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IEEE MTT-S International Wireless Symposium (IWS)

Microwave single-photon detection based on dressed-state engineering

K. Inomata, Zhirong Lin, Kazuki Koshino, William D. Oliver, J. S. Tsai, Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, Yasunobu Nakamura

Published May 1, 2019• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Single photon detection is a requisite technique in quantum-optics experiments in both the optical and the microwave domains. However, the energy of microwave quanta are four to five orders of magnitude less than their optical counterpart, making the efficient detection of single microwave photon extremely challenging. Here, we demonstrate the detection of a single microwave photon propagating through a waveguide. The detector is implemented with an "impedance-matched" artificial Λ system comprising the dressed states of a driven superconducting qubit coupled to a microwave resonator. We attain a single-photon detection efficiency of 0.66±0.06 with a reset time of ~400 ns. This detector can be exploited for various applications in quantum sensing, quantum communication and quantum information processing.

DOI
10.1109/ieee-iws.2019.8804080

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Single photon detection is a requisite technique in quantum-optics experiments in both the optical and the microwave domains. However, the energy of microwave quanta are four to five orders of magnitude less than their optical counterpart, making the efficient detection of single microwave photon extremely challenging. Here, we demonstrate the detection of a single microwave photon propagating through a waveguide. The detector is implemented with an "impedance-matched" artificial Λ system comprising the dressed states of a driven superconducting qubit coupled to a microwave resonator. We attain a single-photon detection efficiency of 0.66±0.06 with a reset time of ~400 ns. This detector can be exploited for various applications in quantum sensing, quantum communication and quantum information processing.
Single-photon detection is a requisite technique in quantum-optics experiments in both the optical and the microwave domains. However, the energy of microwave quanta are four to five orders of magnitude less than their optical counterpart, making the efficient detection of single microwave photons extremely challenging. Here we demonstrate the detection of a single microwave photon propagating through a waveguide. The detector is implemented with an impedance-matched artificial Λ system comprising the dressed states of a driven superconducting qubit coupled to a microwave resonator. Each signal photon deterministically induces a Raman transition in the Λ system and excites the qubit. The subsequent dispersive readout of the qubit produces a discrete 'click'. We attain a high single-photon-detection efficiency of 0.66±0.06 with a low dark-count probability of 0.014±0.001 and a reset time of ∼400 ns. This detector can be exploited for various applications in quantum sensing, quantum communication and quantum information processing.
By properly driving a qubit-resonator system in the strong dispersive regime, we implement an ``impedance-matched'' $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ system in the dressed states, where a resonant single photon deterministically induces a Raman transition and excites the qubit. Combining this effect and a fast dispersive readout of the qubit, we realize a detector of itinerant microwave photons. We theoretically analyze the single-photon response of the $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ system and evaluate its performance as a detector. We achieve a high detection efficiency without relying on precise temporal control of the input pulse shape and under a conservative estimate of the system parameters. The detector can also be reset quickly by applying microwave pulses, which allows a short dead time and a high repetition rate.
In one-dimensional optical setups, light-matter interaction is drastically enhanced by the interference between the incident and scattered fields. Particularly, in the impedance-matched Λ-type three-level systems, a single photon deterministically induces the Raman transition and switches the electronic state of the system. Here, we show that such a Λ system can be implemented by using dressed states of a driven superconducting qubit and a resonator. The input microwave photons are perfectly absorbed and are down-converted into other frequency modes in the same waveguide. The proposed setup is applicable to the detection of single microwave photons and the swapping of the photon and matter qubits.
Single-photon detection is an essential component in many experiments in quantum optics, but it remains challenging in the microwave domain. We realize a quantum nondemolition detector for propagating microwave photons and characterize its performance using a single-photon source. To this aim, we implement a cavity-assisted conditional phase gate between the incoming photon and a superconducting artificial atom. By reading out the state of this atom in a single shot, we reach an external (internal) photon-detection fidelity of 50% (71%), limited by transmission efficiency between the source and the detector (75%) and the coherence properties of the qubit. By characterizing the coherence and average number of photons in the field reflected off the detector, we demonstrate its quantum nondemolition nature. We envisage applications in generating heralded remote entanglement between qubits and for realizing logic gates between propagating microwave photons.
Efficient detection of single microwave photons is a key capability for emerging quantum technologies. Yet, it remains far less developed than its optical domain counterpart. Realizing detectors that simultaneously achieve high efficiency, low dark counts, and continuous operation has proved challenging. Existing detectors operate cyclically, forcing a trade-off between efficiency and duty cycle. Here, we demonstrate a continuously operated microwave single-photon detector based on a superconducting artificial molecule. In our scheme, an incoming photon is captured by a bright state of the molecule and then transferred to a long-lived dark state via a driven-dissipative process. Photon ``clicks'' are revealed as quantum jumps in the continuously monitored dark state. We observe a cyclic detection efficiency of 0.730.730.73, and a continuous detection efficiency of 0.470.470.47 over a 5 MHz5\,\mathrm{MHz}5MHz instantaneous bandwidth, with a 1 μs1\,μ\mathrm{s}1μs temporal resolution and a 15 μs15\,μ\mathrm{s}15μs dead time. By overcoming the trade-off between efficiency and duty cycle, this approach establishes continuous microwave photon detection for quantum sensing, quantum thermodynamics, and fundamental physics.
Single-photon detection is an essential component in many experiments in quantum optics, but it remains challenging in the microwave domain.We realize a quantum nondemolition detector for propagating microwave photons and characterize its performance using a single-photon source.To this aim, we implement a cavity-assisted conditional phase gate between the incoming photon and a superconducting artificial atom.By reading out the state of this atom in a single shot, we reach an external (internal) photon-detection fidelity of 50% (71%), limited by transmission efficiency between the source and the detector (75%) and the coherence properties of the qubit.By characterizing the coherence and average number of photons in the field reflected off the detector, we demonstrate its quantum nondemolition nature.We envisage applications in generating heralded remote entanglement between qubits and for realizing logic gates between propagating microwave photons.