We report temperature measurements using a transmon qubit by detecting the population of its first three energy levels after applying a sequence of π pulses and performing projective dispersive readout. We measure the effective temperature of the qubit and characterize its relaxation and coherence times τ 1 , τ 2 for three devices in the temperature range from 20 to 300 mK. We analyze the process of qubit thermalization to its effective environment consisting of multiple heat baths and support this with experimental data. The signal-to-noise ratio of the temperature measurement depends strongly on τ 1 , which drops at higher temperatures due to quasiparticle excitations, adversely affecting the measurements and setting an upper bound of the dynamic temperature range of the thermometer. The measurement relies on coherent dynamics of the qubit during the π pulses. The effective qubit temperature follows closely that of the cryostat in the range from 100 to 200 mK. We present a numerical model of the qubit population distribution and find hat it compares favorably with the experimental results. Finally, we compare our technique with previous work on qubit thermometry and discuss its application prospects.
We report temperature measurements using a transmon qubit by detecting the population of its first three energy levels after applying a sequence of π pulses and performing projective dispersive readout. We measure the effective temperature of the qubit and characterize its relaxation and coherence times τ 1 , τ 2 for three devices in the temperature range from 20 to 300 mK. We analyze the process of qubit thermalization to its effective environment consisting of multiple heat baths and support this with experimental data. The signal-to-noise ratio of the temperature measurement depends strongly on τ 1 , which drops at higher temperatures due to quasiparticle excitations, adversely affecting the measurements and setting an upper bound of the dynamic temperature range of the thermometer. The measurement relies on coherent dynamics of the qubit during the π pulses. The effective qubit temperature follows closely that of the cryostat in the range from 100 to 200 mK. We present a numerical model of the qubit population distribution and find hat it compares favorably with the experimental results. Finally, we compare our technique with previous work on qubit thermometry and discuss its application prospects.
We present a method for in situ temperature measurement of superconducting quantum circuits, by using the first three levels of a transmon device to which we apply a sequence of π gates. Our approach employs projective dispersive readout and utilizes the basic properties of the density matrix associated with thermal states. This method works with an averaging readout scheme and does not require a single-shot readout setup. We validate this protocol by performing thermometry in the range of 50–200 mK, corresponding to a range of residual populations 1%–20% for the first excited state and 0.02%–3% for the second excited state.
Accurate knowledge of the on-chip temperature is essential for understanding and optimizing the performance of superconducting qubits, yet direct thermometry at millikelvin temperatures remains challenging. While qubits themselves are sensitive to the temperature of their environment, other factors may affect the qubits` effective temperature, and using them as thermometers with any accuracy requires specialized measurement protocols and qubit designs, limiting their practicality for routine diagnostics and adding complex infrastructure to any hardware testing apparatus. Here we demonstrate a complementary on-chip thermometry method based on superconducting Dayem bridges that are integrated on the same chip as transmon qubits. By extracting the critical current of the Dayem bridge from I-V measurements, we obtain a local, quantitative measure of the chip temperature without the need for microwave calibration or qubit-specific control sequences. To demonstrate the utility of the Dayem bridges as thermometers, we fabricate them in-situ with qubits on the same chip, calibrate the Dayem bridge critical current as a function of temperature, and characterize its resolution and stability at cryogenic temperatures. We additionally perform simultaneous measurements of the Dayem bridge thermometer and qubit excited-state population, and show agreement over the relevant temperature range, validating the method against established qubit thermometry. Furthermore, we correlate the independently measured chip temperature with qubit energy relaxation and dephasing times, demonstrating the utility of this approach for diagnosing temperature-dependent decoherence mechanisms. These results establish integrated Dayem bridges as a simple, non-invasive, and scalable tool for cryogenic hardware development, and on chip thermometry in superconducting quantum circuits.
Remarkable advancements in coherence and control fidelity have been achieved in recent years with cryogenic solid-state qubits. Nonetheless, thermalizing such devices to their milliKelvin environments has remained a long-standing fundamental and technical challenge. In this context, we present a systematic study of the first-excited-state population in a 3D transmon superconducting qubit mounted in a dilution refrigerator with a variable temperature. Using a modified version of the protocol developed by Geerlings et al., we observe the excited-state population to be consistent with a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, i.e., a qubit in thermal equilibrium with the refrigerator, over the temperature range 35-150 mK. Below 35 mK, the excited-state population saturates at approximately 0.1%. We verified this result using a flux qubit with ten times stronger coupling to its readout resonator. We conclude that these qubits have effective temperature T(eff)=35 mK. Assuming T(eff) is due solely to hot quasiparticles, the inferred qubit lifetime is 108 μs and in plausible agreement with the measured 80 μs.
Superconducting transmon systems are promising platforms for nanoscale thermometry due to their high sensitivity to environmental fluctuations. Their intrinsic anharmonicity, which is essential for qubit operations, gives rise to a non-equidistant energy spectrum that significantly affects the thermal populations and, consequently, the thermometric sensitivity. In this work, we investigate the ultimate quantum limits of temperature estimation with a transmon beyond the two-level approximation. We compare the thermometric performance of three complementary models: the qubit, a harmonic oscillator and a weakly anharmonic Duffing oscillator, evaluating their corresponding quantum Fisher information (QFI) as a function of the temperature. We show that the multilevel anharmonic structure of the transmon affects its thermometric precision. Indeed, including higher excited states enhances the maximum amount of information that can be extracted about the system temperature, compared to a qubit probe. Furthermore, we address a fundamental limitation of the standard quartic truncation, which yields a potential that is unbounded from below and supports only spurious metastable states. By introducing bounded anharmonic models, namely a confined quartic potential and a sextic correction term, we assess the robustness of the thermometric precision beyond the Duffing regime. Our results provide practical guidelines for transmon-based nanoscale thermometry and clarify the role of the anharmonic multilevel spectrum in quantum temperature estimation.
We present measurements of coherence and successive decay dynamics of higher energy levels of a superconducting transmon qubit. By applying consecutive π pulses for each sequential transition frequency, we excite the qubit from the ground state up to its fourth excited level and characterize the decay and coherence of each state. We find the decay to proceed mainly sequentially, with relaxation times in excess of 20 μs for all transitions. We also provide a direct measurement of the charge dispersion of these levels by analyzing beating patterns in Ramsey fringes. The results demonstrate the feasibility of using higher levels in transmon qubits for encoding quantum information.
The precise measurement of low temperatures is significant for both the fundamental understanding of physical processes and technological applications. In this work, we present a method for low-temperature measurement that improves thermal range and sensitivity by generating quantum coherence in a thermometer probe. Typically, in temperature measurements, the probes thermalize with the sample being measured. However, we use a two-level quantum system, or qubit, as our probe and prevent direct probe access to the sample by introducing a set of ancilla qubits as an interface. We describe the open system dynamics of the probe using a global master equation and demonstrate that while the ancilla-probe system thermalizes with the sample, the probe per se evolves into a nonthermal steady state due to nonlocal dissipation channels. The populations and coherences of this steady state depend on the sample temperature, allowing for precise and wide-range low-temperature estimation. We characterize the thermometric performance of the method using quantum Fisher information and show that the quantum Fisher information can exhibit multiple and higher peaks at different low temperatures with increasing quantum coherence and the number of ancilla qubits. Our analysis reveals that the proposed approach, using a nonthermal qubit thermometer probe with temperature-dependent quantum coherence generated by a multiple qubit interface between a thermal sample and the probe qubit, can enhance the sensitivity of temperature estimation and broaden the measurable low-temperature range.