arXiv subjects

A. N. Cleland

Publications and source records attributed to A. N. Cleland.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Quantum communication with itinerant surface acoustic wave phonons

Surface acoustic waves are commonly used in classical electronics applications, and their use in quantum systems is beginning to be explored, as evidenced by recent experiments using acoustic Fabry-Pérot resonators. Here we explore their use for quantum communication, where we demonstrate a single-phonon surface acoustic wave transmission line, which links two physically-separated qubit nodes. Each node comprises a microwave phonon transducer, an externally-controlled superconducting variable coupler, and a superconducting qubit. Using this system, precisely-shaped individual itinerant phonons are used to coherently transfer quantum information between the two physically-distinct quantum nodes, enabling the high-fidelity node-to-node transfer of quantum states as well as the generation of a two-node Bell state. We further explore the dispersive interactions between an itinerant phonon emitted from one node and interacting with the superconducting qubit in the remote node. The observed interactions between the phonon and the remote qubit promise future quantum optics-style experiments with itinerant phonons.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Proposal for a nanomechanical qubit

Mechanical oscillators have been demonstrated with very high quality factors over a wide range of frequencies. These also couple to a wide variety of fields and forces, making them ideal as sensors. The realization of a mechanically-based quantum bit could therefore provide an important new platform for quantum computation and sensing. Here we show that by coupling one of the flexural modes of a suspended carbon nanotube to the charge states of a double quantum dot defined in the nanotube, it is possible to induce sufficient anharmonicity in the mechanical oscillator so that the coupled system can be used as a mechanical quantum bit. This can however only be achieved when the device enters the ultrastrong coupling regime. We discuss the conditions for the anharmonicity to appear, and we show that the Hamiltonian can be mapped onto an anharmonic oscillator, allowing us to work out the energy level structure and how decoherence from the quantum dot and the mechanical oscillator are inherited by the qubit. Remarkably, the dephasing due to the quantum dot is expected to be reduced by several orders of magnitude in the coupled system. We outline qubit control, readout protocols, the realization of a CNOT gate by coupling two qubits to microwave cavity, and finally how the qubit can be used as a static force quantum sensor.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Measurements of a quantum bulk acoustic resonator using a superconducting qubit

Phonon modes at microwave frequencies can be cooled to their quantum ground state using conventional cryogenic refrigeration, providing a convenient way to study and manipulate quantum states at the single phonon level. Phonons are of particular interest because mechanical deformations can mediate interactions with a wide range of different quantum systems, including solid-state defects, superconducting qubits, as well as optical photons when using optomechanically-active constructs. Phonons thus hold promise for quantum-focused applications as diverse as sensing, information processing, and communication. Here, we describe a piezoelectric quantum bulk acoustic resonator (QBAR) with a 4.88 GHz resonant frequency that at cryogenic temperatures displays large electromechanical coupling strength combined with a high intrinsic mechanical quality factor $Q_i \approx 4.3 \times 10^4$. Using a recently-developed flip-chip technique, we couple this QBAR resonator to a superconducting qubit on a separate die and demonstrate quantum control of the mechanics in the coupled system. This approach promises a facile and flexible experimental approach to quantum acoustics and hybrid quantum systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Unidirectional Distributed Acoustic Reflection Transducers for Quantum Applications

Recent significant advances in coupling superconducting qubits to acoustic wave resonators has led to demonstrations of quantum control of surface and bulk acoustic resonant modes as well Wigner tomography of quantum states in these modes. These advances were achieved through the efficient coupling afforded by piezoelectric materials combined with GHz-frequency acoustic Fabry-Perot cavities. Quantum control of itinerant surface acoustic waves appears in reach, but is challenging due to the limitations of conventional transducers in the appropriate GHz-frequency band. In particular, GHz-frequency unidirectional transducers would provide an important addition to the desired quantum toolbox, promising unit efficiency with directional control over the surface acoustic wave emission pattern. Here we report the design, fabrication and experimental characterization of unidirectional distributed acoustic reflection transducers (DARTs) demonstrating a high transduction frequency of 4.8 GHz with a peak directivity larger than 25 dB and a directivity greater than 15 dB over a bandwidth of 17 MHz. A numerical model reproduces the main features of the transducer response quite well, with ten adjustable parameters (most of which are constrained by geometric and physical considerations). This represents a significant step towards quantum control of itinerant quantum acoustic waves.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Phonon-mediated quantum state transfer and remote qubit entanglement

