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arXiv:2601.02137

Flux-noise-resilient transmon qubit via a doubly-connected gradiometric design

J. B. Fu, Da-Wei Wang, B. Ren, Z. H. Yang, S. Hu, G. Y. Huang, S. H. Cao, D. D. Liu, X. F. Zhang, X. Fu, S. C. Xue, Y. G. Che, Yu-xi Liu, M. T. Deng, J. J. Wu

quant-phSubmitted Jan 5, 2026• Announced Jan 6, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

Frequency-tunable superconducting transmon qubits are a cornerstone of scalable quantum processors, yet their performance is often degraded by sensitivity to low-frequency flux noise. Here we present a doubly-connected gradiometric transmon (the ``8-mon") that incorporates a nano-airbridge to link its two loops. This design preserves full electrical tunability and remains fully compatible with standard X-mon control and readout, requiring no additional measurement overhead. The airbridge interconnect eliminates dielectric loss, which enables the 8-mon to achieve both energy relaxation times $T_{\rm 1}$ comparable to reference X-mons and, in the small flux-bias regime, a nearly threefold enhancement in Ramsey coherence time $T_{\rm 2}^*$. This improved $T_{\rm 2}^*$ reaches the same order as $T_{\rm 1}$ without employing echo decoupling. The device also exhibits superior long-term frequency stability even without any magnetic field shielding. We develop a spatially correlated flux-noise model whose simulations quantitatively reproduce the experimental coherence trends, revealing the coexistence of short- and long-correlation-length magnetic noise in the superconducting chip environment. By unifying high tunability with intrinsic flux-noise suppression through a robust geometric design, the 8-mon provides a practical pathway toward more coherent and stable superconducting quantum processors.

