High-fidelity, efficient quantum nondemolition readout of quantum bits is integral to the goal of quantum computation. As superconducting circuits approach the requirements of scalable, universal fault tolerance, qubit readout must also meet the demand of simplicity to scale with growing system size. Here we propose a fast, high-fidelity, scalable measurement scheme based on the state-selective ring-up of a cavity followed by photodetection with the recently introduced Josephson photomultiplier (JPM), a current-biased Josephson junction. This scheme maps qubit state information to the binary digital output of the JPM, circumventing the need for room-temperature heterodyne detection and offering the possibility of a cryogenic interface to superconducting digital control circuitry. Numerics show that measurement contrast in excess of 95% is achievable in a measurement time of 140 ns. We discuss perspectives to scale this scheme to enable readout of multiple qubit channels with a single JPM.
We present a method that combines continuous and pulsed microwave radiation patterns to achieve robust interactions among hyperfine trapped ions placed in a magnetic field gradient. More specifically, our scheme displays continuous microwave drivings with modulated phases, phase flips, and $π$ pulses. This leads to high-fidelity entangling gates which are resilient against magnetic field fluctuations, changes on the microwave amplitudes, and crosstalk effects. Our protocol runs with arbitrary values of microwave power, which includes the technologically relevant case of low microwave intensiti…
We demonstrate a two-qubit logic gate driven by near-field microwaves in a room-temperature microfabricated ion trap. We measure a gate fidelity of 99.7(1)\%, which is above the minimum threshold required for fault-tolerant quantum computing. The gate is applied directly to $^{43}$Ca$^+$ "atomic clock" qubits (coherence time $T_2^*\approx 50\,\mathrm{s}$) using the microwave magnetic field gradient produced by a trap electrode. We introduce a dynamically-decoupled gate method, which stabilizes the qubits against fluctuating a.c.\ Zeeman shifts and avoids the need to null the microwave field.
Quantum microwave transmission is key to realizing modular superconducting quantum computers and distributed quantum networks. A large number of incoherent photons are thermally generated within the microwave frequency spectrum. The closeness of the transmitted quantum state to the source-generated quantum state at the input of the transmission link (measured by the transmission fidelity) degrades due to the presence of the incoherent photons. Hence, high-fidelity quantum microwave transmission has long been considered to be infeasible without refrigeration [3,4]. In this study, we propose a n…
We describe the high fidelity dispersive measurement of a superconducting qubit using a microwave amplifier based on the Superconducting Low-inductance Undulatory Galvanometer (SLUG). The SLUG preamplifier achieves gain of 19 dB and yields a signal-to-noise ratio improvement of 9 dB over a state-of-the-art HEMT amplifier. We demonstrate a separation fidelity of 99% at 700 ns compared to 59% with the HEMT alone. The SLUG displays a large dynamic range, with an input saturation power corresponding to 700 photons in the readout cavity.
Detecting an itinerant microwave photon with high efficiency is an outstanding problem in microwave photonics and its applications. We present a scheme to detect an itinerant microwave photon in a transmission line via the nonlinearity provided by a transmon in a driven microwave resonator. With a single transmon we achieve 84% distinguishability between zero and one microwave photons and 90% distinguishability with two cascaded transmons by performing continuous measurements on the output field of the resonator. We also show how the measurement diminishes coherence in the photon number basis …
Fast, high-fidelity measurement is a key ingredient for quantum error correction. Conventional approaches to the measurement of superconducting qubits, involving linear amplification of a microwave probe tone followed by heterodyne detection at room temperature, do not scale well to large system sizes. Here we introduce an alternative approach to measurement based on a microwave photon counter. We demonstrate raw single-shot measurement fidelity of 92%. Moreover, we exploit the intrinsic damping of the counter to extract the energy released by the measurement process, allowing repeated high-fi…
Based on a microwave-photon quantum processor with two superconducting resonators coupled to one transmon qutrit, we construct the controlled-phase (c-phase) gate on microwave-photon-resonator qudits, by combination of the photon-number-dependent frequency-shift effect on the transmon qutrit by the first resonator and the resonant operation between the qutrit and the second resonator. This distinct feature provides us a useful way to achieve the c-phase gate on the two resonator qudits with a higher fidelity and a shorter operation time, compared with the previous proposals. The fidelity of ou…
We present a new method for determining pulse imperfections and improving the single-gate fidelity in a superconducting qubit. By applying consecutive positive and negative $π$ pulses, we amplify the qubit evolution due to microwave pulse distortion, which causes the qubit state to rotate around an axis perpendicular to the intended rotation axis. Measuring these rotations as a function of pulse period allows us to reconstruct the shape of the microwave pulse arriving at the sample. Using the extracted response to predistort the input signal, we are able to improve the pulse shapes and to reac…
