Elastic scattering is one of the useful methods to control the transmission behaviors of microwave photons transporting in microwave quantum networks without energy consumption. Therefore, it is of practical significance for developing microwave quantum devices and constructing multi-node microwave quantum networks. The transmission line embedded by a single Josephson junction can be described by different circuit models (series and parallel). In this work, we first theoretically analyze the transmission characteristics of microwave photons scattered by different elastic scattering models described by series or parallel embedding models, generated by a single LC loop or a nonlinear Josephson junction device, respectively. The classical microwave transport theory predicts that the series LC loop and the parallel LC loop lead to different elastic scattering behaviors of microwave photons, i.e. the series LC circuit yields the resonant reflection and the parallel LC circuit leads alternatively to the resonant transmission. Recently, the transport properties of microwave photons scattered by a Josephson junction embedded in a transmission line have been discussed, and the results suggested that the Josephson junction embedded in the transmission line can be described by a series embedding circuit, which implies the resonant reflection. We argue here that if the Josephson junction is embedded in parallel in the transmission line, the elastically scattered microwave photons should be transmitted by resonant transmission. In order to test which of the above two different embedding circuit models yielding the completely different elastic scattering behaviors, is physically correct, we then fabricate such a device, i.e. a single Joseph junction device embedded in a transmission line, and measure its elastic scattering transmission coefficient at an extremely low temperature. The results are consistent with the expected effect of the parallel embedding circuit model, but inconsistent with the behaviors predicted by the series embedding circuit model in the literature. According to the above theoretical and experimental analyses of the elastic scattering of a single Josephson junction device, we further propose a scheme to control the elastic scattering behavior of microwave photons by modulating a DC superconducting quantum interference device with a bypass current, which can be applied to the construction of a microwave quantum network based on elastic scattering node controls.
Elastic scattering is one of the useful methods to control the transmission behaviors of microwave photons transporting in microwave quantum networks without energy consumption. Therefore, it is of practical significance for developing microwave quantum devices and constructing multi-node microwave quantum networks. The transmission line embedded by a single Josephson junction can be described by different circuit models (series and parallel). In this work, we first theoretically analyze the transmission characteristics of microwave photons scattered by different elastic scattering models described by series or parallel embedding models, generated by a single LC loop or a nonlinear Josephson junction device, respectively. The classical microwave transport theory predicts that the series LC loop and the parallel LC loop lead to different elastic scattering behaviors of microwave photons, i.e. the series LC circuit yields the resonant reflection and the parallel LC circuit leads alternatively to the resonant transmission. Recently, the transport properties of microwave photons scattered by a Josephson junction embedded in a transmission line have been discussed, and the results suggested that the Josephson junction embedded in the transmission line can be described by a series embedding circuit, which implies the resonant reflection. We argue here that if the Josephson junction is embedded in parallel in the transmission line, the elastically scattered microwave photons should be transmitted by resonant transmission. In order to test which of the above two different embedding circuit models yielding the completely different elastic scattering behaviors, is physically correct, we then fabricate such a device, i.e. a single Joseph junction device embedded in a transmission line, and measure its elastic scattering transmission coefficient at an extremely low temperature. The results are consistent with the expected effect of the parallel embedding circuit model, but inconsistent with the behaviors predicted by the series embedding circuit model in the literature. According to the above theoretical and experimental analyses of the elastic scattering of a single Josephson junction device, we further propose a scheme to control the elastic scattering behavior of microwave photons by modulating a DC superconducting quantum interference device with a bypass current, which can be applied to the construction of a microwave quantum network based on elastic scattering node controls.
As a typical nonlinear device, Josephson junction (JJ) can be either served as a microwave device to scatter the traveling microwave or embedded in a transmission line (TL) resonator to modify the mode structure. However, two mutually exclusive circuit models have been proposed to describe the JJ embedded in a TL: one is the series embed model [see, e.g., Zueco et al., Phys. Rev. B 86, 024503 (2012)] and another is the parallel embedded one [see, e.g., Yamamoto et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 042510 (2008)]. Here, beginning with the comparison of the theoretical predictions of these two models, we fabricate the JJ-embedded TL device and measure its microwave scattering parameters at 50-mK low temperature. The experimental results support the parallel embedded model, thus rule out the series embedded one. The present work might lay the physical foundation for the designs of various microwave JJ devices, such as the microwave photonic crystals, superconducting qubits, also the Josephson parameter amplifiers, etc., by embedding the JJs into the superconducting TLs.
The electromagnetic induced transparency (EIT) to atomic systems and its various applications have been extensively investigated, both theoretically and experimentally. In this paper, we study how to similarly verify these phenomena in the waveguide coupled to the transmission line resonators. By making use of real space quantum scattering theory, we calculate the transmission spectrum of the waveguide photons scattered by a single quarter-wavelength transmission line resonator. Our experimental results show that the resonant microwave transporting along the feedline is completely reflected by the resonator. This is similar to the situation of the light absorbed by the resonant atomic medium, and thus its transmission is significantly suppressed. Like the EIT phenomena in atomic gas, wherein the resonant absorption can be significantly suppressed by applying a strong pumping light to control the optical properties of medium, the transport properties of the resonant microwave can be investigated by coupling it into an auxiliary quarter-wavelength resonator in this paper. If the frequency of the auxiliary quarter-wavelength resonator is different from the resonant frequency, the calculated transmission spectrum shows that the coupling with auxiliary quarter-wavelength resonator induces the complete transmission of the resonant microwave. This is one of the features of the EIT-like effect, and can be simply explained as the frequency renormalization of the coupling resonators. Also, by adjusting the coupling strength between the resonators, the width of the microwave transmission spectrum window can be manipulated. Our experimental observations verify such an argument, but the phase shift mutation (another typical signs of the EIT effect) of the resonant microwave cannot be observed. In physics, this is because the interference between the transmitted microwave and the reflected micowave with different frequencies does not take place in the coupling region between the two resonators. It is expected that the effects with the complete EIT-like phenomena can be observed, in future, by fabricating the sample of two quarter-wavelength transmission line resonators with the same frequency, and thus the coupling between the two resonators can be controlled.
