arXiv subjects

Bassel Heiba Elfeky

Publications and source records attributed to Bassel Heiba Elfeky.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Enhanced superconducting diode effect in hybrid Josephson junctions

The superconducting diode effect (SDE) has recently been observed in various systems, sparking interest in novel superconducting devices and offering a new platform to probe intrinsic material properties. Josephson junctions with strong Rashba spin-orbit coupling have exhibited nonreciprocal critical currents under applied magnetic fields. In this work, we investigate the SDE in Josephson junctions incorporating periodic hole arrays patterned into the superconducting leads on InAs heterostructures with epitaxial aluminum. We observe an enhanced diode effect when a top gate depletes the 2DEG in the region of the hole arrays, while preserving the overall supercurrent. Theoretical analysis shows that the physics behind this phenomenon is the increased difference of transparency between different bands in the junction. These results highlight a new pathway for engineering and controlling nonreciprocal superconducting transport in hybrid systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Bias-preserving and error-detectable entangling operations in a superconducting dual-rail system

For useful quantum computation, error-corrected machines are required that can dramatically reduce the inevitable errors experienced by physical qubits. While significant progress has been made in approaching and exceeding the surface-code threshold in superconducting platforms, large gains in the logical error rate with increasing system size remain out of reach. This is due both to the large number of required physical qubits and the need to operate far below threshold. Importantly, by exploiting the biases and structure of the physical errors, this threshold can be raised. Erasure qubits achieve this by detecting certain errors at the hardware level. Dual-rail qubits encoded in superconducting cavities are a promising erasure qubit wherein the dominant error, photon loss, can be detected and converted to an erasure. In these approaches, the complete set of operations, including two qubit gates, must be high performance and preserve as much of the desirable hierarchy or bias in the errors as possible. Here, we design and realize a novel two-qubit gate for dual-rail erasure qubits based on superconducting microwave cavities. The gate is high-speed ($\sim$500 ns duration), and yields a residual gate infidelity after error detection below 0.1%. Moreover, we experimentally demonstrate that this gate largely preserves the favorable error structure of idling dual-rail qubits, making it ideal for error correction. We measure low erasure rates of $\sim$0.5% per gate, as well as low and asymmetric dephasing errors that occur at least three times more frequently on control qubits compared to target qubits. Bit-flip errors are practically nonexistent, bounded at the few parts per million level. This error asymmetry has not been well explored but is extremely useful in quantum error correction and flag-qubit contexts, where it can create a faster path to effective error-corrected systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Gate tunable enhancement of supercurrent in hybrid planar Josephson junctions

Planar Josephson junctions (JJs) have emerged as a promising platform for the realization of topological superconductivity and Majorana zero modes. To obtain robust quasi one-dimensional (1D) topological superconducting states using planar JJs, limiting the number of 1D Andreev bound states' subbands that can be present, and increasing the size of the topological superconducting gap, are two fundamental challenges. It has been suggested that both problems can be addressed by properly designing the interfaces between the JJ's normal region and the superconducting leads. We fabricated Josephson junctions with periodic hole structures on the superconducting contact leads on InAs heterostructures with epitaxial superconducting Al. By depleting the chemical potential inside the hole region with a top gate, we observed an enhancement of the supercurrent across the junction. Such an enhancement is reproduced in theoretical simulations. The theoretical analysis shows that the enhancement of the JJ's critical current is achieved when the hole depletion is such to optimize the matching of quasiparticles' wave-function at the normal/superconductor interface. These results show how the combination of carefully designed patterns for the Al coverage, and external gates, can be successfully used to tune the density and wave functions' profiles in the normal region of the JJ, and therefore open a new avenue to tune some of the critical properties, such as number of subbands and size of the topological gap, that must be optimized to obtain robust quasi 1D superconducting states supporting Majorana bound states.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Gatemonium: A Voltage-Tunable Fluxonium

We present a new style of fluxonium qubit, gatemonium, based on an all superconductorsemiconductor hybrid platform. The linear inductance is achieved using six hundred planar Al-InAs Josephson junctions (JJs) in series. By tuning the single junction with a gate voltage, we demonstrate electrostatic control of the effective Josephson energy, tuning the weight of the fictitious phase particle. One and two-tone spectroscopy of the gatemonium transitions further reveal details of the hybrid plasmon-fluxon spectrum. Accounting for the nonsinusoidal current-phase relation of the single junction, we fit the measured spectra to extract charging and inductive energies. We conduct time domain characterization of the plasmon modes in a second gatemonium device with different charging energy and JJ array inductance. We discuss future directions for this platform in gate voltage-tunable, high plasma frequency, enhanced impedance junction arrays, and enhanced coherence times for voltage tunable architectures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Microwave Signatures of Topological Superconductivity in Planar Josephson Junctions