Phonons, and in particular surface acoustic wave phonons, have been proposed as a means to coherently couple distant solid-state quantum systems. Recent experiments have shown that superconducting qubits can control and detect individual phonons in a resonant structure, enabling the coherent generation and measurement of complex stationary phonon states. Here, we report the deterministic emission and capture of itinerant surface acoustic wave phonons, enabling the quantum entanglement of two superconducting qubits. Using a 2 mm-long acoustic quantum communication channel, equivalent to a 500 ns delay line, we demonstrate the emission and re-capture of a phonon by one qubit; quantum state transfer between two qubits with a 67\% efficiency; and, by partial transfer of a phonon between two qubits, generation of an entangled Bell pair with a fidelity of $\mathcal{F}_B = 84 \pm 1$ %

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Violating Bell's inequality with remotely-connected superconducting qubits

Quantum communication relies on the efficient generation of entanglement between remote quantum nodes, due to entanglement's key role in achieving and verifying secure communications. Remote entanglement has been realized using a number of different probabilistic schemes, but deterministic remote entanglement has only recently been demonstrated, using a variety of superconducting circuit approaches. However, the deterministic violation of a Bell inequality, a strong measure of quantum correlation, has not to date been demonstrated in a superconducting quantum communication architecture, in part because achieving sufficiently strong correlation requires fast and accurate control of the emission and capture of the entangling photons. Here we present a simple and robust architecture for achieving this benchmark result in a superconducting system.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Quantum control of surface acoustic wave phonons

The superposition of quantum states is one of the hallmarks of quantum physics, and clear demonstrations of superposition have been achieved in a number of quantum systems. However, mechanical systems have remained a challenge, with only indirect demonstrations of mechanical state superpositions, in spite of the intellectual appeal and technical utility such a capability would bring. This is due in part to the highly linear response of most mechanical systems, making quantum operation difficult, as well as their characteristically low frequencies, making it difficult to reach the quantum ground state. In this work, we demonstrate full quantum control of the mechanical state of a macroscopic mechanical resonator. We strongly couple a surface acoustic wave resonator to a superconducting qubit, using the qubit to control and measure quantum states in the mechanical resonator. Most notably, we generate a quantum superposition of the zero and one phonon states and map this and other states using Wigner tomography. This precise, programmable quantum control is essential to a range of applications of surface acoustic waves in the quantum limit, including using surface acoustic waves to couple disparate quantum systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Deterministic Bidirectional Communication and Remote Entanglement Generation Between Superconducting Quantum Processors

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a simple and efficient scheme for photonic communication between two remote superconducting modules. Each module consists of a random access quantum information processor with eight-qubit multimode memory and a single flux tunable transmon. The two processor chips are connected through a one-meter long coaxial cable that is coupled to a dedicated "communication" resonator on each chip. The two communication resonators hybridize with a mode of the cable to form a dark "communication mode" that is highly immune to decay in the coaxial cable. We modulate the transmon frequency via a parametric drive to generate sideband interactions between the transmon and the communication mode. We demonstrate bidirectional single-photon transfer with a success probability exceeding 60 %, and generate an entangled Bell pair with a fidelity of 79.3 $\pm$ 0.3 %.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Quantum delayed-choice experiment with a beam splitter in a quantum superposition