Efficient transduction devices that reversibly convert optical and microwave quantum signals into each other are essential for integrating different technologies. Rare-earth ions in solids, and in particular Erbium ions, with both optical and microwave addressable transitions are promising candidates for designing transducers. We propose a microwave-to-optical quantum transducer scheme based on the dark state protocol in $\mathrm{^{167}Er}$ doped into yttrium orthosilicate (YSO) at zero external magnetic fields. Zero-field operation is beneficial for superconducting resonators that can incur e…
Generating high-fidelity, tunable entanglement between qubits is crucial for realizing gate-based quantum computation. In superconducting circuits, tunable interactions are often implemented using flux-tunable qubits or coupling elements, adding control complexity and noise sources. Here, we realize a tunable $ZZ$ interaction between two transmon qubits with fixed frequencies and fixed coupling, induced by driving both transmons off-resonantly. We show tunable coupling over one order of magnitude larger than the static coupling, and change the sign of the interaction, enabling cancellation of …
Four types of photon counters are discussed in terms of information, fidelity, and physical reversibility: conventional photon counter, quantum counter, and their quantum nondemolition (QND) versions. It is shown that when a photon field to be measured is in an arbitrary superposition of vacuum and one-photon states, the quantum counter is the most reversible, the QND version of conventional photon counter provides the most information, and the QND version of quantum counter causes the smallest state change. Our results suggest that the physical reversibility of a counter tends to decrease the…
Geometric gates that use the global property of the geometric phase is believed to be a powerful tool to realize fault-tolerant quantum computation. However, for singlet-triplet qubits in semiconductor quantum dot, the low Rabi frequency of the microwave control leads to overly long gating time, and thus the constructing geometric gate suffers more from the decoherence effect. Here we investigate the key issue of whether the fast geometric gate can be realized for singlet-triplet qubits without introducing an extra microwave-driven pulse, while maintaining the high-fidelity gate operation at t…
Control electronics for superconducting quantum processors have strict requirements for accurate command of the sensitive quantum states of their qubits. Hinging on the purity of ultra-phase-stable oscillators to upconvert very-low-noise baseband pulses, conventional control systems can become prohibitively complex and expensive when scaling to larger quantum devices, especially as high sampling rates become desirable for fine-grained pulse shaping. Few-GHz radio-frequency digital-to-analog converters (RF DACs) present a more economical avenue for high-fidelity control while simultaneously pro…
As the field of quantum computing progresses to larger-scale devices, multiplexing will be crucial to scale quantum processors. While multiplexed readout is common practice for superconducting devices, relatively little work has been reported about the combination of flux and microwave control lines. Here, we present a method to integrate a microwave line and a flux line into a single "XYZ line". This combined control line allows us to perform fast single-qubit gates as well as to deliver flux signals to the qubits. The measured relaxation times of the qubits are comparable to state-of-art dev…
We describe an approach to the high-fidelity measurement of a superconducting qubit using an on-chip microwave photon counter. The protocol relies on the transient response of a dispersively coupled measurement resonator to map the state of the qubit to "bright" and "dark" cavity pointer states that are characterized by a large differential photon occupation. Following this mapping, we photodetect the resonator using the Josephson Photomultipler (JPM), which transitions between classically distinguishable flux states when cavity photon occupation exceeds a certain threshold. Our technique prov…
A thermal-noise-resilient microwave quantum network traversing 4 K
International Quantum Academy（国际量子学院）；Shenzhen Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology（南方科技大学深圳量子科学与工程研究院）；Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology（南方科技大学广东省量子科学与工程重点实验室）；School of Physics, Ningxia University（宁夏大学物理学院）
Generation of frequency-bin-encoded dual-rail cluster states via time-frequency multiplexing of microwave photonic qubits
RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing (RQC)（理化学研究所量子计算中心）；Department of Applied Physics, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo（东京大学大学院工学系研究科应用物理系）；Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University（斯坦福大学应用物理系）
We present a scalable quantum-bus-based device for generating the entanglement on microwave photons (MPs) in distant superconducting resonators (SRs). Different from the processors in previous works with some resonators coupled to a superconducting qubit (SQ), our device is composed of some 1D SRs $r_j$ which are coupled to the quantum bus (another common resonator $R$) in its different positions simply, assisted by superconducting quantum interferometer devices. By using the technique for catching and releasing a MP state in a 1D SR, it can work as an entanglement generator or a node in quant…
We propose a new scheme to realize holonomic quantum computation with rf-SQUID qubits in a microwave cavity. In this scheme associated with the non-Abelian holonomies, the single-qubit gates and a two-qubit control-Phase gate as well as a control-NOT gate can be easily constructed by tuning adiabatically the Rabi frequencies of classical microwave pulses coupled to the SQUIDs. The fidelity of these gates is estimated to be possibly higher than 90 % with the current technology.
