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Physics

How to Detect a Stream of Microwave Photons

Mark Buchanan

Published Aug 16, 2024• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A new device converts a stream of microwave photons into an electric current with high efficiency, which will benefit quantum information technologies.By Mark Buchanan T echnologies for quantum computing, sensing, and communication process information stored in quantum bits (qubits) by using microwave photons.But detecting such photons accurately and at high rates-to read out the changing states of a quantum computer, for example-is a challenge, since they have much less energy than visible or infrared photons.Now researchers have demonstrated a Help arrives.This schematic image shows a microwave photon (red) being transmitted through an antenna-like wire made of granular aluminum called a resonator to a tunnel junction (intersection of the gray bars).The absorption of this photon by an electron (sphere) allows the electron to cross the junction, where it signals the presence of the photon.Detecting microwave photons rapidly and efficiently will be essential for future quantum information technologies

DOI
10.1103/physics.17.127

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A new device converts a stream of microwave photons into an electric current with high efficiency, which will benefit quantum information technologies.By Mark Buchanan T echnologies for quantum computing, sensing, and communication process information stored in quantum bits (qubits) by using microwave photons.But detecting such photons accurately and at high rates-to read out the changing states of a quantum computer, for example-is a challenge, since they have much less energy than visible or infrared photons.Now researchers have demonstrated a Help arrives.This schematic image shows a microwave photon (red) being transmitted through an antenna-like wire made of granular aluminum called a resonator to a tunnel junction (intersection of the gray bars).The absorption of this photon by an electron (sphere) allows the electron to cross the junction, where it signals the presence of the photon.Detecting microwave photons rapidly and efficiently will be essential for future quantum information technologies
The first quantum revolution has brought us the classical Internet and information technology. Today, as technology advances rapidly, the second quantum revolution quietly arrives, with a crucial moment for quantum technology to establish large-scale quantum networks. However, solid-state quantum bits (such as superconducting and semiconductor qubits) typically operate in the microwave frequency range, making it challenging to transmit signals over long distances. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop quantum transducer chips capable of converting microwaves into optical photons in the communication band, since the thermal noise of optical photons at room temperature is negligible, rendering them an ideal information carrier for large-scale spatial communication. Such devices are important for connecting different physical platforms and efficiently transmitting quantum information. This paper focuses on the fast-developing field of optomechanical quantum transducers, which has flourished over the past decade, yielding numerous advanced achievements. We categorize transducers based on various mechanical resonators and discuss their principles of operation and their achievements. Based on existing research on optomechanical transducers, we compare the parameters of several mechanical resonators and analyze their advantages and limitations, as well as provide prospects for the future development of quantum transducers.
We demonstrate a single-photon detector operating in the microwave domain, based on photoassisted quasiparticle tunneling events that poison a superconducting island. The detection relies on continuously monitoring the island's charge parity using microwave reflectometry. This scheme achieves 10% detection efficiency with sub 50 ns time resolution and short dead time (∼1 μs), for microwave photons at 10 GHz. The detector features three junctions connected to a superconducting island, which together carry out photoelectric conversion and charge readout. The enhanced light-matter coupling, crucial to photon-to-quasiparticle conversion, is provided by a granular aluminum-based high-impedance microwave resonator. The time-resolved detection of itinerant microwave photon opens up new perspectives in quantum sensing, microwave quantum optics, and mesoscopic physics.
Quantum sensing is a creative application of quantum technology which is opening new horizons in order to make sensitive measurements even below the Standard Quantum Limit (SQL). In order to achieve this, an exclusive phenomenon of Quantum Entanglement is widely used for various tasks such as target detection, providing high resolution of the target, encryption of data and quantum teleportation which may seem to be impracticable. Moreover, the field of quantum technology has witnessed appreciable progress by using microwaves than optical photons. Microwave photons as efficient they are can also be used in a system for obtaining quantum information about the surroundings. \nIn this work, an idea is proposed to make use of microwaves as a source for the photonic sensor network. Squeezed microwave states are used for the generation of microwave photons which are used in their entangled state distributed among sensors and thereafter detected by the homodyne detector. Here, the use of hybrid coupler is also made to act as beam splitters forming the Continuous Variable multipartite entanglement of the microwave photons for further detection. Another idea is proposed to use a system for generation and detection of microwave photons in order to have application in quantum sensing field. In this for the generation part Nitrogen Vacancy (NV) centers defect is used as these NV centers with electrons can be used to manipulate microwaves in order to emit photons which carry quantum information about the environment. Then these emitted photons can be detected using a system formed by qubits and resonators which are coupled in a peculiar way using the dissipation engineering to detect itinerant photons.
Superconducting circuits have recently become a major contender for the implementation of quantum computers owing to their compatibility with existing microchip fabrication technologies. Their utility stems largely from their ability to be coupled with resonant cavities for the purposes of trapping and relaying microwave radiation. Because of this feature, scientists are able to transmit quantum information from a variety of qubits. Though quantum-limited amplifiers exist, unfortunately there currently exists no microwave photon counter capable of single shot quantum detection. Hence, we use superconducting circuits with Josephson junctions to design a microwave photon detector based on a modified phase qubit that exhibits a bandwidth of 4GHz, and a detection fidelity of 98%. We use metastable barrier transition (driven by incident photons) to create an avalanche effect analogous to current photo-diodes. Linear coupling of the junction flux with the radiation permits photodetection from an arbitrary quantum source in the GHz range. We show the device to be robust to changes in drive frequency, temporal photon width, and resonator quality factor, and we optimize our device with respect to these parameters. We show the device to be stable over the necessary time scales, and yet sensitive enough to accurately measure photons on demand.
Single photon detection is a requisite technique in quantum-optics experiments in both the optical and the microwave domains. However, the energy of microwave quanta are four to five orders of magnitude less than their optical counterpart, making the efficient detection of single microwave photon extremely challenging. Here, we demonstrate the detection of a single microwave photon propagating through a waveguide. The detector is implemented with an "impedance-matched" artificial Λ system comprising the dressed states of a driven superconducting qubit coupled to a microwave resonator. We attain a single-photon detection efficiency of 0.66±0.06 with a reset time of ~400 ns. This detector can be exploited for various applications in quantum sensing, quantum communication and quantum information processing.
Single-photon detection is a requisite technique in quantum-optics experiments in both the optical and the microwave domains. However, the energy of microwave quanta are four to five orders of magnitude less than their optical counterpart, making the efficient detection of single microwave photons extremely challenging. Here we demonstrate the detection of a single microwave photon propagating through a waveguide. The detector is implemented with an impedance-matched artificial Λ system comprising the dressed states of a driven superconducting qubit coupled to a microwave resonator. Each signal photon deterministically induces a Raman transition in the Λ system and excites the qubit. The subsequent dispersive readout of the qubit produces a discrete 'click'. We attain a high single-photon-detection efficiency of 0.66±0.06 with a low dark-count probability of 0.014±0.001 and a reset time of ∼400 ns. This detector can be exploited for various applications in quantum sensing, quantum communication and quantum information processing.