Planar Josephson junctions provide a platform to host topological superconductivity which, through manipulating Majorana bound states (MBS), could enable fault-tolerant quantum computing. However, what constitutes experimental signatures of topological superconductivity and how MBS can be detected remains strongly debated. In addition to spurious effects that mimic MBS, there is a challenge to discern the inherent topological signals in realistic systems with many topologically-trivial Andreev bound states, determining the transport properties of Josephson junctions. Guided by the advances in microwave spectroscopy, we theoretically study Al/InAs-based planar Josephson junction embedded into a radio-frequency superconducting quantum interference device to identify microwave signatures of topological superconductivity. Remarkably, by exploring the closing and reopening of a topological gap, we show that even in a wide planar Josephson junction with many Andreev bound states, such a topological signature is distinguishable in the resonance frequency shift of a microwave drive and the ``half-slope'' feature of the microwave absorption spectrum. Our findings provide an important step towards experimental detection of non-Abelian statistics and implementing scalable topological quantum computing.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Microwave Andreev bound state spectroscopy in a semiconductor-based Planar Josephson junction

By coupling a semiconductor-based planar Josephson junction to a superconducting resonator, we investigate the Andreev bound states in the junction using dispersive readout techniques. Using electrostatic gating to create a narrow constriction in the junction, our measurements unveil a strong coupling interaction between the resonator and the Andreev bound states. This enables the mapping of isolated tunable Andreev bound states, with an observed transparency of up to 99.94\% along with an average induced superconducting gap of $\sim 150 μ$eV. Exploring the gate parameter space further elucidates a non-monotonic evolution of multiple Andreev bound states with varying gate voltage. Complimentary tight-binding calculations of an Al-InAs planar Josephson junction with strong Rashba spin-orbit coupling provide insight into possible mechanisms responsible for such behavior. Our findings highlight the subtleties of the Andreev spectrum of Josephson junctions fabricated on superconductor-semiconductor heterostructures and offering potential applications in probing topological states in these hybrid platforms.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Superconducting Diode Effect Sign Change in Epitaxial Al-InAs Josepshon Junctions

There has recently been a surge of interest in studying the superconducting diode effect (SDE) partly due to the possibility of uncovering the intrinsic properties of a material system. A change of sign of the SDE at finite magnetic field has previously been attributed to different mechanisms. Here, we observe the SDE in epitaxial Al-InAs Josephson junctions with strong Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC). We show that this effect strongly depends on the orientation of the in-plane magnetic field. In the presence of a strong magnetic field, we observe a change of sign in the SDE. Simulation and measurement of supercurrent suggest that depending on the superconducting widths, $W_\text{S}$, this sign change may not necessarily be related to 0--$π$ or topological transitions. We find that the strongest sign change in junctions with narrow $W_\text{S}$ is consistent with SOC-induced asymmetry of the critical current under magnetic-field inversion, while in wider $W_\text{S}$, the sign reversal could be related to 0--$π$ transitions and topological superconductivity.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Characterizing losses in InAs two-dimensional electron gas-based gatemon qubits

The tunnelling of cooper pairs across a Josephson junction (JJ) allow for the nonlinear inductance necessary to construct superconducting qubits, amplifiers, and various other quantum circuits. An alternative approach using hybrid superconductor-semiconductor JJs can enable superconducting qubit architectures with all electric control. Here we present continuous-wave and time-domain characterization of gatemon qubits and coplanar waveguide resonators based on an InAs two-dimensional electron gas. We show that the qubit undergoes a vacuum Rabi splitting with a readout cavity and we drive coherent Rabi oscillations between the qubit ground and first excited states. We measure qubit relaxation times to be $T_1 =$ 100 ns over a 1.5 GHz tunable band. We detail the loss mechanisms present in these materials through a systematic study of the quality factors of coplanar waveguide resonators. While various loss mechanisms are present in III-V gatemon circuits we detail future directions in enhancing the relaxation times of qubit devices on this platform.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Quasiparticle dynamics in epitaxial Al-InAs planar Josephson junctions

Quasiparticle (QP) effects play a significant role in the coherence and fidelity of superconducting quantum circuits. The Andreev bound states of high transparency Josephson junctions can act as low-energy traps for QPs, providing a mechanism for studying the dynamics and properties of both the QPs and the junction. We study the trapping and clearing of QPs from the Andreev bound states of epitaxial Al-InAs Josephson junctions incorporated in a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) galvanically shorting a superconducting resonator to ground. We use a neighboring voltage-biased Josephson junction to inject QPs into the circuit. Upon the injection of QPs, we show that we can trap and clear QPs when the SQUID is flux-biased. We examine effects of the microwave loss associated with bulk QP transport in the resonator, QP-related dissipation in the junction, and QP poisoning events. By monitoring the QP trapping and clearing in time, we study the dynamics of these processes and find a time-scale of few microseconds that is consistent with electron-phonon relaxation in our system and correlated QP trapping and clearing mechanisms. Our results highlight the QP trapping and clearing dynamics as well as the associated time-scales in high transparency Josephson junctions based fabricated on Al-InAs heterostructures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Evolution of ${4π}$-periodic Supercurrent in the Presence of In-plane Magnetic Field

