One of the many challenges of building a scalable quantum computer is single-shot measurement of all the quantum bits (qubits). We have used simultaneous single-shot measurement of coupled Josephson phase qubits to directly probe interaction of the qubits in the time domain. The concept of measurement crosstalk is introduced, and we show that its effects are minimized by careful adjustment of the timing of the measurements. We observe the antiphase oscillation of the two-qubit 01 and 10 states, consistent with quantum mechanical entanglement of these states, thereby opening the possibility for full characterization of multiqubit gates and elementary quantum algorithms.
One of the many challenges of building a scalable quantum computer is single-shot measurement of all the quantum bits (qubits). We have used simultaneous single-shot measurement of coupled Josephson phase qubits to directly probe interaction of the qubits in the time domain. The concept of measurement crosstalk is introduced, and we show that its effects are minimized by careful adjustment of the timing of the measurements. We observe the antiphase oscillation of the two-qubit 01 and 10 states, consistent with quantum mechanical entanglement of these states, thereby opening the possibility for full characterization of multiqubit gates and elementary quantum algorithms.
Among the potential physical implementations of quantum bits (qubits) solid state devices appear most promising for large scale applications and integration in electronic circuits. Devices based on low-capacitance Josephson junctions exploit the coherence of the superconducting state, combined with the possibility to control individual charges by Coulomb blockade effects. The logical states in these systems differ by one Cooper-pair charge. Single- and two-bit operations can be performed by applying a sequence of gate voltages. The phase coherence time is sufficiently long to allow a series of these steps. If, in addition, the strength of the Josephson coupling is controlled (e.g. by currents in SQUID loops) the system is ideal for quantum computation. Recent experiments by Nakamura et al. show the feasibility of this approach. In addition to the manipulations of qubits the resulting quantum state has to be read out. This quantum measurement process can be accomplished by coupling a single-electron transistor (SET) capacitively to the qubit. We investigate the process by analyzing the time-evolution of the density matrix of the coupled system. The measurement process is characterized by three time scales: the dephasing time, which is fast when a dissipative current flows in the SET, a longer ‘measurement time’ needed to read out the signal, and a third, even longer ‘mixing time’, characterizing measurement induced transitions which destroy the information about the initial quantum state. The noise spectrum of the current in the SET displays these time scales and allows their direct observation.
We present a new configuration concept in which two similar Josephson junctions are coupled through a capacitor placed in parallel to a dc-superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) to improve the characteristics of phase qubits. In real coupled quantum systems, because of mutual effects such as crosstalk, entangled quantum states cannot be independently measured. The proposed two-qubit system is demonstrated to have a negligible crosstalk, obtained from the application of a single measurement pulse and an appropriate external flux to one of the junctions and the dc-SQUID, respectively. Surprisingly, the theoretically predicted fidelity for a single-qubit design increases to 99.99% for typical Josephson junction parameters. The high-fidelity measurement is reached even with pulse times less than 1 ns, while the highest fidelities reported so far are obtained by wide temporal pulses through single-shot current pulse measurements. This is accomplished by proper coupling capacitance, which determines the coupling time, the measurement time, and their proportion. Furthermore, the ratio of decoherence time for this structure with respect to the one belonging to a typical qubit is found to be more than 1.42.
The states of superconducting quantum bits, as the Josephson phase qubits and flux qubits, are distinguished by magnetic flux generated by a persistent current in a superconducting loop. As the readout circuit contributes decoherence, its coupling to the qubit should be made as weak as possible. We demonstrate a method to maximize the measurement contrast of the two qubit states, thus allowing to significantly decrease the coupling to the readout. This technique is promising for multiqubit circuits since it allows to read out the states of several qubits by using a single readout circuit.
We have succeeded in coupling two solid-state qubits and observing quantum coherent dynamics of such a system. Each qubit is a Cooper-pair box whose quantum states are manipulated by means of pulse technique. Coupling of the two qubits is done by using a small on-chip capacitor. For read-out of the state of each qubit, we use probe electrodes connected to the Cooper-pair boxes through resistive tunnel junctions. Quantum coherent oscillation of the two-qubit charge states results in the oscillation of the probe currents. The observed "beatings" as well as avoided level crossing in the energy spectrum is a direct evidence for the interaction of the two qubits. Although we could not measure the amount of entanglement directly, our simulations based on the experimental data show that during quantum evolution the qubits remain entangled most of the time. A straightforward continuation of this experiment is a demonstration of conditional gate operation, a prototype of a solid-state quantum logic gate.
A practical quantum computer, if built, would consist of a set of coupled two-level quantum systems (qubits). Among the variety of qubits implemented, solid-state qubits are of particular interest because of their potential suitability for integrated devices. A variety of qubits based on Josephson junctions have been implemented; these exploit the coherence of Cooper-pair tunnelling in the superconducting state. Despite apparent progress in the implementation of individual solid-state qubits, there have been no experimental reports of multiple qubit gates--a basic requirement for building a real quantum computer. Here we demonstrate a Josephson circuit consisting of two coupled charge qubits. Using a pulse technique, we coherently mix quantum states and observe quantum oscillations, the spectrum of which reflects interaction between the qubits. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of coupling multiple solid-state qubits, and indicate the existence of entangled two-qubit states.
In this work we consider measurements on quantum systems emphasizing\non read-out of superconducting qubits. The qubit is always coupled to an\nenvironment, containing a macroscopic number of degrees of freedom. This\nperturbs the qubit and destroys the phase coherence of the quantum state.\nOne tries to minimize this destructive effect by encoding the quantum information in quantum states which do not couple strongly to the dominant\nnoise sources. It is therefore necessary to design read-out methods that can\ndistinguish these states.\n\nWe focus primarily on the single Cooper-pair box (SCB) charge qubit, whose\nproperties are based on the Josephson effect and Coulumb blockade in superconducting electrical circuits. By encoding the information in the qubit\nenergy eigenstates, it is possible to protect it from the most dangerous decoherence source - charge fluctuations in the environment. We investigate\nthe measurement setup, where the SCB is coupled to a lumped element LCoscillator whose resonance frequency is orders of magnitude smaller than the qubit energy splitting. In this regime the SCB will act as an effective positive or negative capacitance, depending on the quantum state. This quantum capacitance then shifts the oscillator resonance frequency, which can be detected in a homodyne phase measurement.\n\nWe have found that reading out a charge qubit by measuring its quantum\ncapacitance in this manner is quantum limited, independently of the oscillator\nquality factor Q. Moreover, we have found that the low-Q oscillator\nis advantageous for the measurement in two ways: first, such an oscillator\nbetter protects the qubit from thermal dephasing, and, second, it allows to\nincrease the speed of the read-out, making it possible to distinguish the qubit states in a single shot measurement.