888

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Valley-polarized Josephson Junctions as gate-tunable 000-πππ qubit platforms
Recently, gate-defined Josephson junctions based on magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) have been fabricated. In such a junction, local electrostatic gating can create two superconducting regions connected by an interaction-driven valley-polarized state as the weak link. Due to the spontaneous time-reversal and inversion symmetry breaking of the valley-polarized state, novel phenomena such as the Josephson diode effect have been observed without applying external fields. Importantly, when the so-called nonreciprocity efficiency (which measures the sign and strength of the Josephson effect) changes sign, the energy-phase relation of the junction is approximate F(ϕ)≈cos⁡(2ϕ)F(ϕ) \approx \cos(2ϕ)F(ϕ)≈cos(2ϕ) where FFF is the free energy and ϕϕϕ is the phase difference of the two superconductors. In this work, we show that such a MATBG-based Josephson junction, when shunted by a capacitor, can be used to realize the long-sought-after 000-πππ qubits which are protected from local perturbation-induced decoherence. Interestingly, by changing the junction parameters, transmon-like qubits with large anharmonicity can also be realized. In short, by utilizing the novel interaction-driven valley-polarized state in MATBG, a single gate-defined Josephson junction can be used to replace complicated superconducting circuits for realizing qubits that are protected from local perturbations.
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Magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene Josephson junctions (MATBG-JJ) with a gate-tunable valley-polarized weak link exhibit an intrinsic Josephson diode effect originating from broken symmetries associated with valley polarization and band-structure anisotropy. Exploiting this nonreciprocal superconducting platform, we construct quantum Stirling (QSC), Otto (QOC), and Carnot (QCC) thermodynamic cycles, where the valley-polarization potential ΔvΔ_vΔv​ acts as the principal control parameter, in contrast to conventional Josephson thermal machines driven by superconducting phase bias. We systematically compare the performance of MATBG-based Josephson diode thermal machines (MATBG-JDTM) with MATBG-based Josephson junction thermal machines (MATBG-JJTM) and AA-stacked bilayer graphene Josephson junction thermal machines (AABLG-JJTM). Owing to the flat-band-enhanced density of states and electrically tunable nonreciprocal transport in MATBG, both MATBG-JDTM and MATBG-JJTM exhibit significantly enhanced work output and efficiency over a broad operating regime compared to AABLG-JJTM. In particular, the gate-controlled MATBG-JDTM provides a flux-free alternative to conventional phase-driven architectures, mitigating limitations associated with magnetic-flux control and flux-noise effects. Our results establish MATBG Josephson diode platforms as a promising route toward electrically tunable quantum thermal machines and nonreciprocal superconducting caloritronics.
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Controlling the energy spectrum of quantum-coherent superconducting circuits, i.e., the energies of excited states, the circuit anharmonicity, and the states' charge dispersion, is essential for designing performant qubits. This control is usually achieved by adjusting the circuit's geometry. In situ control is traditionally obtained via an external magnetic field, in the case of tunnel Josephson junctions. More recently, semiconductor-weak-links-based Josephson junctions have emerged as an alternative building block with the advantage of tunability via the electric-field effect. Gate-tunable Josephson junctions have been succesfully integrated in superconducting circuits using, for instance, semiconducting nanowires or two-dimensional electron gases. In this Letter we demonstrate, in a graphene superconducting circuit, a large gate tunability of qubit properties: frequency, anharmonicity, and charge dispersion. We rationalize these features using a model considering the transmission of Cooper pairs through Andreev bound states. Noticeably, we show that the high transmission of Cooper pairs in such weak link strongly suppresses the charge dispersion. Our Letter illustrates the potential for graphene-based qubits as versatile building blocks in advanced quantum circuits.
Van-der-Waals assembly enables the fabrication of novel Josephson junctions featuring an atomically sharp interface between two exfoliated and relatively twisted Bi_{2}Sr_{2}CaCu_{2}O_{8+x} (Bi2212) flakes. In a range of twist angles around 45°, the junction provides a regime where the interlayer two-Cooper pair tunneling dominates the current-phase relation. Here we propose employing this novel junction to realize a capacitively shunted qubit that we call flowermon. The d-wave nature of the order parameter endows the flowermon with inherent protection against charge-noise-induced relaxation and quasiparticle-induced dissipation. This inherently protected qubit paves the way to a new class of high-coherence hybrid superconducting quantum devices based on unconventional superconductors.
Abstract Superconducting circuits are an extremely versatile platform to realize quantum information hardware and to emulate topological materials. We here show how a simple arrangement of capacitors and conventional superconductor-insulator-superconductor junctions can realize an even broader class of systems, in the form of a nonlinear capacitive element which is quasiperiodic with respect to the quantized Cooper-pair charge. Our setup allows to create protected Dirac points defined in the transport degrees of freedom, whose presence leads to a suppression of the classical finite-frequency current noise. Furthermore, the quasiperiodicity can emulate Anderson localization in charge space, measurable via vanishing charge quantum fluctuations. The realization by means of the macroscopic transport degrees of freedom allows for a straightforward generalization to arbitrary dimensions and implements truly non-interacting versions of the considered models. As an outlook, we discuss potential ideas to simulate a transport version of the magic-angle effect known from twisted bilayer graphene.