We investigate the switching current of a Cooper pair transistor with tunable Josephson energy. The junctions are fabricated in a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) geometry which allows for an in situ tunable effective Josephson energy by application of a magnetic field. We find a $2e$ -periodic switching current versus gate charge. As the magnetic field is increased the switching current stays $2e$ -periodic but the magnitude is suppressed. At a magnetic field of half a flux quantum through the SQUID's the switching current is minimum. We can theoretically model the experimental data by assuming a switching current which is proportional to the ideal critical current squarred. We show that such a dependence is expected in the limit where the effect of thermal fluctuations on the system is strong.We investigate the switching current of a Cooper pair transistor with tunable Josephson energy. The junctions are fabricated in a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) geometry which allows for an in situ tunable effective Josephson energy by application of a magnetic field. We find a $2e$-periodic switching current versus gate charge. As the magnetic field is increased the switching current stays $2e$-periodic but the magnitude is suppressed. At a magnetic field of half a flux quantum through the SQUID's the switching current is minimum. We can theoretically model the experimental data by assuming a switching current which is proportional to the ideal critical current squarred. We show that such a dependence is expected in the limit where the effect of thermal fluctuations on the system is strong.

Physical review. B, Condensed matterJun 28, 20026 citations

Sample and hold measurement for binary detection of a quantum state

Jochen Walter

Measuring the dynamics of a quantum bit (qubit) relies on the accurate detection of the quantum state of the system. A widely used method to measure the state of a solid state Josephson junction qubit is to measure the switching current of a Josephson device. This work investigates the measurement of the switching current of SQUID samples by means of fast current pulses. The response of a SQUID to a square current pulse has to be measured at the top of a dilution refrigerator through long cables, resulting in bandwidth limitations. A switch in the last instance of a pulse will not be detected, resulting in uncertainties in the detection. We explain how a square bias pulse that is directly followed by a hold level of lower amplitude can be used to circumvent the bandwidth limitations by latching the state of the system it was in after the bias pulse. This corresponds to a sample and hold measurement. Every single measurement in a quantum mechanical probability measurement has to be statistically independent. We show correlation measurements for di erent settings of the pulse parameters and at di erent magnitudes of the switching current. A gure of merit for a quantum detector is its resolution. The measurements show that with the sample and hold technique good current resolutions can be obtained, even at very small magnitudes and short pulse durations. In order to make a fast measurement of the switching current, the switching process must occur during the bias pulse. We show in both measurements and computer simulations that a fast switch pulse can induce switching by the hold level,even when the hold level was initially adjusted to a value where it never switched the sample. The computer simulations show that by choosing the hold amplitude low enough, switching occurs rapidly, determined by the bias pulse alone.Measuring the dynamics of a quantum bit (qubit) relies on the accurate detection of the quantum state of the system. A widely used method to measure the state of a solid state Josephson junction qubit is to measure the switching current of a Josephson device. This work investigates the measurement of the switching current of SQUID samples by means of fast current pulses. The response of a SQUID to a square current pulse has to be measured at the top of a dilution refrigerator through long cables, resulting in bandwidth limitations. A switch in the last instance of a pulse will not be detected, resulting in uncertainties in the detection. We explain how a square bias pulse that is directly followed by a hold level of lower amplitude can be used to circumvent the bandwidth limitations by latching the state of the system it was in after the bias pulse. This corresponds to a sample and hold measurement. Every single measurement in a quantum mechanical probability measurement has to be statistically independent. We show correlation measurements for di erent settings of the pulse parameters and at di erent magnitudes of the switching current. A gure of merit for a quantum detector is its resolution. The measurements show that with the sample and hold technique good current resolutions can be obtained, even at very small magnitudes and short pulse durations. In order to make a fast measurement of the switching current, the switching process must occur during the bias pulse. We show in both measurements and computer simulations that a fast switch pulse can induce switching by the hold level,even when the hold level was initially adjusted to a value where it never switched the sample. The computer simulations show that by choosing the hold amplitude low enough, switching occurs rapidly, determined by the bias pulse alone.

Jan 1, 20040 citations

Quantum Current Flow

IMPERIAL COLLEGE PRESS eBooksJan 1, 20080 citations

Quantum Current Flow

Malin Premaratne, Govind Prasad Agrawal

Cambridge University Press eBooksNov 30, 20200 citations

2e

-periodic switching current versus gate charge. As the magnetic field is increased the switching current stays

2e

-periodic but the magnitude is suppressed. At a magnetic field of half a flux quantum through the SQUID's the switching current is minimum. We can theoretically model the experimental data by assuming a switching current which is proportional to the ideal critical current squarred. We show that such a dependence is expected in the limit where the effect of thermal fluctuations on the system is strong.