arXiv subjects

C. J. Lobb

Publications and source records attributed to C. J. Lobb.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2010

Superposition of Inductive and Capacitive Coupling in Superconducting LC Resonators

We present an experimental investigation of lumped-element superconducting LC resonators designed to provide different types of coupling to a transmission line. We have designed four resonator geometries including dipole and quadrupole configured inductors connected in parallel with low loss SiNx dielectric parallel-plate capacitors. The design of the resonator allows a small change in the symmetry of the inductor or grounding of the capacitor to allow LC resonators with: 1) inductive coupling, 2) capacitive coupling, 3) both types of coupling, or 4) greatly reduced coupling. We measured all four designs at a temperature of 30mK at different values of power. We compare the extracted data from the four resonator types and find that both capacitive and inductive coupling can be included and that when left off, only a minor change in the circuit design is necessary. We also find a variation in the measured loss tangent of less than a few percent, which is a test of the systematic precision of the measurement technique.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Multi-level Spectroscopy of Two-Level Systems Coupled to a dc SQUID Phase Qubit

We report spectroscopic measurements of discrete two-level systems (TLSs) coupled to a dc SQUID phase qubit with a 16 μ\m2 area Al/AlOx/Al junction. Applying microwaves in the 10 GHz to 11 GHz range, we found eight avoided level crossings with splitting sizes from 10 MHz to 200 MHz and spectroscopic lifetimes from 4 ns to 160 ns. Assuming the transitions are from the ground state of the composite system to an excited state of the qubit or an excited state of one of the TLS states, we fit the location and spectral width to get the energy levels, splitting sizes and spectroscopic coherence times of the phase qubit and TLSs. The distribution of splittings is consistent with non-interacting individual charged ions tunneling between random locations in the tunnel barrier and the distribution of lifetimes is consistent with the AlOx in the junction barrier having a frequency-independent loss tangent. To check that the charge of each TLS couples independently to the voltage across the junction, we also measured the spectrum in the 20-22 GHz range and found tilted avoided level crossings due to the second excited state of the junction and states in which both the junction and a TLS were excited.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2009

Multilevel effects in the Rabi oscillations of a Josephson phase qubit

We present Rabi oscillation measurements of a Nb/AlOx/Nb dc superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) phase qubit with a 100 um^2 area junction acquired over a range of microwave drive power and frequency detuning. Given the slightly anharmonic level structure of the device, several excited states play an important role in the qubit dynamics, particularly at high power. To investigate the effects of these levels, multiphoton Rabi oscillations were monitored by measuring the tunneling escape rate of the device to the voltage state, which is particularly sensitive to excited state population. We compare the observed oscillation frequencies with a simplified model constructed from the full phase qubit Hamiltonian and also compare time-dependent escape rate measurements with a more complete density-matrix simulation. Good quantitative agreement is found between the data and simulations, allowing us to identify a shift in resonance (analogous to the ac Stark effect), a suppression of the Rabi frequency, and leakage to the higher excited states.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Quantum behavior of the dc SQUID phase qubit

We analyze the behavior of a dc Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) phase qubit in which one junction acts as a phase qubit and the rest of the device provides isolation from dissipation and noise in the bias leads. Ignoring dissipation, we find the two-dimensional Hamiltonian of the system and use numerical methods and a cubic approximation to solve Schrodinger's equation for the eigenstates, energy levels, tunneling rates, and expectation value of the currents in the junctions. Using these results, we investigate how well this design provides isolation while preserving the characteristics of a phase qubit. In addition, we show that the expectation value of current flowing through the isolation junction depends on the state of the qubit and can be used for non-destructive read out of the qubit state.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Spectral densities of superconducting qubits with environmental resonances

In this paper we derive the environmental spectral density for flux, phase and charge qubits when each of them is coupled to an environment with a resonance. From the spectral density we obtain the characteristic spontaneous emission (relaxation) lifetimes $T_1$ for each of these qubits, and show that there is a substantial enhancement of $T_1$ beyond the resonant frequency of the environment.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Decoherence in dc SQUID phase qubits

