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arXiv:cond-mat/0208076 · Physical review. B, Condensed matter

Low-frequency characterization of quantum tunneling in flux qubits

Ya. S. Greenberg, A. Izmalkov, M. Grajcar, Evgeni V. Il’ichev, Wolfram Krech, H.‐G. Meyer, M. H. S. Amin, Alec Maassen van den Brink

Published Dec 31, 2002• 63 citations

Abstract

We propose to investigate flux qubits by the impedance measurement technique (IMT), currently used to determine the current-phase relation in Josephson junctions. We analyze in detail the case of a high-quality tank circuit coupled to a persistent-current qubit, to which the IMT was successfully applied in the classical regime. It is shown that the low-frequency IMT can give considerable information about the level anticrossing, in particular the value of the tunneling amplitude. An interesting difference exists between applying the ac bias directly to the tank and indirectly via the qubit. In the latter case, a convenient way to find the degeneracy point in situ is described. Our design only involves existing technology, and its noise tolerance is quantitatively estimated to be realistic.

DOI: 10.1103/physrevb.66.214525

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We propose to investigate flux qubits by the impedance measurement technique (IMT), currently used to determine the current-phase relation in Josephson junctions. We analyze in detail the case of a high-quality tank circuit coupled to a persistent-current qubit, to which the IMT was successfully applied in the classical regime. It is shown that the low-frequency IMT can give considerable information about the level anticrossing, in particular the value of the tunneling amplitude. An interesting difference exists between applying the ac bias directly to the tank and indirectly via the qubit. In the latter case, a convenient way to find the degeneracy point in situ is described. Our design only involves existing technology, and its noise tolerance is quantitatively estimated to be realistic.

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An application of impedance measurement technique (IMT) for a detection of quantum tunneling in molecular structures is investigated. A charged particle which tunnels in a two-well potential is electrically coupled to a high-quality superconducting LC-circuit(tank) that makes possible a measurement of the electric susceptibility of the molecule at the resonant frequency of the tank. The real part of this susceptibility bears information about the tunneling rate through a measurable parameter - a phase angle between the tank voltage and a bias current applied to the tank. It is shown that the present approach is highly sensitive and allows the monitoring of the tunnel motion of charged nuclei in a single molecule.

We analyze the influence of noise on magnetic properties of a superconducting loop which contains three Josephson junctions. This circuit is a classical analog of a persistent current (flux) qubit. A loop supercurrent induced by external magnetic field in the presence of thermal fluctuations is calculated. To connect with experiment, we calculate the impedance of a low-frequency tank circuit which is inductively coupled with the loop of interest. We compare the results with the results obtained in the quantum mode — when the three junction loop exhibits quantum tunneling of the magnetic flux. We demonstrate that the tank–loop impedance in the classical and quantum modes have different temperature dependence and can be easily distinguished experimentally.

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