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Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference (APMC)

Quasi-lumped Element Bandpass Filter for a Low-Temperature Superconducting Qubit Control-Pulse Generator

Yu Zeng, Yuxing He, Hongxiang Shen, Xihua Zou

Published Dec 5, 2023• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

This paper discusses a class of filters utilized in a low-power superconductor rapid single-flux-quantum (rapid SFQ, RSFQ) microwave pulse generator for controlling quantum bits (qubits). Here, the filter plays an important role to convert SFQ pulse trains (generated by RSFQ digital gates) and output a microwave control pulse. Characteristic of the output pulse can be adjusted by the in-band and roll-off performances of the filter, which is analyzed through numerical examples. Moreover, a novel in-line topology lumped network is proposed for the filter implementation, which can satisfy complex terminal cases at source (connecting an RSFQ digital block) and load (connecting a qubit). For the validation, we carry out a fourth-order bandpass filter using multilayer niobium (Nb) then-film technology, then incorporate it into an RSFQ control-pulse generator, and finally confirm correct functionality by both simulation and measurement.

DOI
10.1109/apmc57107.2023.10439780

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This paper discusses a class of filters utilized in a low-power superconductor rapid single-flux-quantum (rapid SFQ, RSFQ) microwave pulse generator for controlling quantum bits (qubits). Here, the filter plays an important role to convert SFQ pulse trains (generated by RSFQ digital gates) and output a microwave control pulse. Characteristic of the output pulse can be adjusted by the in-band and roll-off performances of the filter, which is analyzed through numerical examples. Moreover, a novel in-line topology lumped network is proposed for the filter implementation, which can satisfy complex terminal cases at source (connecting an RSFQ digital block) and load (connecting a qubit). For the validation, we carry out a fourth-order bandpass filter using multilayer niobium (Nb) then-film technology, then incorporate it into an RSFQ control-pulse generator, and finally confirm correct functionality by both simulation and measurement.
An on-chip superconducting microwave pulse generator (MPG), incorporating rapid single-flux-quantum (RSFQ) logic gates and passive radio frequency (RF) components, is an energy-efficient solution for controlling superconducting quantum bits (qubits). Traditional RSFQ MPG designs, however, suffer from a large footprint as multiple RF components (including impedance matching networks, filters, etc.) are separately implemented one after another. In this Letter, we propose a compact on-chip MPG by introducing an integrated RF module. Using a generalized filter synthesis technique, the integrated RF module combines the functionalities of impedance matching and bandpass filtering as a single inductor-capacitor (LC) lumped network. Plenty of circuit elements can, thus, be saved, and the resultant LC network is applicable to both real and complex terminal impedance cases. For validation, a superconducting MPG adopting a fourth-order, 5 GHz centered, 100 MHz bandwidth integrated RF module is designed and fabricated, whose correct operations are confirmed through both simulation and measurement. These results raise the availability of controlling large-scale quantum systems by low-power superconductor technology in the future.
Abstract This paper presents a new class of sharp-selectivity low-temperature superconducting filter that incorporates lumped element resonant couplings. Dependent on a novel synthesis approach, the proposed filter exhibits great advantages such as: (1) a very simple in-line topology (without any cross coupling), (2) extremely compact size based on lumped inductor-capacitor (LC) elements, and (3) multiple transmission zeros (TZs) independently generated and controlled (via each resonant coupling). To facilitate the physical implementation, a group of lumped element circuit models are detailed, where series LC units are adopted for both the resonators and the resonant couplings. Considering an in-line topology here, the entire filter layout is then designed by cascading the lumped models one after another. For verification, a 5th-order bandpass filter centered at 5 GHz, with 500 MHz bandwidth and 3 TZs, is designed, simulated, and tested at cryogenic temperature (4.2 K). Moreover, preliminary simulations of the presented filter in series with an on-chip rapid single-flux-quantum microwave pulse generator are discussed for superconducting quantum applications.