Individual addressing of qubits is essential for scalable quantum computation. Spatial addressing allows unlimited numbers of qubits to share the same frequency, whilst enabling arbitrary parallel operations. We demonstrate addressing of long-lived $^{43}\text{Ca}^+$ "atomic clock" qubits held in separate zones ($960μ$m apart) of a microfabricated surface trap with integrated microwave electrodes. Such zones could form part of a "quantum CCD" architecture for a large-scale quantum information processor. By coherently cancelling the microwave field in one zone we measure a ratio of Rabi frequen…
We propose a scheme for entangling the optical and microwave output modes of the respective cavities by using a micro mechanical resonator. The micro-mechanical resonator on one side is capacitively coupled to the microwave cavity and on the other side is coupled to a high finesses optical cavity. We then show how this continuous variable entanglement can be profitably used to teleport the non-Gaussian number state |1> and the superposition (|0>+|1>)/\surd2 from the microwave cavity output mode onto an output of optical cavity mode with fidelity much larger than the no-cloning limit.
Routing quantum information between non-local computational nodes is a foundation for extensible networks of quantum processors. Quantum information transfer between arbitrary nodes is generally mediated either by photons that propagate between them, or by resonantly coupling nearby nodes. The utility is determined by the type of emitter, propagation channel, and receiver. Conventional approaches involving propagating microwave photons have limited fidelity due to photon loss and are often unidirectional, whereas architectures that use direct resonant coupling are bidirectional in principle, b…
We present a scheme to generate continuous variable bipartite entanglement between two optical modes in a hybrid optical-microwave-plasmonic graphene waveguide system. In this scheme, we exploit the interaction of two light fields coupled to the same microwave mode via Plasmonic Graphene Waveguide to generate two-mode squeezing, which can be used for continuous-variable quantum teleportation of the light signals over large distances. Furthermore, we study the teleportation fidelity of an unknown coherent state. The teleportation protocol is robust against the thermal noise associated with the …
We describe an adiabatic state transfer mechanism that allows for high-fidelity transfer of a microwave quantum state from one cavity to another through an optical fiber. The conversion from microwave frequency to optical frequency is enabled by an optomechanical transducer. The transfer process utilizes a combined dark state of the mechanical oscillator and fiber modes, making it robust against both mechanical and fiber loss. We anticipate this scheme being an enabling component of a hybrid quantum computing architecture consisting of superconducting qubits with optical interconnects.
We describe a microwave photon counter based on the current-biased Josephson junction. The junction is tuned to absorb single microwave photons from the incident field, after which it tunnels into a classically observable voltage state. Using two such detectors, we have performed a microwave version of the Hanbury Brown and Twiss experiment at 4 GHz and demonstrated a clear signature of photon bunching for a thermal source. The design is readily scalable to tens of parallelized junctions, a configuration that would allow number-resolved counting of microwave photons.
