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arXiv:2606.29475

A superconducting qutrit link beyond the qubit limit

Xiang Li, Zheng-Yang Mei, Yang He, Si-Lu Zhao, Yan-Jun Liu, Xiao-Hui Song, Kai Xu, Zhong-Cheng Xiang, Dong-Ning Zheng, Heng Fan

quant-phSubmitted Jun 28, 2026• Announced Jun 30, 2026• 0 citations
v1 · Jun 28, 2026v2 · Oct 4, 2026
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Abstract

Superconducting microwave links have enabled deterministic state transfer and remote entanglement between qubits, but deterministic links have so far operated with an effectively two-dimensional transmitted Hilbert space. Here we demonstrate a superconducting qutrit link between two independently packaged nodes connected by a microwave channel. Each node combines a transmon qutrit, a transmission resonator, and a tunable Purcell-filter interface, allowing the two remote microwave-photon interfaces to be matched in both frequency and bandwidth. We implement two transition-selective photon-mediated operations that transfer the $|e\rangle$ and $|f\rangle$ qutrit components in distinct temporal modes of the same channel. We tomographically characterize arbitrary qutrit-state transfer, obtaining a mean transferred-state fidelity of 83.68% and a qutrit process fidelity of 77.12%, exceeding both the classical qutrit-transfer benchmark and the best possible average fidelity of an effective qubit channel used to transmit an arbitrary qutrit. Using partial-transfer operations, we reconstruct a remote two-qutrit state with negativity 0.730, a tomography-inferred dense-coding capacity of 2.273 bits, and a tomography-inferred Collins-Gisin-Linden-Massar-Popescu (CGLMP) parameter $I_3=2.332$, all beyond the corresponding qubit or local bounds. These results demonstrate a superconducting microwave link that uses the native three-level structure of transmons as a genuine high-dimensional communication resource.

