In this paper, we consider the system where a superconducting qubit is coupled to a resonator acting as a harmonic oscillator. Unlike the existing work regarding estimation of the coupling strength or oscillator frequency, we aim to sense the amplitude of a microwave drive by utilizing the qubit as a quantum probe. Furthermore, in order to improve the estimation precision, we employ a periodic control protocol that is easy to be implemented in practice. Such improvement does not require any manipulation of the oscillator. The proposed strategy sheds light on a systematic study on estimation of the driving field in superconducting circuits by means of adding control.
In this paper, we consider the system where a superconducting qubit is coupled to a resonator acting as a harmonic oscillator. Unlike the existing work regarding estimation of the coupling strength or oscillator frequency, we aim to sense the amplitude of a microwave drive by utilizing the qubit as a quantum probe. Furthermore, in order to improve the estimation precision, we employ a periodic control protocol that is easy to be implemented in practice. Such improvement does not require any manipulation of the oscillator. The proposed strategy sheds light on a systematic study on estimation of the driving field in superconducting circuits by means of adding control.
In the circuit quantum electrodynamics architecture, both the resonance frequency and the coupling of superconducting qubits to microwave field modes can be controlled via external electric and magnetic fields to explore qubit-photon dynamics in a wide parameter range. Here, we experimentally demonstrate and analyze a scheme for tuning the coupling between a transmon qubit and a microwave resonator using a single coherent drive tone. We treat the transmon as a three-level system, with the qubit subspace defined by the ground and the second excited states. If the drive frequency matches the difference between the resonator and the qubit frequencies, a Jaynes-Cummings-type interaction is induced, which is tunable in both amplitude and phase. We show that coupling strengths of about 10 MHz can be achieved in our setup, limited only by the anharmonicity of the transmon qubit. This scheme has been successfully used to generate microwave photons with a controlled temporal shape [M. Pechal et al., Phys. Rev. X 4, 041010 (2014)] and can be directly implemented with superconducting quantum devices featuring larger anharmonicity for higher coupling strengths.
Accurate control of qubits is the central requirement for building functional quantum processors. For the current superconducting quantum processor, high-fidelity control of qubits is mainly based on independently calibrated microwave pulses, which could differ from each other in frequencies, amplitudes, and phases. With this control strategy, the needed physical resource could be challenging, especially when scaling up to large-scale quantum processors is considered. Inspired by Kane's proposal for spin-based quantum computing, here, we explore theoretically the possibility of baseband flux control of superconducting qubits with only shared and always-on microwave drives. In our strategy, qubits are by default far detuned from the drive during system idle periods, qubit readout and baseband flux-controlled two-qubit gates can thus be realized with minimal impacts from the always-on drive. By contrast, during working periods, qubits are tuned on resonance with the drive and single-qubit gates can be realized. Therefore, universal qubit control can be achieved with only baseband flux pulses and always-on shared microwave drives. We apply this strategy to the qubit architecture where tunable qubits are coupled via a tunable coupler, and the analysis shows that high-fidelity qubit control is possible. Besides, the baseband control strategy needs fewer physical resources, such as control electronics and cooling power in cryogenic systems, than that of microwave control. Of note, the flexibility of baseband flux control could be employed for addressing the nonuniformity issue of superconducting qubits, potentially allowing the realization of multiplexing and cross-bar technologies and thus controlling large numbers of qubits with fewer control lines. We thus expect that baseband control with shared microwave drives can help build large-scale superconducting quantum processors.
Hybrid quantum systems play an essential role in efforts towards the advancements of quantum information technology and quantum sensing by bridging distinct technological platforms. In particular, hybrid systems comprising superconducting microwave circuits are being pursued intensely in light of existing achievements in superconducting qubits and precise quantum control in microwave circuits. Their realization relies on the design of superconducting resonators capable of coupling to an oscillatory mode of a second quantum system, facilitating the probing and manipulation of one via the other. In order to accommodate the coupled system, its particular constraints and requirements must be respected, which may be quite extreme from the perspective of established superconducting circuit design and operation. Overcoming this challenge has proved to be a substantial obstacle for the attainment of strongly coupled hybrid systems, despite spectacular advances in superconducting microwave circuits individually. In this work, we examine two approaches tackling this issue for different hybrid quantum systems, focusing on the optimization and characterization of the superconducting circuits. The first device aims at a superconductor-atom hybrid system through the coupling to Rydberg-Rydberg transitions in ultra-cold Rb-87 atoms trapped near the superconducting chip. Using simulations in conjunction with theoretical considerations, we demonstrate a comprehensive geometry parameter optimization procedure for maximum coupling rate. Presenting an experimental implementation of the resulting circuit, we validate its suitability for use under the intended operation conditions, including the option of tuning the electronic transition frequencies using a dc voltage. Secondly, we investigate a device designed for applications in large magnetic in-plane fields used to mediate coupling to integrated micromechanical oscillators; more specifically it is a flux-tunable SQUID resonator comprising Josephson nano-constrictions as nonlinear inductive components. Performing a thorough characterization of its frequency and Kerr anharmonicity tuning behavior at fields up to several hundred mT, we discover a pronounced asymmetry in its flux response at large fields. We show this asymmetry to be caused by the nano-constrictions turning into Josephson diodes, develop an intuitive macroscopic model for its field-induced emergence and reconstruct the diode current-phase relation from the flux tuning data. Several figures of merit informing the suitability of the SQUID resonators for optomechanical systems as well as other applications are improved by the diode effect, highlighting the potential of Josephson diodes in superconducting microwave circuits. Our results provide a promising stepping stone for the advancement of hybrid systems involving superconducting microwave circuits, putting new and exciting operation and coupling regimes within reach.
