Initial Design of a W-band Superconducting Kinetic Inductance Qubit (Kineticon)
Farzad B. Faramarzi, Peter K. Day, Jacob Glasby, Sasha Sypkens, Marco Colangelo, Ralph Chamberlin, Mohammad Mirhosseini, Kevin Schmidt, Karl K. Berggren Philip Mauskopf
Superconducting qubits are widely used in quantum computing research and industry. We describe a superconducting kinetic inductance qubit (and introduce the term Kineticon to describe it) operating at W-band frequencies with a nonlinear nanowire section that provides the anharmonicity required for two distinct quantum energy states. Operating the qubits at higher frequencies may relax the dilution refrigerator temperature requirements for these devices and paves the path for multiplexing a large number of qubits. Millimeter-wave operation requires superconductors with relatively high $T_c$, which implies high gap frequency, 2$Δ/h$, beyond which photons break Cooper pairs. For example, NbTiN with $T_c =15\,\text{K}$ has a gap frequency near 1.4 THz, which is much higher than that of aluminum (90 GHz), allowing for operation throughout the millimeter-wave band. Here we describe a design and simulation of a W-band Kineticon qubit embedded in a 3-D cavity. We perform classical electromagnetic calculations of the resulting field distributions.
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.
We present exact numerical calculations of supercurrent density, inductance, and impurity-induced flux noise of cylindrical superconducting wires in the nonlocal Pippard regime, which occurs when the Pippard coherence length is larger than the London penetration depth. In this regime the supercurrent density displays a peak away from the surface, and changes sign inside the superconductor, signalling a breakdown of the usual approximation of local London electrodynamics with a renormalized penetration depth. Our calculations show that the internal inductance and the bulk flux noise power is en…
We describe a microwave amplifier based on the Superconducting Low-inductance Undulatory Galvanometer (SLUG). The SLUG is embedded in a microstrip resonator, and the signal current is injected directly into the device loop. Measurements at 30 mK show gains of 25 dB at 3 GHz and 15 dB at 9 GHz. Amplifier performance is well described by a simple numerical model based on the Josephson junction phase dynamics. We expect optimized devices based on high critical current junctions to achieve gain greater than 15 dB, bandwidth of several hundred MHz, and added noise of order one quantum in the freque…
Superconducting granular aluminum is attracting increasing interest due to its high kinetic inductance and low dissipation, favoring its use in kinetic inductance particle detectors, superconducting resonators or quantum bits. We perform switching current measurements on DC-SQUIDs, obtained by introducing two identical geometric constrictions in granular aluminum rings of various normal-state resistivities in the range from $ρ_\mathrm{n} = 250\,μΩ\mathrm{cm}$ to $5550\,μΩ\mathrm{cm}$. The relative high kinetic inductance of the SQUID loop, in the range of tens of nH, leads to a suppression of …
We report development and microwave characterization of rf SQUID (Superconducting QUantum Interference Device) qubits, consisting of an aluminium-based Josephson junction embedded in a superconducting loop patterned from a thin film of TiN with high kinetic inductance. Here we demonstrate that the systems can offer small physical size, high anharmonicity, and small scatter of device parameters. The hybrid devices can be utilized as tools to shed further light onto the origin of film dissipation and decoherence in phase-slip nanowire qubits, patterned entirely from disordered superconducting fi…
Microwave photonics is a remarkably powerful system for quantum simulation and technologies, but its integration in superconducting circuits, superior in many aspects, is constrained by the long wavelengths and impedance mismatches in this platform. We introduce a solution to these difficulties via compact networks of high-kinetic inductance microstrip waveguides and coupling wires with strongly reduced phase velocities. We demonstrate broadband capabilities for superconducting microwave photonics in terms of routing, emulation and generalized linear and nonlinear networks.
