The fidelity and quantum nondemolition character of the dispersive readout in circuit QED are limited by unwanted transitions to highly excited states at specific photon numbers in the readout resonator. This observation can be explained by multiphoton resonances between computational states and highly excited states in strongly driven nonlinear systems, analogous to multiphoton ionization in atoms and molecules. In this work, we utilize the multilevel nature of high- E J / E C transmons to probe the excited-state dynamics induced by strong drives during readout. With up to ten resolvable states, we quantify the critical photon number of ionization, the resulting state after ionization, and the fraction of the population transferred to highly excited states. Moreover, using pulse shaping to control the photon number in the readout resonator in the high-power regime, we tune the adiabaticity of the transition and verify that transmon ionization is a Landau-Zener-type transition. We further extend these methods to a typical transmon with E J / E C ≈ 55 and probe the offset-charge dependence of ionization dynamics in a timed-resolved manner. Our experimental results agree well with the theoretical prediction from a semiclassical driven transmon model and may guide future exploration of strongly driven nonlinear oscillators.
Despite the high measurement fidelity that can now be reached, the dispersive qubit readout of circuit quantum electrodynamics is plagued by a loss of its quantum nondemolition character and a decrease in fidelity with increased measurement strength. In this work, we elucidate the nature of this dynamical process, which we refer to as transmon ionization. We develop a comprehensive framework which provides a physical picture of the origin of transmon ionization. This framework consists of three complementary levels of descriptions: a fully quantized transmon-resonator model, a semiclassical model where the resonator is treated as a classical drive on the transmon, and a fully classical model. Crucially, all three approaches preserve the full cosine potential of the transmon and lead to similar predictions. This framework identifies the multiphoton resonances responsible for transmon ionization. It also allows one to efficiently compute numerical estimates of the photon number threshold for ionization, which are in remarkable agreement with recent experimental results. The tools developed within this work are both conceptually and computationally simple, and we expect them to become an integral part of the theoretical underpinning of all circuit QED experiments. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
A key challenge in achieving scalable fault tolerance in superconducting quantum processors is readout fidelity, which lags behind one- and two-qubit gate fidelity. A major limitation in improving qubit readout is measurement-induced transitions, also referred to as qubit ionization, caused by multiphoton qubit-resonator excitation occurring at specific photon numbers. Since ionization can involve highly excited states, it has been predicted that in transmons-the most widely used superconducting qubit-the photon number at which measurement-induced transitions occur is gate-charge dependent. This dependence is expected to persist deep in the transmon regime where the qubit frequency is gate-charge insensitive. We experimentally confirm this prediction by characterizing measurement-induced transitions with increasing resonator photon population while actively calibrating the transmon's gate charge. Furthermore, because highly excited states are involved, achieving quantitative agreement between theory and experiment requires accounting for higher-order harmonics in the transmon Hamiltonian.
Multiphoton processes deteriorate the quantum nondemolition (QND) character of the dispersive readout in circuit QED, causing the readout to lag behind single- and two-qubit gates in both speed and fidelity. Alternative methods such as longitudinal readout have been proposed; however, it is unknown to what extent multiphoton processes hinder this approach. Here, we investigate the QND character of the longitudinal readout of the transmon qubit. We show that the deleterious effects that arise due to multiphoton transitions can be heavily suppressed with detuning because the longitudinal interaction strength is independent of the transmon-resonator detuning. We consider the effect of circuit disorder, the selection rules that act on the transmon, and the description of longitudinal readout in the classical limit of the transmon to qualitatively demonstrate that longitudinal readout is robust. We show that fast, high-fidelity QND readout of transmon qubits is possible with longitudinal coupling.
Achieving fast gates and high-fidelity readout in superconducting quantum circuits often benefits from the use of large amplitude microwave drives. As the strength increases, unwanted effects such as excitation out of the logical states also become more prevalent. In transmon qubits, coherent controls relying on sub-resonant drives are fundamentally limited by the eventual appearance of strong hybridization in the spectrum. Understanding how this threshold depends on intrinsic device parameters is vital for the design and operation of circuits utilizing the transmon as a source of nonlinearity. In this work, we present an experimental study of 14 transmons with a wide range of anharmonicities, and use comparison with Floquet branch analysis and semiclassical simulations to establish a straightforward relationship between the critical value of the effective drive amplitude
ηmax and the ratio
γ=ωq/α, where
ωq is the transmon frequency and
−α is the anharmonicity. For the case where the transmon is used as a parametrically driven coupler, these results further allow us to estimate maximum parametric interaction rates, which informs the circuit design process for optimizing gate rates and fidelities.
Qudits provide a resource-efficient alternative to qubits for quantum information processing. The multilevel nature of the transmon, with its individually resolvable transition frequencies, makes it an attractive platform for superconducting circuit-based qudits. In this work, we systematically analyze the trade-offs associated with encoding high-dimensional quantum information in fixed-frequency transmons. Designing high
EJ/EC ratios of up to 325, we observe up to 12 levels (
d=12) on a single transmon. Despite the decreased anharmonicity, we demonstrate process infidelities ${e}_{f}<3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$ for qubitlike operations in each adjacent-level qubit subspace in the lowest ten levels. Furthermore, we achieve a ten-state readout assignment fidelity of 93.8% with the assistance of deep neural network classification of a multitone dispersive measurement. We find that the Hahn echo time
T2E for the higher levels is close to the limit of
T1 decay, primarily limited by bosonic enhancement. We verify the recently observed Josephson harmonic model, finding that it yields better predictions for the transition frequencies and charge dispersion. Finally, we show strong
ZZ-like coupling between the higher energy levels in a two-transmon system. Our high-fidelity control and readout methods, in combination with our comprehensive characterization of the transmon model, suggest that the high-
EJ/EC transmon is a powerful tool for exploring excited states in circuit quantum electrodynamics.
Dispersive readout of the transmon qubit in circuit QED is known to lose its quantum non-demolition character at small to moderate measurement drive amplitudes. This phenomenon is understood to originate from Laundau-Zener transitions at accidental multi-photon resonances, where
n drive photons can promote the transmon by
m levels. This interpretation has been shown to be in agreement with experiments characterizing the dispersive readout of a single transmon. The impact of these measurement-induced state transition (MIST) of a transmon embedded in a multi-qubit chip, however, remains largely unexplored. Here, we show that the presence of other components, such as qubits and couplers, can affect the MIST threshold of a measured transmon. To arrive at these results, we present a general method to characterize measurement-induced transition when the qubit under readout is coupled to other circuit elements, a ubiquitous situation in circuit QED-based quantum processors. As an example, we consider the case of two transmon qubits, and we show that the spectator qubit can be impacted by the measurement-induced transition of the readout qubit and, conversely, that the presence of the spectator qubit can lower the MIST threshold of the readout qubit. Finally, we explore how adding a coupler mode between the two qubits further modifies these effects.