Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Journal of Physics Conference Series

Mobile fluxon qubits in a long superconductor-ferromagnet-superconductor Josephson junction

Munehiro Nishida, Toshiyuki Fujii, Noriyuki Hatakenaka

Published Feb 1, 2008• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

We propose a new type of mobile qubit that utilizes a bound pair of half fluxons in a long superconductor-ferromagnet-superconductor (SFS) Josephson junction. The qubit states are composed of the lowest two levels of the quantized nonlinear internal oscillation of the bound pair. The energy levels are estimated by the numerical quantization based on a collective coordinate method. The qubit operation scheme is discussed, showing an estimate of the interaction strength between a bound pair and a microcircuit.

DOI
10.1088/1742-6596/97/1/012326

Related papers

Mobile qubits in quantum Josephson circuits

Toshiyuki Fujii, Munehiro Nishida, Noriyuki Hatakenaka

A massive mobile qubit is proposed that uses quantum-mechanical aspects of a mobile bound excitation pair consisting of a fluxon and an antifluxon, called a breather, in a long Josephson junction with small capacitance per unit length. This massive mobile qubit acts as a quantum data bus that transfers quantum information from one node to another. Moreover, it performs calculations during communication without the support of stationary qubits. In addition, the proposed qubits are elementary excitations that are regarded as macroscopic artificial two-level atoms. This means they can be introduced anytime and anywhere on demand in contrast to built-in solid-state qubits. They provide a platform for testing fundamental problems in quantum mechanics on a macroscopic scale.

Physical Review B•Jan 10, 2008•14 citations

TALKING BREATHER QUBITS

Toshiyuki Fujii, Munehiro Nishida, Satoshi Tanda +1 more

Breather is an elementary excitation regarded as a bound state of a fluxon and an antifluxon in a long Josephson junction. In quantum-mechanical regime, the breather energy is quantized so that the breather can be considered as an artificial moving atom. We propose a new type of fluxon qubit that is constructed by quantum-mechanical superposition of the breather's states. We describe quantum logic gates of breather qubit required for constructing quantum computer. In addition, our qubit can move in the system so that transfer of quntum information is possible between mobile qubits as well as stationary qubits. Our talking qubits support the global information sharing in quantum information networks.

International Journal of Modern Physics B•Aug 20, 2009•1 citation

Superconductor-ferromagnet-superconductor junctions in flux and phase qubits

N. V. Klenov, Victor K. Kornev, Aleksei Sharafiev +2 more

π-junction qubit based on superconducting quantum interference device ring has been already proposed. In this qubit, a quantum two-level system is spontaneously generated without any bias flux applied. Flux qubit with a single π-junction concerns the large inductance L of the loop, which makes the qubit vulnerable to decoherence caused by magnetic fluctuations in the environment. To overcome this difficulty one can use three-junction π-qubit, comprising three π-junctions in a loop with negligible small inductance or unharmonic two-junction interferometer exploiting non-sinusoidal current-phase relations of the junctions. In the paper we theoretically investigate the macroscopic quantum dynamics of proposed qubits. The measurement process in two types of qubits has been analyzed in the frame of Lindblad equation formalism. Different mechanisms giving a non-sinusoidal CPR in SFS structures are analyzed as well. It is shown, that the largest second harmonic can be obtained for the SFS junction in the "clean" limit with a thin ferromagnet layer at low temperature.

Journal of Physics Conference Series•Jun 1, 2010•1 citation

BCS models of Josephson qubits I. Energy spectra

Robert Alicki, W. Miklaszewski

There exists a large number of experimental and theoretical results supporting the picture of macroscopic qubits implemented by nanoscopic Josephson junctions of three different types -- charge qubit, flux qubit and phase qubit. The standard unified description of such systems is based on the formal quantization of the phenomenological Kirchhoff equations for the corresponding circuits. In this paper a simplified version of the BCS theory for superconductors is used to derive microscopic models for all types of small Josephson junctions. For these models the state-dependent individual tunneling of Cooper pairs couples ground pair states with excited pair states what leads to a more complicated structure of the lowest lying energy levels. In particular, the highly degenerate levels emerge, which act as probability sinks for the qubit. These models allow also for the coupling to phonons as an efficient mechanism of relaxation for all types of junctions. The alternative formulas concerning basic spectral parameters of superconducting qubits are presented and compared with the experimental data. Finally, the question whether small Josephson junctions can be treated as macroscopic quantum systems is briefly discussed.