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16 pages, 10 figures,

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Brazilian Journal of Physics•Oct 23, 2026•1 citation
Frequency-tunable superconducting transmon qubits are a cornerstone of scalable quantum processors, yet their performance is often degraded by sensitivity to low-frequency flux noise. Here we present a doubly-connected gradiometric transmon (the ``8-mon") that incorporates a nano-airbridge to link its two loops. This design preserves full electrical tunability and remains fully compatible with standard X-mon control and readout, requiring no additional measurement overhead. The airbridge interconnect eliminates dielectric loss, which enables the 8-mon to achieve both energy relaxation times T1T_{\rm 1}T1​ comparable to reference X-mons and, in the small flux-bias regime, a nearly threefold enhancement in Ramsey coherence time T2∗T_{\rm 2}^*T2∗​. This improved T2∗T_{\rm 2}^*T2∗​ reaches the same order as T1T_{\rm 1}T1​ without employing echo decoupling. The device also exhibits superior long-term frequency stability even without any magnetic field shielding. We develop a spatially correlated flux-noise model whose simulations quantitatively reproduce the experimental coherence trends, revealing the coexistence of short- and long-correlation-length magnetic noise in the superconducting chip environment. By unifying high tunability with intrinsic flux-noise suppression through a robust geometric design, the 8-mon provides a practical pathway toward more coherent and stable superconducting quantum processors.
The scalable application of quantum information science will stand on reproducible and controllable high-coherence quantum bits (qubits). Here, we revisit the design and fabrication of the superconducting flux qubit, achieving a planar device with broad frequency tunability, strong anharmonicity, high reproducibility, and relaxation times in excess of 40 μ40\,\mu40μs at its flux-insensitive point. Qubit relaxation times T1T_1T1​ across 22 qubits are consistently matched with a single model involving resonator loss, ohmic charge noise, and 1/f flux noise, a noise source previously considered primarily in the context of dephasing. We furthermore demonstrate that qubit dephasing at the flux-insensitive point is dominated by residual thermal photons in the readout resonator. The resulting photon shot noise is mitigated using a dynamical decoupling protocol, resulting in T2≈85 μT_2\approx 85\,\muT2​≈85μs, approximately the 2T12T_12T1​ limit. In addition to realizing an improved flux qubit, our results uniquely identify photon shot noise as limiting T2T_2T2​ in contemporary qubits based on transverse qubit-resonator interaction.
Fault-tolerant quantum computing requires quantum gates that combine short duration, high fidelity, and robustness to noise. As quantum processors scale, robustness becomes increasingly important because exhaustive characterization and frequent recalibration of individual gates become impractical. We present a comprehensive optimal-control framework for controlled-Z (CZ) gates between directly coupled, frequency-tunable transmons that systematically accounts for intrinsic Hamiltonian errors and realistic decoherence mechanisms, including energy relaxation and dephasing. Using smooth, single-shot flux pulses, we obtain 12-ns CZ gates---close to the theoretical speed limit of 11.6 ns---with intrinsic errors suppressed to the 2×10−52\times10^{-5}2×10−5 level. We construct dephasing noise models, calibrated against published experimental measurements, that capture fast dephasing from room-temperature control electronics and slow dephasing from 1/f1/f1/f flux noise. Using these models, we identify dephasing sweet spots that suppress sensitivity to dephasing noise. We further exploit transmon asymmetry as a design parameter to access distinct noise-resilient operating regimes. These results establish an experimentally applicable framework for balancing gate speed, fidelity, and noise robustness while reducing characterization and recalibration overhead.
The coherence of superconducting transmon qubits is often disrupted by fluctuations in the energy relaxation time (T1), limiting their performance for quantum computing. While background magnetic fields can be harmful to superconducting devices, we demonstrate that both trapped magnetic flux and externally applied static magnetic fields can suppress temporal fluctuations in T1 without significantly degrading its average value or qubit frequency. Using a three-axis Helmholtz coil system, we applied calibrated magnetic fields perpendicular to the qubit plane during cooldown and operation. Remarkably, transmon qubits based on tantalum-capped niobium (Nb/Ta) capacitive pads and aluminum-based Josephson junctions (JJs) maintained T1 lifetimes near 300 μs even when cooled in fields as high as 600 mG. Both trapped flux up to 600 mG and applied fields up to 400 mG reduced T1 fluctuations by more than a factor of two, while higher field strengths caused rapid coherence degradation. We attribute this stabilization to the polarization of paramagnetic impurities, the role of trapped flux as a sink for non-equilibrium quasiparticles (QPs), and partial saturation of fluctuating two-level systems (TLSs). These findings challenge the conventional view that magnetic fields are inherently detrimental and introduce a strategy for mitigating noise in superconducting qubits, offering a practical path toward more stable and scalable quantum systems.
The temporal stability and reproducibility of qubit parameters are critical for the long-term operation and maintenance of superconducting quantum processors. In this work, we present a comprehensive longitudinal characterization of 27 frequency-tunable transmon qubits spanning over one year across four thermal cycles. Our results establish a distinct hierarchy of stability for superconducting hardware. We find that the intrinsic device parameters determining the qubit frequency and the baseline energy relaxation times (T1T_1T1​) exhibit high robustness against thermal stress, characterized by frequency deviations typically confined within 0.5\% and non-degraded coherence baselines. In stark contrast, the environmental variables, specifically the background magnetic flux offsets and the microscopic landscape of two-level system (TLS) defects, undergo a significant stochastic reconfiguration after each cycle. By employing frequency-dependent relaxation spectroscopy and a quantitative metric, the T1T_1T1​ Spectral Topography Fidelity, we demonstrate that thermal cycling acts as a ``hard reset'' for the local defect environment. This process introduces a level of spectral randomization equivalent to thousands of hours of continuous low-temperature evolution. These findings confirm that while the fabrication quality is preserved, the specific noise realization is statistically distinct for each thermal cycle, necessitating automated recalibration strategies for large-scale quantum systems.
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.
Abstract Superconducting quantum circuits are a leading platform for quantum-information processing, but their development requires expertise spanning device design, microfabrication, cryogenic operation, microwave control, and quantum characterization. In this work, we report the realization of a flux-tunable superconducting transmon platform and present an integrated workflow encompassing design, fabrication, measurement, and numerical modeling. The device consists of an Al/AlOx/AlAl/AlO_x/AlAl/AlOx​/Al transmon coupled to a three-dimensional microwave cavity operating in the circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) dispersive regime. Two-tone spectroscopy reveals a fundamental transition frequency of ω01=5.0122 GHz\omega _{01}=5.0122~\textrm{GHz}ω01​=5.0122 GHz and an anharmonicity of α/2π=−202.4 MHz\alpha /2\pi =-202.4~\textrm{MHz}α/2π=−202.4 MHz , corresponding to EJ/EC≈82.9E_J/E_C \approx 82.9EJ​/EC​≈82.9 . Flux spectroscopy yields a cavity-qubit coupling strength of g/2π=260 MHzg/2\pi = 260~\textrm{MHz}g/2π=260 MHz , while the cavity linewidth gives a loaded quality factor of QL=6127Q_L=6127QL​=6127 and a Purcell limit of T1Purcell≈82 μsT_1^{\textrm{Purcell}}\approx 82~\mu \textrm{s}T1Purcell​≈82 μs . Time-domain measurements yield coherence times of T1=17.4 μsT_1 = 17.4~\mu \textrm{s}T1​=17.4 μs and T2∗=5.8 μsT_2^* = 5.8~\mu \textrm{s}T2∗​=5.8 μs . To investigate coherence and dissipation in the device, the experimental observations are analyzed within a Lindblad master-equation framework describing cavity photon loss and thermal excitation, qubit energy relaxation, and pure dephasing processes. Using a set of experimentally extracted parameters, the model reproduces the measured spectroscopic and time-domain observables, providing a quantitative description of the open-system dynamics of the transmon-cavity platform. The analysis shows that the measured coherence is primarily limited by pure dephasing and energy-relaxation processes, whereas thermal excitation plays a minor role under the experimental conditions. Inspired by the broader framework of quantum dissipation in macroscopic quantum systems pioneered by Caldeira and collaborators, this approach enables a quantitative analysis of relaxation and dephasing processes in superconducting quantum circuits. Beyond the characterization of a single device, the present work demonstrates the establishment of the expertise, infrastructure, and experimental workflow required for the design, fabrication, measurement, and modeling of superconducting quantum circuits, contributing to the development of quantum technologies in Brazil and related applications.