The decoherence time of superconducting qubit is one of the main parameters that determine whether superconducting quantum computation can be realized. This paper mainly focuses on three-dimensional (3D) transmon. The sample is fabricated on SiO substrate, and measured in 10 mK temperature. By measuring Rabi oscillation, energy relaxation, Ramsey oscillation and spin echo, the decoherence time constants of 3D transmon are characterized. The results show that the decoherence time is around several hundred nanoseconds. Based on the relationship of different decoherence time constant, we have the concludes that the possible reason to diminish the decoherence time is the defect in SiO substrate, but not the low frequency noises.
The decoherence time of superconducting qubit is one of the main parameters that determine whether superconducting quantum computation can be realized. This paper mainly focuses on three-dimensional (3D) transmon. The sample is fabricated on SiO substrate, and measured in 10 mK temperature. By measuring Rabi oscillation, energy relaxation, Ramsey oscillation and spin echo, the decoherence time constants of 3D transmon are characterized. The results show that the decoherence time is around several hundred nanoseconds. Based on the relationship of different decoherence time constant, we have the concludes that the possible reason to diminish the decoherence time is the defect in SiO substrate, but not the low frequency noises.
Three-dimensional(3D) transmon is a kind of superconducting qubit with long decoherence time, which has important applications in superconducting quantum computation, quantum optics, cavity quantum electrodynamics, et al. Rabi oscillation is a vital method to characterize the decoherence time of quantum system, and it is also a basic experiment to demonstrate the energy level evolution of quantum system. In order to test the Rabi oscillation of 3D transmon, strict timing control is necessary, and the process of testing and debugging is complicated. In this paper, 3D transmon samples are fabricated and their basic parameters EC = 348.74 MHz and EJ = 11.556 GHz are tested and characterized. The coupling coefficient g2/Δ between qubit and the 3D cavity is 43 MHz, which is located in the dispersive regime. The qubit’s first transition frequency f01 = 9.2709 GHz, and the second transition frequency f12 = 9.0100 GHz. The 3D resonator is fabricated by the material 6061T6 aluminum, the loaded quality factor is 4.8 × 105, and the bare frequency of the resonator is 8.108 GHz. Through comparison, it is found that the Rabi oscillation time obtained by the proposed method is shorter than by the Jaynes-Cummings method. The main reasons are as follows. First, the measurement of network analyzer is a continuous measurement, and the test signal always affects the decoherence process of 3D transmon. Second, the quantum bit is in the ground state after decoherence, and the ground state measured by the network analyzer accounts for a relatively high proportion, which causes the curve measured by the network analyzer to be one-sided attenuation oscillation. Third, the dispersive readout method is related to the quality factor of the superconducting cavity. The storage time of microwave photons in the superconducting cavity is longer than the decoherence time of 3D transmon, so the quantum information is partially decohered before leaving the superconducting cavity, which will shorten the Rabi oscillation time. An innovative Rabi oscillation test method based on network analyzer is presented. The test system based on this method is simple to build and can be used as a new way to quickly verify whether 3D transmon has quantum characteristics. This method can also be extended to other quantum systems for preliminarily verifying the time domain characteristics.
Decoherence and parameter fluctuations are two of the mayor obstacles for solid-state quantum computing. In this work, decoherence in superconducting qubits of the transmon type is investigated. For this purpose, a time-multiplexed measurement protocol was developed and applied in long-term measurements. The resulting simultaneous measurement of the qubit's relaxation and dephasing rate, as well as its resonance frequency enables analysis of correlations between these parameters. A spectral noise analysis complements these measurements. Together, the results agree well with the interacting defect model of two-level-systems and yield information about the microscopic origin of the intrinsic decoherence mechanisms in Josephson qubits. Our measurements show inherent correlations between dephasing and fluctuations in qubit frequency on the timescale of seconds to days, which is attributed to the influence of individual defects, located close to conductor edges. Cross-correlation and spectral noise analysis confirm this interpretation and ascribe the source of fluctuation to interactions between thermal fluctuators and surface defects. Single defects reducing the coherence of qubits by up to one order of magnitude are a major challenge for future quantum computers. Non-tunable qubits are intrinsically insensitive to some decoherence channels and thus ideal for this fundamental analysis. However, to widen the focus and contrast the results of different material systems, we pursue the fabrication of voltage controlled gatemon qubits. In the course of this work, the theoretical foundation and technical implementation of transmon qubits based on regular Josephson weak links, and semiconducting nanowires is given. The experimental design and measurement setup are explained in detail. Our findings make continuous re-calibration a necessity in today's solid-state qubits, although new materials or processing techniques might mitigate the problem. However, the results of this work imply that fundamental improvements of qubit parameter stability are necessary in order to realize scalable and coherent qubit circuits.