arXiv:1012.0140•Dec 1, 2010•0 citations

Superconducting flux qubit with ferromagnetic Josephson π-junction operating at zero magnetic field

Sunmi Kim, Leonid Victorovich Abdurakhimov, Duong Pham +6 more

Conventional superconducting flux qubits require the application of a precisely tuned magnetic field to set the operation point at half a flux quantum through the qubit loop, which complicates the on-chip integration of this type of device. It has been proposed that by inducing a π-phase shift in the superconducting order parameter using a precisely controlled nanoscale-thickness superconductor/ferromagnet/superconductor Josephson junction, commonly referred to as π-junction, it is possible to realize a flux qubit operating at zero magnetic flux. Here, we report the realization of a zero-flux-biased flux qubit based on three NbN/AlN/NbN Josephson junctions and a NbN/PdNi/NbN ferromagnetic π-junction. The qubit lifetime is in the microsecond range, which we argue is limited by quasiparticle excitations in the metallic ferromagnet layer. Our results pave the way for developing quantum coherent devices, including qubits and sensors, that utilize the interplay between ferromagnetism and superconductivity. Conventional superconducting flux qubits require a finely tuned magnetic field to operate, hindering their on-chip integration. Here, ferromagnetic Josephson junctions with a π-phase shift in the superconducting order parameter allow the realization of a flux qubit operating at zero magnetic field.

arXiv:2401.14597•Communications Materials•Oct 11, 2024•20 citations

NbN-based ferromagnetic π-junctions and their application to quantum circuits

Taro Yamashita

In recent years, various novel phenomena such as π-state (π-junction) and long-ranged supercurrents emerged in ferromagnetic Josephson junctions (superconductor/ferromagnet/superconductor junctions) have been studied so actively. An attractive device application of the ferromagnetic π-junction is a flux-bias-free superconducting flux quantum bit (qubit). By inserting the π-junction in the superconducting loop of the flux qubit, an external flux bias corresponding to half flux quantum, which is required for the operation of the conventional flux qubits, becomes unnecessary. This flux-bias-free feature is a great advantage in the realization of large-scale quantum circuits with many qubits. In the talk, we will present recent progress on the development of NbN-based ferromagnetic Josephson junctions which is suitable for the quantum circuits. We also show the experimental results on the several types of the quantum circuits with the NbN-based ferromagnetic π-junction.