We address recent advances in quantum optics with propagating microwaves\nin superconducting circuits. This research field exploits on the fact that the coupling between a superconducting artificial atom and propagating microwave photons in a one-dimensional (1D) open transmission line can be made strong enough to observe quantum effects, without using any cavity to confine the microwave photons.\nWe embed an artificial atom, a superconducting transmon qubit, in a 1D open\ntransmission line and investigate the scattering properties of coherent microwaves. When an input coherent state, with an average photon number much less than 1, is on resonance with the artificial atom, we observe extinction of up to 99% in the forward propagating field. We observe the strong nonlinearity of the artificial atom and under strong driving we observe the Mollow triplet. We also study the statistics of the reflected and transmitted beams, which are predicted to be nonclassical states. In particular, we demonstrate photon antibunching in the reflected beam by measuring the second-order correlation function. By applying a second control tone, we observe the Autler-Townes splitting and a giant cross-Kerr effect.\nFurthermore, we demonstrate fast operation of a single-photon router using\nthe Autler-Townes splitting. This device provides important steps towards the realization of a quantum network. This thesis describes the motivation, theoretical background, design, implementation and measurement results.
Experimental search of galactic axions requires detection of single photons in the microwave range. We work on a novel approach to detect single microwave photons based on a coherent collective response of quantum states occurring in a superconducting qubit network (SQN) embedded in a lowdissipative superconducting resonator. We propose a two resonators detector configuration with two parallel resonators without common part and with separated input and output terminals. The device consists of a low-dissipative resonator with embedded SQN in which microwave photons arrive (“signal resonator”), and a transmission line for measuring the frequency dependent transmission coefficient demonstrating resonant drops at the qubit frequencies (“readout resonator”). In comparison with T-type three terminal device recently proposed and investigated by us, the device with two resonators with separated input and output terminals doesn't contain common part of both resonators and exclude an unwanted noise from measurement readout circuits to the signal resonator. A layout of two resonators four terminal SQN detectors containing 5 flux qubits weakly coupled to a low-dissipative signal and readout resonator was developed and optimized. The samples were fabricated by Manhattan Al-based technology with Nb resonator circuits. The SQN detector was experimentally tested in terms of microwave measurements of scattering parameters of both resonators, and crosstalk properties. Comparison of experimental data with results of the simulations permits one to conclude that the electromagnetic conditions of the fundamental resonant peak of 8.5 GHz of both resonators aren't affected by the crosstalk phenomenon and their performances provided by the design remain not altered for correct device operation
In the last decade, the field of Quantum Optics has been enriched with a completely new platform: superconducting quantum circuits, also known as circuit-QED. This platform builds on the original designs of superconducting qubits, that is few-level systems made of superconducting islands and Josephson junctions, but adds to it a new ingredient, microwave photons. In this talk I will review circuit-QED with a focus on two complementary lines of research: ultrastrong light-matter coupling and strongly correlated propagating photons. The first topic deals with novel designs of superconducting qubits, engineering their coupling to the microwave radiation field to reach Rabi frequencies that approach the qubit and photon frequencies. In this regime, known as ”ultrastrong coupling”, the rotating wave approximation from Quantum Optics is no longer valid, the vacuum may spontaneously polarize, producing photons that get bound to the qubit, and novel physics is expected to emerge. I will review recent experiments on this topic, together with various theoretical proposals to tame this ultrastrong coupling. The second topic revolves around the notion of ”propagating” photons in these circuits. Most experiments in circuit-QED so far adopted the typical configuration of artificial atoms (qubits) interacting with artificial cavities (LC resonators). This proved useful in order to reach the strong coupling regime, demonstrating Rabi oscillations and developing a variety of protocols for quantum information, tomograhy, entanglement, etc. However, recent experiments have shown that it is possible to also work with propagating photons, replacing the LC resonators with open transmission lines, and studying the scattering properties of those artificial atoms. In this context we have worked on developing new technology to detect and control these photons, engineering single-photon detectors, quantum metamaterials and photonic crystals, or even new nonlinear media based on coupled cavities.
We study scattering of propagating microwave fields by a dc-voltage-biased Josephson junction. At subgap voltages, a small Josephson junction works merely as a nonlinear boundary that can absorb, amplify, and diversely convert propagating microwaves. In the leading-order perturbation theory of the Josephson coupling energy, the spectral density and quadrature fluctuations of scattered thermal and coherent radiation can be described in terms of the well-known P(E) function. Applying this, we study how thermal and coherent radiation is absorbed and amplified in an Ohmic transmission line and in a circuit with a resonance frequency. We show when a coherent input can create a two-mode squeezed output. In addition, we evaluate scattering amplitudes between arbitrary photon-number (Fock) states, characterizing individual photon multiplication and absorption processes occurring at the junction.