Superconducting circuits are one of the most promising and rapidly developing platforms for implementing quantum bits and their control operations for the purpose of large-scale quantum computing. A quantum algorithm is run by executing a series of precise operations on the quantum bits, or qubits. The most important of these operations are the quantum gates along with the measurement and initialization of the states of the qubits and auxiliary components.
In this dissertation, we develop techniques to enhance each of these three operations. The work employs systems of coupled qubits and resonators in the framework of circuit quantum electrodynamics.
Firstly, we derive a theoretical lower bound for the error of a single-qubit gate implemented with a linear oscillator mode and show how to reach this bound. Secondly, we experimentally demonstrate a technique for measuring the state of a qubit by simultaneously driving the qubit and the accompanying readout resonator. Compared to our method, the standard technique involving only the resonator drive yields up to 100% larger error. Moreover, we experimentally and theoretically develop quantum devices and protocols that may be used to initialize or reset auxiliary quantum circuits such as resonators. By coupling a quantum circuit to a strongly dissipative environment through a coupler, the decay rate of the circuit may be tuned on demand by several orders of magnitude. Finally, we propose a general method to analytically solve the dynamics of a complex, open bosonic system that may be used to describe, for example, the experimental systems of this dissertation.
The experimental techniques developed in this dissertation may potentially be utilized in future implementations of a quantum computer, and the proposed theoretical protocols pave the way for future experiments aiming to improve qubit control and heat management in large-scale quantum processors.; Suprajohtavat kvanttipiirit ovat yksi lupaavimmista ja nopeimmin kehittyvista alustoista, joilla voi mahdollisesti toteuttaa suuren kokoluokan kvanttilaskentaa. Kvanttilaskennassa keskeisessa asemassa ovat kvanttibitit eli kubitit seka niilla tehtavat tarkat operaatiot, joista kvanttialgoritmit muodostuvat. Operaatioista tarkeimmat ovat loogiset kvanttiportit seka kubittien ja muiden tarvittavien komponenttien tilojen mittaus ja alustus.Tassa vaitoskirjassa kehitetaan tapoja naiden kolmen operaation parantamiseksi. Tyossa kasitellaan kvanttielektrodynamiikkaan perustuvia, kubittien ja resonaattorien muodostamia kytkettyja systeemeja.
Ensimmaiseksi johdamme teoreettisen alarajan lineaarisella varahtelymoodilla toteutetulle yhden kubitin kvanttiportin virheelle seka naytamme, miten alaraja on mahdollista saavuttaa. Toiseksi toteutamme kokeellisesti menetelman, jolla voi mitata kubitin tilan ajamalla kubittia ja siihen kytkettya lukuresonaattoria samanaikaisesti. Yleisesti kaytetty mittaustapa, jossa ajetaan ainoastaan resonaattoria, tuottaa jopa 100% suuremman virheen kuin toteuttamamme menetelma.…
We investigate the stabilization of the dynamical state of a superconducting qubit. In a series of papers, A. Korotkov and his co-workers suggested that continuous weak measurement of the state of a qubit and applying an appropriate feedback on the amplitude of a Rabi drive, should maintain the coherence of the Rabi oscillations for arbitrary time. Here, in the aim of addressing a metrological application of these persistent Rabi oscillations, we explore a new variant of such strategies. This variant is based on performing strong measurements in a discrete manner and using the measurement record to correct the phase of the Rabi oscillations. Noting that such persistent Rabi oscillations can be viewed as an amplitude-to-frequency convertor (converting the amplitude of the Rabi microwave drive to a precise frequency), we propose another feedback layer consisting of a simple analog phase locked loop to compensate the low frequency deviations in the amplitude of the Rabi drive.
In this thesis work, the quantum behavior of a superconducting circuit implementing a quantum bit or qubit is studied. With the use of resonant microwave pulses the full manipulation of the quantum state of this system is demonstrated: any rotation of the state vector around the Bloch sphere can be achieved and by using particular NMR inspired sequences of microwave pulses, the robustness of an operation against particular types of errors, like slow fluctuations of the transition frequency of the qubit, can be improved. The phenomenon of decoherence which drives the system from a quantum behavior to a classical one, has been characterized in the free evolution regime. By properly tuning the working point in the external parameter space, the qubit can be decoupled to first order from the fluctuations of its environment, thus enhancing coherence. In these optimal conditions, low frequency charge noise probably of microscopic origin appears to be the limiting source of decoherence for our system. The study of decoherence during driven evolution demonstrated that by suppressing the effect of those fluctuations of the environment slower than that of the driving field, the coherence of the qubit can be improved. Finally a new non-dissipative readout method based on microwave reflectometry has been set up, which improves the sensitivity and could in principle lead to a non-demolition measurement of the qubit state.