In the presence of a 4$π$-periodic contribution to the current phase relation, for example in topological Josephson junctions, odd Shapiro steps are expected to be missing. While missing odd Shapiro steps have been observed in several material systems and interpreted in the context of topological superconductivity, they have also been observed in topologically trivial junctions. Here, we study the evolution of such trivial missing odd Shapiro steps in Al-InAs junctions in the presence of an in-plane magnetic field $B^θ$. We find that the odd steps reappear at a crossover $B^θ$ value, exhibiting an in-plane field angle anisotropy that depends on spin-orbit coupling effects. We interpret this behavior by theoretically analyzing the Andreev bound state spectrum and the transitions induced by the non-adiabatic dynamics of the junction. Our results highlight the complex phenomenology of missing Shapiro steps and the underlying current phase relations in planar Josephson junctions designed to realize Majorana states.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2022

Superconducting resonators with voltage-controlled frequency and nonlinearity

Voltage-tunable superconductor-semiconductor devices offer a unique platform to realize dynamic tunability in superconducting quantum circuits. By galvanically connecting a gated InAs-Al Josephson junction to a coplanar waveguide resonator, we demonstrate the use of a wide-range gate-tunable superconducting element. We show that the resonant frequency is controlled via a gate-tunable Josephson inductance and that the non-linearity of the voltage-controlled InAs-Al junction is non-dissipative as is the case with conventional Al-AlO$_{x}$ junctions. As the gate voltage is decreased, the inductive participation of the junction increases up to $44\%$, resulting in the resonant frequency being tuned by over 2 GHz. Utilizing the wide tunability of the device, we demonstrate that two resonant modes can be adjusted such that they strongly hybridize, exhibiting an avoided level crossing with a coupling strength of 51 MHz. Implementing such voltage-tunable resonators is the first step toward realizing wafer-scale continuous voltage control in superconducting circuits for qubit-qubit coupling, quantum-limited amplifiers, and quantum memory platforms.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Magneto-anisotropic weak antilocalization in near-surface quantum wells

We investigate the effects of an in-plane magnetic field on the weak antilocalization signature of near-surface quantum wells lacking bulk and inversion symmetry. The measured magnetoconductivity exhibits a strong anisotropy with respect to the direction of the in-plane magnetic field. The two-fold symmetry of the observed magneto-anisotropy originates from the competition between Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit couplings. The high sensitivity of the weak antilocalization to the spin texture produced by the combined Zeeman and spin-orbit fields results in very large anisotropy ratios, reaching 100%. Using a semiclassical universal model in quantitative agreement with the experimental data, we uniquely determine the values of the Dresselhaus and Rashba parameters as well as the effective in-plane g-factor of the electrons. Understanding these parameters provides new prospects for novel applications ranging from spintronics to topological quantum computing.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Investigating the Exchange of Ising Chains on a Digital Quantum Computer

The ferromagnetic state of an Ising chain can represent a two-fold degenerate subspace or equivalently a logical qubit which is protected from excitations by an energy gap. We study a a braiding-like exchange operation through the movement of the state in the qubit subspace which resembles that of the localized edge modes in a Kitaev chain. The system consists of two Ising chains in a 1D geometry where the operation is simulated through the adiabatic time evolution of the ground state. The time evolution is implemented via the Suzuki-Trotter expansion on basic single- and two-qubit quantum gates using IBM's Aer QASM simulator. The fidelity of the system is investigated as a function of the evolution and system parameters to obtain optimum efficiency and accuracy for different system sizes. Various aspects of the implementation including the circuit depth, Trotterization error, and quantum gate errors pertaining to the Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) hardware are discussed as well. We show that the quantum gate errors, i.e. bit-flip, phase errors, are the dominating factor in determining the fidelity of the system as the Trotter error and the adiabatic condition are less restrictive even for modest values of Trotter time steps. We reach an optimum fidelity $>99\%$ on systems of up to $11$ sites per Ising chain and find that the most efficient implementation of a single braiding-like operation for a fidelity above $90\%$ requires a circuit depth of the order of $\sim 10^{3}$ restricting the individual gate errors to be less than $\sim 10^{-6}$ which is prohibited in current NISQ hardware.

quant-ph↗