Spintronics•Jul 30, 2021•0 citations
We propose a new type of mobile qubit that utilizes a bound pair of half fluxons in a long superconductor-ferromagnet-superconductor (SFS) Josephson junction. The qubit states are composed of the lowest two levels of the quantized nonlinear internal oscillation of the bound pair. The energy levels are estimated by the numerical quantization based on a collective coordinate method. The qubit operation scheme is discussed, showing an estimate of the interaction strength between a bound pair and a microcircuit.
A massive mobile qubit is proposed that uses quantum-mechanical aspects of a mobile bound excitation pair consisting of a fluxon and an antifluxon, called a breather, in a long Josephson junction with small capacitance per unit length. This massive mobile qubit acts as a quantum data bus that transfers quantum information from one node to another. Moreover, it performs calculations during communication without the support of stationary qubits. In addition, the proposed qubits are elementary excitations that are regarded as macroscopic artificial two-level atoms. This means they can be introduced anytime and anywhere on demand in contrast to built-in solid-state qubits. They provide a platform for testing fundamental problems in quantum mechanics on a macroscopic scale.
Breather is an elementary excitation regarded as a bound state of a fluxon and an antifluxon in a long Josephson junction. In quantum-mechanical regime, the breather energy is quantized so that the breather can be considered as an artificial moving atom. We propose a new type of fluxon qubit that is constructed by quantum-mechanical superposition of the breather's states. We describe quantum logic gates of breather qubit required for constructing quantum computer. In addition, our qubit can move in the system so that transfer of quntum information is possible between mobile qubits as well as stationary qubits. Our talking qubits support the global information sharing in quantum information networks.
π-junction qubit based on superconducting quantum interference device ring has been already proposed. In this qubit, a quantum two-level system is spontaneously generated without any bias flux applied. Flux qubit with a single π-junction concerns the large inductance L of the loop, which makes the qubit vulnerable to decoherence caused by magnetic fluctuations in the environment. To overcome this difficulty one can use three-junction π-qubit, comprising three π-junctions in a loop with negligible small inductance or unharmonic two-junction interferometer exploiting non-sinusoidal current-phase relations of the junctions. In the paper we theoretically investigate the macroscopic quantum dynamics of proposed qubits. The measurement process in two types of qubits has been analyzed in the frame of Lindblad equation formalism. Different mechanisms giving a non-sinusoidal CPR in SFS structures are analyzed as well. It is shown, that the largest second harmonic can be obtained for the SFS junction in the "clean" limit with a thin ferromagnet layer at low temperature.
There exists a large number of experimental and theoretical results supporting the picture of macroscopic qubits implemented by nanoscopic Josephson junctions of three different types -- charge qubit, flux qubit and phase qubit. The standard unified description of such systems is based on the formal quantization of the phenomenological Kirchhoff equations for the corresponding circuits. In this paper a simplified version of the BCS theory for superconductors is used to derive microscopic models for all types of small Josephson junctions. For these models the state-dependent individual tunneling of Cooper pairs couples ground pair states with excited pair states what leads to a more complicated structure of the lowest lying energy levels. In particular, the highly degenerate levels emerge, which act as probability sinks for the qubit. These models allow also for the coupling to phonons as an efficient mechanism of relaxation for all types of junctions. The alternative formulas concerning basic spectral parameters of superconducting qubits are presented and compared with the experimental data. Finally, the question whether small Josephson junctions can be treated as macroscopic quantum systems is briefly discussed.
Conventional superconducting flux qubits require the application of a precisely tuned magnetic field to set the operation point at half a flux quantum through the qubit loop, which complicates the on-chip integration of this type of device. It has been proposed that by inducing a π-phase shift in the superconducting order parameter using a precisely controlled nanoscale-thickness superconductor/ferromagnet/superconductor Josephson junction, commonly referred to as π-junction, it is possible to realize a flux qubit operating at zero magnetic flux. Here, we report the realization of a zero-flux-biased flux qubit based on three NbN/AlN/NbN Josephson junctions and a NbN/PdNi/NbN ferromagnetic π-junction. The qubit lifetime is in the microsecond range, which we argue is limited by quasiparticle excitations in the metallic ferromagnet layer. Our results pave the way for developing quantum coherent devices, including qubits and sensors, that utilize the interplay between ferromagnetism and superconductivity. Conventional superconducting flux qubits require a finely tuned magnetic field to operate, hindering their on-chip integration. Here, ferromagnetic Josephson junctions with a π-phase shift in the superconducting order parameter allow the realization of a flux qubit operating at zero magnetic field.
In recent years, various novel phenomena such as π-state (π-junction) and long-ranged supercurrents emerged in ferromagnetic Josephson junctions (superconductor/ferromagnet/superconductor junctions) have been studied so actively. An attractive device application of the ferromagnetic π-junction is a flux-bias-free superconducting flux quantum bit (qubit). By inserting the π-junction in the superconducting loop of the flux qubit, an external flux bias corresponding to half flux quantum, which is required for the operation of the conventional flux qubits, becomes unnecessary. This flux-bias-free feature is a great advantage in the realization of large-scale quantum circuits with many qubits. In the talk, we will present recent progress on the development of NbN-based ferromagnetic Josephson junctions which is suitable for the quantum circuits. We also show the experimental results on the several types of the quantum circuits with the NbN-based ferromagnetic π-junction.