A quantum system can behave as a wave or as a particle, depending on the experimental arrangement. When for example measuring a photon using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, the photon acts as a wave if the second beam-splitter is inserted, but as a particle if this beam-splitter is omitted. The decision of whether or not to insert this beam-splitter can be made after the photon has entered the interferometer, as in Wheeler's famous delayed-choice thought experiment. In recent quantum versions of this experiment, this decision is controlled by a quantum ancilla, while the beam splitter is itself still a classical object. Here we propose and realize a variant of the quantum delayed-choice experiment. We configure a superconducting quantum circuit as a Ramsey interferometer, where the element that acts as the first beam-splitter can be put in a quantum superposition of its active and inactive states, as verified by the negative values of its Wigner function. We show that this enables the wave and particle aspects of the system to be observed with a single setup, without involving an ancilla that is not itself a part of the interferometer. We also study the transition of this quantum beam-splitter from a quantum to a classical object due to decoherence, as observed by monitoring the interferometer output.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Qubit metrology of ultralow phase noise using randomized benchmarking

A precise measurement of dephasing over a range of timescales is critical for improving quantum gates beyond the error correction threshold. We present a metrological tool, based on randomized benchmarking, capable of greatly increasing the precision of Ramsey and spin echo sequences by the repeated but incoherent addition of phase noise. We find our SQUID-based qubit is not limited by $1/f$ flux noise at short timescales, but instead observe a telegraph noise mechanism that is not amenable to study with standard measurement techniques.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

State preservation by repetitive error detection in a superconducting quantum circuit

Quantum computing becomes viable when a quantum state can be preserved from environmentally-induced error. If quantum bits (qubits) are sufficiently reliable, errors are sparse and quantum error correction (QEC) is capable of identifying and correcting them. Adding more qubits improves the preservation by guaranteeing increasingly larger clusters of errors will not cause logical failure - a key requirement for large-scale systems. Using QEC to extend the qubit lifetime remains one of the outstanding experimental challenges in quantum computing. Here, we report the protection of classical states from environmental bit-flip errors and demonstrate the suppression of these errors with increasing system size. We use a linear array of nine qubits, which is a natural precursor of the two-dimensional surface code QEC scheme, and track errors as they occur by repeatedly performing projective quantum non-demolition (QND) parity measurements. Relative to a single physical qubit, we reduce the failure rate in retrieving an input state by a factor of 2.7 for five qubits and a factor of 8.5 for nine qubits after eight cycles. Additionally, we tomographically verify preservation of the non-classical Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state. The successful suppression of environmentally-induced errors strongly motivates further research into the many exciting challenges associated with building a large-scale superconducting quantum computer.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Characterization and reduction of microfabrication-induced decoherence in superconducting quantum circuits

Many superconducting qubits are highly sensitive to dielectric loss, making the fabrication of coherent quantum circuits challenging. To elucidate this issue, we characterize the interfaces and surfaces of superconducting coplanar waveguide resonators and study the associated microwave loss. We show that contamination induced by traditional qubit lift-off processing is particularly detrimental to quality factors without proper substrate cleaning, while roughness plays at most a small role. Aggressive surface treatment is shown to damage the crystalline substrate and degrade resonator quality. We also introduce methods to characterize and remove ultra-thin resist residue, providing a way to quantify and minimize remnant sources of loss on device surfaces.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Observation of topological transitions in interacting quantum circuits

The discovery of topological phases in condensed matter systems has changed the modern conception of phases of matter. The global nature of topological ordering makes these phases robust and hence promising for applications. However, the non-locality of this ordering makes direct experimental studies an outstanding challenge, even in the simplest model topological systems, and interactions among the constituent particles adds to this challenge. Here we demonstrate a novel dynamical method to explore topological phases in both interacting and non-interacting systems, by employing the exquisite control afforded by state-of-the-art superconducting quantum circuits. We utilize this method to experimentally explore the well-known Haldane model of topological phase transitions by directly measuring the topological invariants of the system. We construct the topological phase diagram of this model and visualize the microscopic evolution of states across the phase transition, tasks whose experimental realizations have remained elusive. Furthermore, we developed a new qubit architecture that allows simultaneous control over every term in a two-qubit Hamiltonian, with which we extend our studies to an interacting Hamiltonian and discover the emergence of an interaction-induced topological phase. Our implementation, involving the measurement of both global and local textures of quantum systems, is close to the original idea of quantum simulation as envisioned by R. Feynman, where a controllable quantum system is used to investigate otherwise inaccessible quantum phenomena. This approach demonstrates the potential of superconducting qubits for quantum simulation and establishes a powerful platform for the study of topological phases in quantum systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Rolling quantum dice with a superconducting qubit