High kinetic inductance materials constitute a valuable resource for superconducting quantum circuits and hybrid architectures. Superconducting granular aluminum (grAl) reaches kinetic sheet inductances in the nH/$\square$ range, with proven applicability in superconducting quantum bits and microwave detectors. Here we show that the single photon internal quality factor $Q_{\mathrm{i}}$ of grAl microwave resonators exceeds $10^5$ in magnetic fields up to 1T, aligned in-plane to the grAl films. Small perpendicular magnetic fields, in the range of 0.5mT, enhance $Q_{\mathrm{i}}$ by approximately…
We present the design and simulation methodology of a superconducting ridge-gap waveguide (RGWG) as a potential basis for mm-wave kinetic inductance travelling wave parametric amplifiers (KI-TWPAs). A superconducting RGWG was designed using Ansys HFSS to support a quasi-TEM mode of transmission over a bandwidth of 20 to 120 GHz with its internal dimensions optimised for integration with W-band rectangular waveguide. A design of an impedance loaded travelling wave structure incorporating periodic perturbations of the ridge was described. A method to simulate the nonlinear kinetic inductance via…
We describe sensitive magnetometry using lumped-element resonators fabricated from a superconducting thin film of NbTiN. Taking advantage of the large kinetic inductance of the superconductor, we demonstrate a continuous resonance frequency shift of $27$ MHz for a change in magnetic field of $1.8~μ$T within a perpendicular background field of 60 mT. By using phase-sensitive readout of microwaves transmitted through the sensors, we measure phase shifts in real time with a sensitivity of $1$ degree/nT. We present measurements of the noise spectral density of the sensors, and find their field sen…
Controlling both the amplitude and phase of the quantum order parameter (ψ) in nanostructures is important for next-generation information and communication technologies. The long-range coherence of attractive electrons in superconductors render these materials as a nearly ideal platform for such applications. To-date, control over ψ has remained limited to the macroscopic scale, either by adjusting untunable materials properties, such as film thickness, stoichiometry and homogeneity or by tuning external magnetic fields. Yet, although local tuning of ψ is desired, the lack of electric resista…
Study of Magnetic Field Resilient High Impedance High-Kinetic Inductance Superconducting Resonators
Institute of Physics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL)（瑞士联邦理工学院物理研究所）；Center for Quantum Science and Engineering, EPFL（苏黎世联邦理工学院量子科学与工程中心）；Department of Physics, ETH Zurich（苏黎世联邦理工学院物理系）
We present broadband parametric amplifiers based on the kinetic inductance of superconducting NbTiN thin films in an artificial (lumped-element) transmission line architecture. We demonstrate two amplifier designs implementing different phase matching techniques: periodic impedance loadings, and resonator phase shifters placed periodically along the transmission line. Our design offers several advantages over previous CPW-based amplifiers, including intrinsic 50 ohm characteristic impedance, natural suppression of higher pump harmonics, lower required pump power, and shorter total trace length…
We describe a kinetic inductance traveling-wave (KIT) amplifier suitable for superconducting quantum information measurements and characterize its wideband scattering and noise properties. We use mechanical microwave switches to calibrate the four amplifier scattering parameters up to the device input and output connectors at the dilution refrigerator base temperature and a tunable temperature load to characterize the amplifier noise. Finally, we demonstrate the high fidelity simultaneous dispersive readout of two superconducting transmon qubits. The KIT amplifier provides low-noise amplificat…
We present a measurement of phonon propagation in a silicon wafer utilizing an array of frequency-multiplexed superconducting resonators coupled to a single transmission line. The electronic readout permits fully synchronous array sampling with a per-resonator bandwidth of 1.2 MHz, allowing sub-$μ$s array imaging. This technological achievement is potentially vital in a variety of low-temperature applications, including single-photon counting, quantum-computing and dark-matter searches.
