We determine the optimal quantum manipulation protocols for implementing high-fidelity, fast single-qubit gates. We demonstrate that the time-optimal pulse sequence is a ``bang-bang'' sequence: discrete pulses of either positive or negative maximum amplitude or zero. The non-adiabatic bang-bang pulse sequence minimizes gate duration providing a speedup for low-frequency architectures. We first derive the protocol for a transversally driven two-level system, extracting exact analytic expressions for minimum gate times. We then extend this framework to general multilevel architectures, identifying conditions that enable the coherent suppression of leakage errors. Using the fluxonium circuit as a representative case study, we optimize
X/2 and
Y/2 gates through a combination of discrete bang sequences and continuous waveform smoothing. This approach preserves near-optimal execution speeds while mitigating transitions outside the computational subspace. Open-system simulations demonstrate that these sequences outperform commensurate and resonant pulse schemes across different fluxonium regimes, achieving low-error manipulation significantly faster than standard resonant control, even in the presence of
1/f flux noise and dissipation.
The time optimal problem for a two level quantum system is studied. We compare two different control strategies of bang-bang control and the geometric control, respectively, especially in the case of minimizing the time of steering the state from North Pole to South Pole on the Bloch sphere with bounded control. The time performances are compared for different parameters by the individual numerical simulation experiments, and the experimental results are analyzed. The results show that the geometric control spends less time than the bang-bang control does.