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Coherent transfer of Cooper pairs by a movable grain

L. Y. Gorelik, Andreas Isacsson, Y. M. Galperin, Robert I Shekhter, M. Jonson

Published Jan 1, 2001• 25 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Abstract Superconducting circuits that incorporate Josephson junctions are of considerable experimental and theoretical interest, particularly in the context of quantum computing1, 2, 3, 4, 5. A nanometre-sized superconducting grain (commonly referred to as a Cooper-pair box2) connected to a reservoir by a Josephson junction is an important example of such a system. Although the grain contains a large number of electrons, it has been experimentally demonstrated6 that its states are given by a superposition of only two charge states (differing by 2e, where e is the electronic charge). Coupling between charge transfer and mechanical motion in nanometre-sized structures has also received considerable attention7, 8, 9, 10. Here we demonstrate theoretically that a movable Cooper-pair box oscillating periodically between two remote superconducting electrodes can serve as a mediator of Josephson coupling, leading to coherent transfer of Cooper pairs between the electrodes. Both the magnitude and the direction of the resulting Josephson current can be controlled by externally applied electrostatic fields.

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arXiv:2410.07152•Low Temperature Physics•Dec 1, 2024•1 citation
Abstract Superconducting circuits that incorporate Josephson junctions are of considerable experimental and theoretical interest, particularly in the context of quantum computing1, 2, 3, 4, 5. A nanometre-sized superconducting grain (commonly referred to as a Cooper-pair box2) connected to a reservoir by a Josephson junction is an important example of such a system. Although the grain contains a large number of electrons, it has been experimentally demonstrated6 that its states are given by a superposition of only two charge states (differing by 2e, where e is the electronic charge). Coupling between charge transfer and mechanical motion in nanometre-sized structures has also received considerable attention7, 8, 9, 10. Here we demonstrate theoretically that a movable Cooper-pair box oscillating periodically between two remote superconducting electrodes can serve as a mediator of Josephson coupling, leading to coherent transfer of Cooper pairs between the electrodes. Both the magnitude and the direction of the resulting Josephson current can be controlled by externally applied electrostatic fields.
Abstract A nanometre-scale superconducting electrode connected to a reservoir via a Josephson junction constitutes an artificial two-level electronic system: a single-Cooper-pair box. The two levels consist of charge states (differing by 2e, where e is the electronic charge) that are coupled by tunnelling of Cooper pairs through the junction. Although the two-level system is macroscopic, containing a large number of electrons, the two charge states can be coherently superposed1, 2, 3, 4. The Cooper-pair box has therefore been suggested5, 6, 7 as a candidate for a quantum bit or ‘qubit’—the basic component of a quantum computer. Here we report the observation of quantum oscillations in a single-Cooper-pair box. By applying a short voltage pulse via a gate electrode, we can control the coherent quantum state evolution: the pulse modifies the energies of the two charge states non-adiabatically, bringing them into resonance. The resulting state—a superposition of the two charge states—is detected by a tunnelling current through a probe junction. Our results demonstrate electrical coherent control of a qubit in a solid-state electronic device.
We have analyzed and measured the quantum coherent dynamics of a circuit containing two coupled superconducting charge qubits. Each qubit is based on a Cooper pair box connected to a reservoir electrode through a Josephson junction. Two qubits are coupled electrostatically by a small island overlapping both Cooper pair boxes. Quantum state manipulation ofthe qubit circuit is done by applying non-adiabatic voltage pulses to the common gate. We read out each qubit by means of probe electrodes connected to Cooper pair boxes through high-Ohmic tunnel junctions. With such a setup the measured pulse-induced probe currents are proportional to the probability for each qubit to have an extra Cooper pai1r after the manipulation. As expected from theory and observed experimentally the measured pulse-induced current in each probe has two frequency components whose position on the frequency axis can be externally controlled. This is a result ofthe inter-qubit coupling which is also responsible for the avoided level crossing that we observed in the qubits' spectra. Our simulations show that in the absence of decoherence and with a rectangular pulse shape the system remains entangled most ofthe time reaching maximally entangled states at certain instances.
We propose a superconducting nanomechanical device that can actuate and probe an oscillating flying qubit facilitating quantum information transfer over a distance. The flying qubit is formed by a movable Cooper-pair box (CPB) consisting of a superconducting dot and a bulk superconductor, which are entangled by lifting the Coulomb blockade of Cooper-pair tunneling electrostatically. We show that flying qubit states formed on a movable CPB can be observed in electron transport to a normal electrode via Andreev reflections. The charge transfer due to periodic mechanical motion of CPB leads to the occurrence of a nonzero current at zero bias voltage, and its coherence can be identified through the oscillatory current dependence of the current on a gate voltage. The proposed device provides a building block for dissipationless quantum information circuits.
We propose a nanomechanical device which can actuate and probe a flying qubit that can be used to facilitate quantum information transfer over a long distance. The flying qubit is formed by a movable Cooper pair box (CPB) consisting of a superconducting dot and a bulk superconductor which are entangled by removing the Coulomb blockade of Cooper pair tunneling electrostatically. We suggest that flying qubit states formed on movable CPB can be observed in electron transport to a normal electrode via Andreev reflections. The charge transfer due to periodic mechanical motion of CPB leads to nonzero current at zero voltage and its coherence can be identified through oscillatory dependence of the current on a gate voltage.
In a system where two small-area (100 nm x 100 nm) superconducting tunnel junctions are connected in series, the Josephson effect which tends to impose the phase competes with the charging effects in the central electrode (the of the device) which tend to set the charge of the island. By applying a voltage on an electrode capacitively coupled to the island (the electrode) one can arbitrate this competition in favour of either effect. This is can be seen in particular on the supercurrent which can flow through the junctions : it is modulated periodically by the gate voltage (hence the name of given to the system). This modulation shows sharp peaks when two charge states of the island are degenerate with respect to the electrostatic energy. The system is then in a state which has no classical description : it is in a coherent superposition of states. In this thesis we demonstrate experimentally the behaviour of this transistor and we analyse the theoretical and practical problems which can prevent the observation of the coherent superposition of states through the modulation of the supercurrent. In particular we show that the parity of the electron number in the island must be rigorously controlled and that the impedance connected to the circuit plays a crucial role in setting the magnitude of the measured supercurrent.
We suggest a nanoelectromechanical setup which generates a particular type of motion—the circular motion of mesoscopic superconducting grain, where motion is described by entangled nanomechanical coherent states. The setup is based on mesoscopic terminal utilizing the ac Josephson effect between the superconducting electrodes and the grain, operating in the regime of the Cooper pair box controlled by the gate voltage. The grain is placed on the free end of the suspended cantilever, performing controlled two-dimensional mechanical vibrations. Required functionality is achieved by operating two external parameters, bias voltage between the superconducting electrodes and voltage between gate electrodes, by which the nanomechanical coherent states are formed and organized in a pair of entangled cat-states in two perpendicular spatial directions, which evolve in time in the way to provide a circular motion.