We report measurements of Rabi oscillations and spectroscopic coherence times in an Al/AlOx/Al and three Nb/AlOx/Nb dc SQUID phase qubits. One junction of the SQUID acts as a phase qubit and the other junction acts as a current-controlled nonlinear isolating inductor, allowing us to change the coupling to the current bias leads in situ by an order of magnitude. We found that for the Al qubit a spectroscopic coherence time T2* varied from 3 to 7 ns and the decay envelope of Rabi oscillations had a time constant T' = 25 ns on average at 80 mK. The three Nb devices also showed T2* in the range of 4 to 6 ns, but T' was 9 to 15 ns, just about 1/2 the value we found in the Al device. For all the devices, the time constants were roughly independent of the isolation from the bias lines, implying that noise and dissipation from the bias leads were not the principal sources of dephasing and inhomogeneous broadening.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Dynamical scaling of $YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-δ}$ thin film conductivity in zero field

We study dynamic fluctuation effects of $YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-δ}$ thin films in zero field around $T_c$ by doing frequency-dependent microwave conductivity measurements at different powers. The length scales probed in the experiments are varied systematically allowing us to analyze data which are not affected by the finite thickness of the films, and to observe single-parameter scaling. DC current-voltage characteristics have also been measured to independently probe fluctuations in the same samples. The combination of DC and microwave measurements allows us to precisely determine critical parameters. Our results give a dynamical scaling exponent $z=1.55\pm0.15$, which is consistent with model E-dynamics.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2007

Environmentally-Induced Rabi Oscillations and Decoherence in Phase Qubits

We study decoherence effects in a dc SQUID phase qubit caused by an isolation circuit with a resonant frequency. The coupling between the SQUID phase qubit and its environment is modeled via the Caldeira-Leggett formulation of quantum dissipation/coherence, where the spectral density of the environment is related to the admittance of the isolation circuit. When the frequency of the qubit is at least two times larger than the resonance frequency of the isolation circuit, we find that the decoherence time of the qubit is two orders of magnitude larger than the typical ohmic regime, where the frequency of the qubit is much smaller than the resonance frequency of the isolation circuit. Lastly, we show that when the qubit frequency is on resonance with the isolation circuit, an oscillatory non-Markovian decay emerges, as the dc SQUID phase qubit and its environment self-generate Rabi oscillations of characteristic time scales shorter than the decoherence time.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2007

Comparison of coherence times in three dc SQUID phase qubits

We report measurements of spectroscopic linewidth and Rabi oscillations in three thin-film dc SQUID phase qubits. One device had a single-turn Al loop, the second had a 6-turn Nb loop, and the third was a first order gradiometer formed from 6-turn wound and counter-wound Nb coils to provide isolation from spatially uniform flux noise. In the 6 - 7.2 GHz range, the spectroscopic coherence times for the gradiometer varied from 4 ns to 8 ns, about the same as for the other devices (4 to 10 ns). The time constant for decay of Rabi oscillations was significantly longer in the single-turn Al device (20 to 30 ns) than either of the Nb devices (10 to 15 ns). These results imply that spatially uniform flux noise is not the main source of decoherence or inhomogenous broadening in these devices.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2007

Granular instability in a vibrated U tube

We study experimentally the collective motion of grains inside a U shaped tube undergoing vertical oscillations, and we develop a very simple quantitative model that captures relevant features of the observed behaviour. The height difference between the granular columns grows with time when the system is shaken at sufficiently low frequencies. The system exhibits two types of growth: exponentially divergent (type I) and exponentially saturating (type II), depending on the size of the grains. The type I growth can be quenched by removing the air whereas the type II behavior can occur in the absence of air. There is a good agreement between the model proposed and our experimental results.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2007

Strong-field effects in the Rabi oscillations of the superconducting phase qubit

Rabi oscillations have been observed in many superconducting devices, and represent prototypical logic operations for quantum bits (qubits) in a quantum computer. We use a three-level multiphoton analysis to understand the behavior of the superconducting phase qubit (current-biased Josephson junction) at high microwave drive power. Analytical and numerical results for the ac Stark shift, single-photon Rabi frequency, and two-photon Rabi frequency are compared to measurements made on a dc SQUID phase qubit with Nb/AlOx/Nb tunnel junctions. Good agreement is found between theory and experiment.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2006

Fast High-Fidelity Measurements of the Ground and Excited States of a dc-SQUID Phase Qubit

We have investigated the fidelity and speed of single-shot current-pulse measurements of the three lowest energy states of the dc SQUID phase qubit. We apply a short (2ns) current pulse to one junction of a Nb/AlOx/Nb SQUID that is in the zero voltage state at 25 mK and measure if the system switches to the finite voltage state. By plotting the switching rate versus pulse size we can determine average occupancy of the levels down to 0.01%, quantify small levels of leakage, and find the optimum pulse condition for single-shot measurements. Our best error rate is 3% with a measurement fidelity of 94%. By monitoring the escape rate during the pulse, the pulse current in the junction can be found to better than 10 nA on a 0.1 ns time scale. Theoretical analysis of the system reveals switching curves that are in good agreement with the data, as well as predictions that the ultimate single-shot error rate for this technique can reach 0.4% and the fidelity 99.2%.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2005