One of the key challenges in quantum information is coherently manipulating the quantum state. However, it is an outstanding question whether control can be realized with low error. Only gates from the Clifford group -- containing $π$, $π/2$, and Hadamard gates -- have been characterized with high accuracy. Here, we show how the Platonic solids enable implementing and characterizing larger gate sets. We find that all gates can be implemented with low error. The results fundamentally imply arbitrary manipulation of the quantum state can be realized with high precision, providing new practical possibilities for designing efficient quantum algorithms.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Simulating weak localization using superconducting quantum circuits

Understanding complex quantum matter presents a central challenge in condensed matter physics. The difficulty lies in the exponential scaling of the Hilbert space with the system size, making solutions intractable for both analytical and conventional numerical methods. As originally envisioned by Richard Feynman, this class of problems can be tackled using controllable quantum simulators. Despite many efforts, building an quantum emulator capable of solving generic quantum problems remains an outstanding challenge, as this involves controlling a large number of quantum elements. Here, employing a multi-element superconducting quantum circuit and manipulating a single microwave photon, we demonstrate that we can simulate the weak localization phenomenon observed in mesoscopic systems. By engineering the control sequence in our emulator circuit, we are also able to reproduce the well-known temperature dependence of weak localization. Furthermore, we can use our circuit to continuously tune the level of disorder, a parameter that is not readily accessible in mesoscopic systems. By demonstrating a high level of control and complexity, our experiment shows the potential for superconducting quantum circuits to realize scalable quantum simulators.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Optimal quantum control using randomized benchmarking

We present a method for optimizing quantum control in experimental systems, using a subset of randomized benchmarking measurements to rapidly infer error. This is demonstrated to improve single- and two-qubit gates, minimize gate bleedthrough, where a gate mechanism can cause errors on subsequent gates, and identify control crosstalk in superconducting qubits. This method is able to correct parameters to where control errors no longer dominate, and is suitable for automated and closed-loop optimization of experimental systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Qubit architecture with high coherence and fast tunable coupling

We introduce a superconducting qubit architecture that combines high-coherence qubits and tunable qubit-qubit coupling. With the ability to set the coupling to zero, we demonstrate that this architecture is protected from the frequency crowding problems that arise from fixed coupling. More importantly, the coupling can be tuned dynamically with nanosecond resolution, making this architecture a versatile platform with applications ranging from quantum logic gates to quantum simulation. We illustrate the advantages of dynamic coupling by implementing a novel adiabatic controlled-Z gate, at a speed approaching that of single-qubit gates. Integrating coherence and scalable control, our "gmon" architecture is a promising path towards large-scale quantum computation and simulation.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Logic gates at the surface code threshold: Superconducting qubits poised for fault-tolerant quantum computing

A quantum computer can solve hard problems - such as prime factoring, database searching, and quantum simulation - at the cost of needing to protect fragile quantum states from error. Quantum error correction provides this protection, by distributing a logical state among many physical qubits via quantum entanglement. Superconductivity is an appealing platform, as it allows for constructing large quantum circuits, and is compatible with microfabrication. For superconducting qubits the surface code is a natural choice for error correction, as it uses only nearest-neighbour coupling and rapidly-cycled entangling gates. The gate fidelity requirements are modest: The per-step fidelity threshold is only about 99%. Here, we demonstrate a universal set of logic gates in a superconducting multi-qubit processor, achieving an average single-qubit gate fidelity of 99.92% and a two-qubit gate fidelity up to 99.4%. This places Josephson quantum computing at the fault-tolerant threshold for surface code error correction. Our quantum processor is a first step towards the surface code, using five qubits arranged in a linear array with nearest-neighbour coupling. As a further demonstration, we construct a five-qubit Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state using the complete circuit and full set of gates. The results demonstrate that Josephson quantum computing is a high-fidelity technology, with a clear path to scaling up to large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum circuits.

quant-ph↗