We present a Rapid Single Flux Quantum (RSFQ) microwave controller for superconducting qubits. Applying microwaves from room temperature sources is the conventional approach to excite quantum state transitions. Finding a method to apply short microwave bursts with a narrow linewidth is a challenge for on-chip Josephson based oscillators. We present a scheme containing an RSFQ pulse generator, ultra narrowband filter, SQUID based resonator and coupler. The operating frequency of the designed controller is 3-6 GHz. The unique feature of this design is a SQUID based resonator. By varying magnetic field in the SQUID, the\nresonance length can be varied between λ/4 and λ/2. The\nresonator is added as a shunt between the filter and coupler. Transmission of microwave signals from the filter to the output is determined by the shunt resonance. RSFQ T flip-flop circuit is designed to control the magnetic field applied to the SQUID in the resonator. Miniaturization of the coupler of 2-10 GHz has been done using a quasi-lumped element designed. We present the simulations results for the frequency response of\ndifferent resonance lengths of the modulator.
A microwave chopper using single-flux-quantum (SFQ) circuits is proposed for the control of quantum bits (qubits). The proposed microwave chopper is composed of a DC/SFQ converter, an SFQ switch and a band-pass filter (BPF). In operation, an externally applied microwave is input to a DC/SFQ converter to generate an SFQ pulse train, which is chopped at high speed by the SFQ switch. The SFQ pulse train is then filtered by the BPF to remove higher harmonics. The transient response, the amplitude and the spectrum of the microwave output from the chopper were examined by circuit simulation, taking into account the thermal noise. The chopper was implemented using the SRL 2.5 kA/cm2Nb standard process and its characteristics were investigated. It was shown that the microwave output could be successfully chopped by the SFQ switch. The amplitude and line width of the microwave output were measured as 15 muV and 2 Hz at 7 GHz.
Abstract The use of high-frequency input signals from room-temperature microwave sources makes it difficult to scale up the number of quantum bits in universal quantum computers. To address this issue, superconducting single flux quantum (SFQ) integrated circuits are being explored as suitable candidates for qubit manipulation in universal quantum computers. This paper deals with a scalable SFQ qubit control circuit (SQCC) structure that requires only low-frequency input. The circuit mainly consists of a pulse generator and a counter, that output the SFQ pulse train with adjustable frequency and a controllable number of pulses, which is applicable to control single-qubit Clifford operations. The design of low-voltage rapid single flux quantum (LV-RSFQ) and energy-efficient rapid single flux quantum (ERSFQ) for the SQCC achieves low power consumption and provides a basis for scaling up SQCC to control more qubits. The proposed circuits are fabricated under the SIMIT-Nb03 process and successfully pass test verification. The achieved test results reveal that the adjustable output frequency ranges of the SQCC based on the LV-RSFQ and ERSFQ designs in order are [2.40, 8.11] GHz and [4.81, 5.14] GHz. In the operating frequency range, the circuit is able to generate the correct number of SFQ pulses under control. The controllable number range is from 1 to 128. When the circuits operate at 5 GHz, the total power consumptions of the above circuits in order are 23.88 μW and 6.2 μW. All input signals are low-frequency signals, which frees the control of large-scale qubits from limitations caused by high-frequency inputs produced by room-temperature microwave sources.
In order to control the state of qubits by a microwave pulse, the irradiation time and the amplitude have to be controlled precisely. We have developed a single-flux-quantum (SFQ) microwave chopper for high-speed switching of microwave pulses. The proposed chopper is composed of a DC/SFQ convertor, an SFQ switch, a PTL driver, and a superconducting low-pass filter (LPF). The chopper converts an input microwave, which is generated by an external microwave generator at the room temperature, into microwave pulses by using start/stop SFQ control signals. We designed and implemented a microwave chopper module, which can be attached to dilution refrigerators. SFQ chips were fabricated using the ISTEC 2.5 kA/cm2 Nb process. We tested the microwave chopper module at 4.2 K, and demonstrated that a 5-GHz microwave whose amplitude ranging from 0 μV to 150 μV can be chopped by the SFQ control signals.