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Superconducting microwave links have enabled deterministic state transfer and remote entanglement between qubits, but deterministic links have so far operated with an effectively two-dimensional transmitted Hilbert space. Here we demonstrate a superconducting qutrit link between two independently packaged nodes connected by a microwave channel. Each node combines a transmon qutrit, a transmission resonator, and a tunable Purcell-filter interface, allowing the two remote microwave-photon interfaces to be matched in both frequency and bandwidth. We implement two transition-selective photon-mediated operations that transfer the ∣e⟩|e\rangle∣e⟩ and ∣f⟩|f\rangle∣f⟩ qutrit components in distinct temporal modes of the same channel. We tomographically characterize arbitrary qutrit-state transfer, obtaining a mean transferred-state fidelity of 83.68% and a qutrit process fidelity of 77.12%, exceeding both the classical qutrit-transfer benchmark and the best possible average fidelity of an effective qubit channel used to transmit an arbitrary qutrit. Using partial-transfer operations, we reconstruct a remote two-qutrit state with negativity 0.730, a tomography-inferred dense-coding capacity of 2.273 bits, and a tomography-inferred Collins-Gisin-Linden-Massar-Popescu (CGLMP) parameter I3=2.332I_3=2.332I3​=2.332, all beyond the corresponding qubit or local bounds. These results demonstrate a superconducting microwave link that uses the native three-level structure of transmons as a genuine high-dimensional communication resource.
Quantum communication between remote chips is essential for realizing large-scale superconducting quantum computers. For such communication, itinerant microwave photons propagating through transmission lines offer a promising approach. However, demonstrations to date have relied on frequency-tunable circuit elements to compensate for fabrication-related parameter variations between sender and receiver devices, introducing control complexity and limiting scalability. In this work, we demonstrate deterministic quantum state transfer and remote entanglement generation between fixed-frequency superconducting qubits on separate chips. To compensate for the sender-receiver mismatch, we employ a frequency-tunable photon-generation technique which enables us to adjust the photon frequency without modifying circuit parameters. To enhance the frequency tunability, we implement broadband transfer resonators composed of two coupled coplanar-waveguide resonators, achieving a bandwidth of more than 100 MHz. This broadband design enables successful quantum communication across a 30-MHz range of photon frequencies between the remote qubits. Quantum process tomography reveals state transfer fidelities of around 79% and Bell-state fidelities of around 73% across the full frequency range. Our approach avoids the complexity of the control lines and noise channels, providing a flexible pathway toward scalable quantum networks.
Transferring entangled states between matter qubits and microwave-field (or optical-field) qubits is of fundamental interest in quantum mechanics and necessary in hybrid quantum information processing and quantum communication. We here propose a way for transferring entangled states between superconducting qubits (matter qubits) and microwave-field qubits. This proposal is realized by a system consisting of multiple superconducting qutrits and microwave cavities. Here, “qutrit” refers to a three-level quantum system with the two lowest levels encoding a qubit while the third level acting as an auxiliary state. In contrast, the microwave-field qubits are encoded with coherent states of microwave cavities. Because the third energy level of each qutrit is not populated during the operation, decoherence from the higher energy levels is greatly suppressed. The entangled states can be deterministically transferred because measurement on the states is not needed. The operation time is independent of the number of superconducting qubits or microwave-field qubits. In addition, the architecture of the circuit system is quite simple because only a coupler qutrit and an auxiliary cavity are required. As an example, our numerical simulations show that high-fidelity transfer of entangled states from two superconducting qubits to two microwave-field qubits is feasible with present circuit QED technology. This proposal is quite general and can be extended to transfer entangled states between other matter qubits (e.g., atoms, quantum dots, and NV centers) and microwave- or optical-field qubits encoded with coherent states.
Effective quantum communication between remote quantum nodes requires high fidelity quantum state transfer and remote entanglement generation. Recent experiments have demonstrated that microwave photons, as well as phonons, can be used to couple superconducting qubits, with a fidelity limited primarily by loss in the communication channel [P. Kurpiers et al., Nature (London) 558, 264 (2018)NATUAS0028-083610.1038/s41586-018-0195-y; C. J. Axline et al., Nat. Phys. 14, 705 (2018)NPAHAX1745-247310.1038/s41567-018-0115-y; P. Campagne-Ibarcq et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 200501 (2018)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.120.200501; N. Leung et al., npj Quantum Inf. 5, 18 (2019)2056-638710.1038/s41534-019-0128-0; Y. P. Zhong et al., Nat. Phys. 15, 741 (2019)NPAHAX1745-247310.1038/s41567-019-0507-7; A. Bienfait et al., Science 364, 368 (2019)SCIEAS0036-807510.1126/science.aaw8415]. Adiabatic protocols can overcome channel loss by transferring quantum states without populating the lossy communication channel. Here, we present a unique superconducting quantum communication system, comprising two superconducting qubits connected by a 0.73 m-long communication channel. Significantly, we can introduce large tunable loss to the channel, allowing exploration of different entanglement protocols in the presence of dissipation. When set for minimum loss in the channel, we demonstrate an adiabatic quantum state transfer protocol that achieves 99% transfer efficiency as well as the deterministic generation of entangled Bell states with a fidelity of 96%, all without populating the intervening communication channel, and competitive with a qubit-resonant mode-qubit relay method. We also explore the performance of the adiabatic protocol in the presence of significant channel loss, and show that the adiabatic protocol protects against loss in the channel, achieving higher state transfer and entanglement fidelities than the relay method.
We propose a method for transferring quantum entangled states of two photonic cat-state qubits ( cqubits ) from two microwave cavities to the other two microwave cavities. This proposal is realized by using four microwave cavities coupled to a superconducting flux qutrit. Because of using four cavities with different frequencies, the inter-cavity crosstalk is significantly reduced. Since only one coupler qutrit is used, the circuit resource is minimized. The entanglement transfer is completed with a singlestep operation only, thus this proposal is quite simple. The third energy level of the coupler qutrit is not populated during the state transfer, therefore decoherence from the higher energy level is greatly suppressed. Our numerical simulations show that high-fidelity transfer of two- cqubit entangled states from two transmission line resonators to the other two transmission line resonators is feasible with current circuit QED technology. This proposal is universal and can be applied to accomplish the same task in a wide range of physical systems, such as four microwave or optical cavities, which are coupled to a natural or artificial three-level atom.
Abstract Ternary quantum information processing in superconducting devices poses a promising alternative to its more popular binary counterpart through larger, more connected computational spaces and proposed advantages in quantum simulation and error correction. Although generally operated as qubits, transmons have readily addressable higher levels, making them natural candidates for operation as quantum three-level systems (qutrits). Recent works in transmon devices have realized high fidelity single qutrit operation. Nonetheless, effectively engineering a high-fidelity two-qutrit entanglement remains a central challenge for realizing qutrit processing in a transmon device. In this work, we apply the differential AC Stark shift to implement a flexible, microwave-activated, and dynamic cross-Kerr entanglement between two fixed-frequency transmon qutrits, expanding on work performed for the Z Z interaction with transmon qubits. We then use this interaction to engineer efficient, high-fidelity qutrit CZ † and CZ gates, with estimated process fidelities of 97.3(1)% and 95.2(3)% respectively, a significant step forward for operating qutrits on a multi-transmon device.
We present two one-step schemes to generate the Bell state and construct the controlled-phase gate deterministically on remote transmon qutrits trapped in different resonators connected by a superconducting transmission line for a quantum network. They are implemented with coherent evolutions of the entire system in the all-resonance regime assisted by the dark microwave photons which are robust against the transmission line loss. Different from previous works in other quantum systems for a quantum network, the present proposals do not require classical pulses and ancillary qubits. Our simulations with feasible parameters show that the fidelities of both these schemes exceed 99% which is beyond the fault-tolerant threshold for quantum communication.