Spectroscopy of Three-Particle Entanglement in a Macroscopic Superconducting Circuit

We study the quantum mechanical behavior of a macroscopic, three-body, superconducting circuit. Microwave spectroscopy on our system, a resonator coupling two large Josephson junctions, produced complex energy spectra well explained by quantum theory over a large frequency range. By tuning each junction separately into resonance with the resonator, we first observe strong coupling between each junction and the resonator. Bringing both junctions together into resonance with the resonator, we find spectroscopic evidence for entanglement between all three degrees of freedom and suggest a new method for controllable coupling of distant qubits, a key step toward quantum computation.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2005

Macroscopic tunnel splittings in superconducting phase qubits

Prototype Josephson-junction based qubit coherence times are too short for quantum computing. Recent experiments probing superconducting phase qubits have revealed previously unseen fine splittings in the transition energy spectra. These splittings have been attributed to new microscopic degrees of freedom (microresonators), a previously unknown source of decoherence. We show that macroscopic resonant tunneling in the extremely asymmetric double well potential of the phase qubit can have observational consequences that are strikingly similar to the observed data.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2005

Effects of Self-field and Low Magnetic Fields on the Normal-Superconducting Phase Transition

Researchers have studied the normal-superconducting phase transition in the high-$T_c$ cuprates in a magnetic field (the vortex-glass or Bose-glass transition) and in zero field. Often, transport measurements in "zero field" are taken in the Earth's ambient field or in the remnant field of a magnet. We show that fields as small as the Earth's field will alter the shape of the current vs. voltage curves and will result in inaccurate values for the critical temperature $T_c$ and the critical exponents $ν$ and $z$, and can even destroy the phase transition. This indicates that without proper screening of the magnetic field it is impossible to determine the true zero-field critical parameters, making correct scaling and other data analysis impossible. We also show, theoretically and experimentally, that the self-field generated by the current flowing in the sample has no effect on the current vs. voltage isotherms.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2004

Normal-Superconducting Phase Transition Mimicked by Current Noise

As a superconductor goes from the normal state into the superconducting state, the voltage vs. current characteristics at low currents change from linear to non-linear. We show theoretically and experimentally that the addition of current noise to non-linear voltage vs. current curves will create ohmic behavior. Ohmic response at low currents for temperatures below the critical temperature $T_c$ mimics the phase transition and leads to incorrect values for $T_c$ and the critical exponents $ν$ and $z$. The ohmic response occurs at low currents, when the applied current $I_0$ is smaller than the width of the probability distribution $σ_I$, and will occur in both the zero-field transition and the vortex-glass transition. Our results indicate that the transition temperature and critical exponents extracted from the conventional scaling analysis are inaccurate if current noise is not filtered out. This is a possible explanation for the wide range of critical exponents found in the literature.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2004

The zero-field superconducting phase transition obscured by finite-size effects in thick $\mathrm{\bf{YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{7-δ}}}$ films

We report on the normal-superconducting phase transition in thick $\mathrm{YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{7-δ}}$ films in zero magnetic field. We find significant finite-size effects at low currents even in our thickest films ($d = 3200$ Å). Using data at higher currents, we can unambiguously find $T_c$ and $z$, and show $z = 2.1 \pm 0.15$, as expected for the three-dimensional XY model with diffusive dynamics. The crossover to two-dimensional behavior, seen by other researchers in thinner films ($d \leq 500$ Å), obscures the three-dimensional transition in both zero field and the vortex-glass transition in field, leading to incorrect values of $T_c$ (or $T_g$), $ν$, and $z$. The finite-size effects, usually ignored in thick films, are an explanation for the wide range of critical exponents found in the literature.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

Quantum logic gates for coupled superconducting phase qubits

Based on a quantum analysis of two capacitively coupled current-biased Josephson junctions, we propose two fundamental two-qubit quantum logic gates. Each of these gates, when supplemented by single-qubit operations, is sufficient for universal quantum computation. Numerical solutions of the time-dependent Schroedinger equation demonstrate that these operations can be performed with good fidelity.

quant-ph↗