Coupled-Mode Equations with Arbitrary Mode Combinations for Kinetic-Inductance Superconducting Traveling-Wave Parametric Devices: Theory and Experimental Validation
National Radio Astronomy Observatory（美国国家无线电天文台）；University of Chile（智利大学）；Space Research Organization Netherlands (SRON)（荷兰空间研究组织）
A Cryogenic Muon Tagging System Based on Kinetic Inductance Detectors for Superconducting Quantum Processors
INFN – Sezione di Roma（意大利国家核物理研究所罗马分部）；Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center (SQMS), Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory（费米国家加速器实验室超导量子材料与系统中心）；Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Nanotecnologia（国家研究委员会纳米技术研究所）；Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Università di Roma（罗马大学物理系）；Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble INP, Institut Néel（格勒诺布尔阿尔卑斯大学、法国国家科学研究中心、格勒诺布尔理工学院内耳研究所）；Gran Sasso Science Institute（格兰萨索科学研究所）；INFN – Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso（意大利国家核物理研究所格兰萨索国家实验室）
We have fabricated a wide-bandwidth, high dynamic range, low-noise cryogenic amplifier based on a superconducting kinetic inductance traveling-wave device. The device was made from NbTiN and consisted of a long, coplanar waveguide on a silicon chip. By adding a DC current and an RF pump tone we are able to generate parametric amplification using three-wave mixing. The devices exhibit gain of more than 15 dB across an instantaneous bandwidth from 4 to 8 GHz. The total usable gain bandwidth, including both sides of the signal-idler gain region, is more than 6 GHz. The noise referred to the input…
Superconducting parametric amplifiers are commonly fabricated using planar transmission lines with a non-linear inductance provided by either Josephson junctions or the intrinsic kinetic inductance of the thin film. However, Banys et al. [1] reported non-linear behaviour in a niobium pillbox cavity, hypothesising that below Tc, the pair iris-bulk resonator would act as a superconducting contact surface exploiting a Josephson-like non-linearity. This work investigates this effect further by applying Keysight Technologies' Advanced Design System (ADS) to simulate the cavity using an equivalent c…
We propose a scheme to implement variable coupling between two flux qubits using the screening current response of a dc Superconducting QUantum Interference Device (SQUID). The coupling strength is adjusted by the current bias applied to the SQUID and can be varied continuously from positive to negative values, allowing cancellation of the direct mutual inductance between the qubits. We show that this variable coupling scheme permits efficient realization of universal quantum logic. The same SQUID can be used to determine the flux states of the qubits.
Millimeter-wave superconducting devices offer a platform for quantum experiments at temperatures above 1 K, and new avenues for studying light-matter interactions in the strong coupling regime. Using the intrinsic nonlinearity associated with kinetic inductance of thin film materials, we realize four-wave mixing at millimeter-wave frequencies, demonstrating a key component for superconducting quantum systems. We report on the performance of niobium nitride resonators around 100 GHz, patterned on thin (20-50 nm) films grown by atomic layer deposition, with sheet inductances up to 212 pH/square …
We investigated the reset time of superconducting nanowire avalanche photodetectors (SNAPs) based on 30 nm wide nanowires. We studied the dependence of the reset time of SNAPs on the device inductance and discovered that SNAPs can provide a speed-up relative to SNSPDs with the same area, but with some limitations: (1) reducing the series inductance of SNAPs (necessary for the avalanche formation) could result in the detectors operating in an unstable regime; (2) a trade-off exists between maximizing the bias current margin and minimizing the reset time of SNAPs; and (3) reducing the reset time…
Localized quasiparticles in a fluxonium with quasi-two-dimensional amorphous kinetic inductors
University of Colorado Boulder（科罗拉多大学博尔德分校）；National Institute of Standards and Technology（美国国家标准与技术研究院）；Northwestern University（西北大学）；Budapest University of Technology and Economics（布达佩斯技术与经济大学）
A Non-Foster Superconducting Broadband Matching Network
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory（斯坦福直线加速器中心）；Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University（斯坦福大学卡弗里粒子天体物理与宇宙学研究所）；Department of Physics, Stanford University（斯坦福大学物理系）
Aluminium based platforms have allowed to reach major milestones for superconducting quantum circuits. For the next generation of devices, materials that are able to maintain low microwave losses while providing new functionalities, such as large kinetic inductance or compatibility with CMOS platform are sought for. Here we report on a combined direct current (DC) and microwave investigation of titanium nitride lms of dierent thicknesses grown using CMOS compatible methods. For microwave resonators made of TiN lm of thickness $\sim$3 nm, we measured large kinetic inductance LK $\sim$ 240 pH/sq…
This paper presents a theoretical analysis of the recently realized tuneable coupler for superconducting phase qubits (R. C. Bialczak et al., Ref.\ \protect\onlinecite{Bialczak}). The coupling can be turned off by compensating a negative mutual inductance with a tuneable Josephson inductance. The main coupling in this system is of the $XX$ type and can be zeroed exactly, while there is also a small undesired contribution of the $ZZ$ type. We calculate both couplings as functions of the tuning parameter (bias current) and focus on the residual coupling in the OFF regime. In particular, we show …