It is well known that that superconducting qubits based on Josephson junctions have the advantages of scalability and the qubit states are easy to prepare and control. In addition, demonstration of Rabi oscillations in various superconducting circuits shows that superconducting qubits are promising for scalable quantum information processing. However, despite flexibility of design and fabrication, easier to scale up, and fast gate speed, superconducting qubits usually have much shorter decoherence time than trapped ions, NMR etc. due to the relatively strong interactions between qubits and environment. Recent experiments show that low frequency flux noise is the dominant mechanism of decoherence in superconducting flux qubits. However, despite extensive effort the origin of flux noise is still not well understood. The goal of this work is to identify the source and characterize the property of flux noisein rf SQUID flux qubit through various spectroscopy and time-resolved measurements. Our result show that one can determine all circuit parameters needed for reconstructing qubit Hamiltonian with high accuracy via measurement of macroscopic resonant tunneling (MRT) and photon assisted tunneling (PAT) and that the amount of flux noise in rf SQUID qubits scales linearly with self inductance of the qubits. In addition, we have investigated the dynamics of a three-level flux qubit in incoherent regime. The result demonstrates that treating a multi-level physical qubit, such as the superconducting flux qubit, as an ideal two-level quantum system may be inadequate under certain circumstances.
Abstract Superconducting quantum circuits are a leading platform for quantum-information processing, but their development requires expertise spanning device design, microfabrication, cryogenic operation, microwave control, and quantum characterization. In this work, we report the realization of a flux-tunable superconducting transmon platform and present an integrated workflow encompassing design, fabrication, measurement, and numerical modeling. The device consists of an Al/AlOx/Al transmon coupled to a three-dimensional microwave cavity operating in the circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) dispersive regime. Two-tone spectroscopy reveals a fundamental transition frequency of ω01=5.0122GHz and an anharmonicity of α/2π=−202.4MHz , corresponding to EJ/EC≈82.9 . Flux spectroscopy yields a cavity-qubit coupling strength of g/2π=260MHz , while the cavity linewidth gives a loaded quality factor of QL=6127 and a Purcell limit of T1Purcell≈82μs . Time-domain measurements yield coherence times of T1=17.4μs and T2∗=5.8μs . To investigate coherence and dissipation in the device, the experimental observations are analyzed within a Lindblad master-equation framework describing cavity photon loss and thermal excitation, qubit energy relaxation, and pure dephasing processes. Using a set of experimentally extracted parameters, the model reproduces the measured spectroscopic and time-domain observables, providing a quantitative description of the open-system dynamics of the transmon-cavity platform. The analysis shows that the measured coherence is primarily limited by pure dephasing and energy-relaxation processes, whereas thermal excitation plays a minor role under the experimental conditions. Inspired by the broader framework of quantum dissipation in macroscopic quantum systems pioneered by Caldeira and collaborators, this approach enables a quantitative analysis of relaxation and dephasing processes in superconducting quantum circuits. Beyond the characterization of a single device, the present work demonstrates the establishment of the expertise, infrastructure, and experimental workflow required for the design, fabrication, measurement, and modeling of superconducting quantum circuits, contributing to the development of quantum technologies in Brazil and related applications.
The temporal stability and reproducibility of qubit parameters are critical for the long-term operation and maintenance of superconducting quantum processors. In this work, we present a comprehensive longitudinal characterization of 27 frequency-tunable transmon qubits spanning over one year across four thermal cycles. Our results establish a distinct hierarchy of stability for superconducting hardware. We find that the intrinsic device parameters determining the qubit frequency and the baseline energy relaxation times (T1) exhibit high robustness against thermal stress, characterized by frequency deviations typically confined within 0.5\% and non-degraded coherence baselines. In stark contrast, the environmental variables, specifically the background magnetic flux offsets and the microscopic landscape of two-level system (TLS) defects, undergo a significant stochastic reconfiguration after each cycle. By employing frequency-dependent relaxation spectroscopy and a quantitative metric, the T1 Spectral Topography Fidelity, we demonstrate that thermal cycling acts as a ``hard reset'' for the local defect environment. This process introduces a level of spectral randomization equivalent to thousands of hours of continuous low-temperature evolution. These findings confirm that while the fabrication quality is preserved, the specific noise realization is statistically distinct for each thermal cycle, necessitating automated recalibration strategies for large-scale quantum systems.
Abstract Superconducting qubits are one of the most promising physical systems for implementing quantum computers. However, executing quantum algorithms of practical computational advantage requires further improvements in the fidelities of qubit operations, which are currently limited by the energy relaxation and dephasing times of the qubits. Here, we report our measurement results of a high-coherence transmon qubit with energy relaxation and echo dephasing times surpassing those in the existing literature. We measure a qubit frequency of 2.9 GHz, an energy relaxation time T 1 with a median of 425 μs and a maximum of (666 ± 33)μs, and an echo dephasing time T2echo T 2 echo with a median of 541 μs and a maximum of (1057 ± 138)μs. We report in detail our design, fabrication process, and measurement setup to facilitate the reproduction and wide adoption of high-coherence transmon qubits in the academia and industry.