Microwave photonic graph states provide a promising approach for robust quantum communication between remote superconducting chips using microwave photons. Recently, Besse et al. [Nat. Commun. 11, 4887 (2020)] demonstrated that 1D graph states can be generated using two transmon qubits. In this paper, we propose to use transmon qubits combined with other microwave devices to construct more complex graph states. Specifically, we consider 2D lattice and tree-like graph states. We compare the performance using fixed- versus tunable-frequency transmon qubits and also for different photonic qubit e…
Quantum transduction refers to the coherent conversion between microwave and optical states, which can be achieved by quantum teleportation if given high fidelity microwave-optical entanglement, namely entanglement-based quantum transduction. Reliable microwave-optical entanglement can be generated using various platforms. In this paper, we base the discussion on piezo-optomechanical system and make the teleportation induced conversion scheme more concrete in the framework of quantum channel theory. By comparing the quantum capacity between the entanglement-based conversion channel and the tra…
The development of high-fidelity two-qubit quantum gates is essential for digital quantum computing. Here, we propose and realize an all-microwave parametric Controlled-Z (CZ) gates by coupling strength modulation in a superconducting Transmon qubit system with tunable couplers. After optimizing the design of the tunable coupler together with the control pulse numerically, we experimentally realized a 100 ns CZ gate with high fidelity of 99.38%$ \pm$0.34% and the control error being 0.1%. We note that our CZ gates are not affected by pulse distortion and do not need pulse correction, {providin…
High fidelity microwave photon counting is an important tool for various areas from background radiation analysis in astronomy to the implementation of circuit QED architectures for the realization of a scalable quantum information processor. In this work we describe a microwave photon counter coupled to a semi-infinite transmission line. We employ input-output theory to examine a continuously driven transmission line as well as traveling photon wave packets. Using analytic and numerical methods, we calculate the conditions on the system parameters necessary to optimize measurement and achieve…
Microwave control of trapped ions can provide an implementation of high-fidelity two-qubit gates free from errors induced by photon scattering. Furthermore, microwave conductors may be embedded into a scalable trap structure, providing the chip-level integration of control that is desirable for scaling. Recent developments have demonstrated how amplitude modulation of the gate drive can permit a two-qubit entangling operation to become robust against motional mode noise and other experimental imperfections. Here, we discuss a method for the numerical optimization of the microwave pulse envelop…
A semiconductor-based charge qubit, confined in double quantum dots, can be a platform to implement quantum computing. However, it suffers severely from charge noises. Here, we provide a theoretical framework to implement universal geometric quantum gates in this system. We find that, while the detuning noise can be suppressed by operating near its corresponding sweet spot, the tunneling noise, on the other hand, is amplified and becomes the dominant source of error for single-qubit gates, a fact previously insufficiently appreciated. We demonstrate, through numerical simulation, that the geom…
A proposal for a phase gate and a Mølmer-Sørensen (MS) gate in the dressed state basis is presented. In order to perform the multi-qubit interaction, a strong magnetic field gradient is required to couple the phonon-bus to the qubit states. The gate is performed using resonant microwave driving fields together with either a radio-frequency (RF) driving field, or additional detuned microwave driving fields. The gate is robust to ambient magnetic field fluctuations due to an applied resonant microwave driving field. Furthermore, the gate is robust to fluctuations in the microwave Rabi frequency …
Quantum transduction between microwave and optics can be realized by quantum teleportation if given reliable microwave-optical entanglement, namely entanglement-based quantum transduction. To realize this protocol, an entangled source with high-fidelity between the two frequencies is necessary. In this paper, we study the microwave and optical entanglement generation based on a generic cavity electro-optomechanical system in the strong coupling regime. Splittings are shown in the microwave and optical output spectra and the frequency entanglement between the two modes is quantified. We show th…
We propose a multi-mode quantum memory protocol able to store the quantum state of the field in a microwave resonator into an ensemble of electronic spins. The stored information is protected against inhomogeneous broadening of the spin ensemble by spin-echo techniques resulting in memory times orders of magnitude longer than previously achieved. By calculating the evolution of the first and second moments of the spin-cavity system variables for realistic experimental parameters, we show that a memory based on NV center spins in diamond can store a qubit encoded on the |0> and |1> Fock states …
Quantum emitters respond to resonant illumination by radiating electromagnetic fields. A component of these fields is phase-coherent with the driving tone, while another one is incoherent, consisting of spontaneously emitted photons and forming the fluorescence signal. Atoms and molecules are routinely detected by their fluorescence at optical frequencies, with important applications in quantum technology and microscopy. Spins, on the other hand, are usually detected by {their coherent response} at radio- or microwave frequencies, either in continuous-wave or pulsed magnetic resonance. Indeed,…
We propose a general approach to implement nonadiabatic geometric single- and two-qubit gates beyond the rotating wave approximation (RWA). This protocol is compatible with most optimal control methods used in previous RWA protocols; thus, it is as robust as (or even more robust than) the RWA protocols. Using counter-rotating effects allows us to apply strong drives. Therefore, we can improve the gate speed by 5--10 times compared to the RWA counterpart for implementing high-fidelity ($\geq 99.99\%$) gates. Such an ultrafast evolution (nanoseconds, even picoseconds) significantly reduces the i…
Solid-state qubits with transition frequencies in the microwave regime, such as superconducting qubits, are at the forefront of quantum information processing. However, high-fidelity, simultaneous control of superconducting qubits at even a moderate scale remains a challenge, partly due to the complexities of packaging these devices. Here, we present an approach to microwave package design focusing on material choices, signal line engineering, and spurious mode suppression. We describe design guidelines validated using simulations and measurements used to develop a 24-port microwave package. A…
