arXiv subjects

J. S. Tsai

Publications and source records attributed to J. S. Tsai.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

Controllable microwave three-wave mixing via a single three-level superconducting quantum circuit

Three-wave mixing in second-order nonlinear optical processes cannot occur in atomic systems due to the electric-dipole selection rules. In contrast, we demonstrate that second-order nonlinear processes can occur in a superconducting quantum circuit (i.e., a superconducting artificial atom) when the inversion symmetry of the potential energy is broken by simply changing the applied magnetic flux. In particular, we show that difference- and sum-frequencies (and second harmonics) can be generated in the microwave regime in a controllable manner by using a single three-level superconducting flux quantum circuit (SFQC). For our proposed parameters, the frequency tunability of this circuit can be achieved in the range of about 17 GHz for the sum-frequency generation, and around 42 GHz (or 26 GHz) for the difference-frequency generation. Our proposal provides a simple method to generate second-order nonlinear processes within current experimental parameters of SFQCs.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Josephson parametric phase-locked oscillator and its application to dispersive readout of superconducting qubits

The parametric phase-locked oscillator (PPLO), also known as a parametron, is a resonant circuit in which one of the reactances is periodically modulated. It can detect, amplify, and store binary digital signals in the form of two distinct phases of self-oscillation. Indeed, digital computers using PPLOs based on a magnetic ferrite ring or a varactor diode as its fundamental logic element were successfully operated in 1950s and 1960s. More recently, basic bit operations have been demonstrated in an electromechanical resonator, and an Ising machine based on optical PPLOs has been proposed. Here, using a PPLO realized with Josephson-junction circuitry, we demonstrate the demodulation of a microwave signal digitally modulated by binary phase-shift keying. Moreover, we apply this demodulation capability to the dispersive readout of a superconducting qubit. This readout scheme enables a fast and latching-type readout, yet requires only a small number of readout photons in the resonator to which the qubit is coupled, thus featuring the combined advantages of several disparate schemes. We have achieved high-fidelity, single-shot, and non-destructive qubit readout with Rabi-oscillation contrast exceeding 90%, limited primarily by the qubit's energy relaxation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Microwave Down-Conversion with an Impedance-Matched $Λ$ System in Driven Circuit QED

By driving a dispersively coupled qubit-resonator system, we realize an "impedance-matched" $Λ$ system that has two identical radiative decay rates from the top level and interacts with a semi-infinite waveguide. It has been predicted that a photon input from the waveguide deterministically induces a Raman transition in the system and switches its electronic state. We confirm this through microwave response to a continuous probe field, observing near-perfect ($99.7\%$) extinction of the reflection and highly efficient ($74\%$) frequency down-conversion. These proof-of-principle results lead to deterministic quantum gates between material qubits and microwave photons and open the possibility for scalable quantum networks interconnected with waveguide photons.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Coherent Flux Tunneling Through NbN Nanowires

We demonstrate evidence of coherent magnetic flux tunneling through superconducting nanowires patterned in a thin highly disordered NbN film. The phenomenon is revealed as a superposition of flux states in a fully metallic superconducting loop with the nanowire acting as an effective tunnel barrier for the magnetic flux, and reproducibly observed in different wires. The flux superposition achieved in the fully metallic NbN rings proves the universality of the phenomenon previously reported for InOx. We perform microwave spectroscopy and study the tunneling amplitude as a function of the wire width, compare the experimental results with theories, and estimate the parameters for existing theoretical models.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Single-shot readout of a superconducting flux qubit with a flux-driven Josephson parametric amplifier

We report single-shot readout of a superconducting flux qubit by using a flux-driven Josephson parametric amplifier (JPA). After optimizing the readout power, gain of the JPA and timing of the data acquisition, we observe the Rabi oscillations with a contrast of 74% which is mainly limited by the bandwidth of the JPA and the energy relaxation of the qubit. The observation of quantum jumps between the qubit eigenstates under continuous monitoring indicates the nondestructiveness of the readout scheme.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Large Dispersive Shift of Cavity Resonance Induced by a Superconducting Flux Qubit in the Straddling Regime

We demonstrate enhancement of the dispersive frequency shift in a coplanar waveguide resonator induced by a capacitively-coupled superconducting flux qubit in the straddling regime. The magnitude of the observed shift, 80 MHz for the qubit-resonator detuning of 5 GHz, is quantitatively explained by the generalized Jaynes-Cummings model which takes into account the contribution of the qubit higher energy levels. By applying the enhanced dispersive shift to the qubit readout, we achieved 90% contrast of the Rabi oscillations which is mainly limited by the energy relaxation of the qubit.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Coherent quantum phase slip

A hundred years after discovery of superconductivity, one fundamental prediction of the theory, the coherent quantum phase slip (CQPS), has not been observed. CQPS is a phenomenon exactly dual to the Josephson effect: whilst the latter is a coherent transfer of charges between superconducting contacts, the former is a coherent transfer of vortices or fluxes across a superconducting wire. In contrast to previously reported observations of incoherent phase slip, the CQPS has been only a subject of theoretical study. Its experimental demonstration is made difficult by quasiparticle dissipation due to gapless excitations in nanowires or in vortex cores. This difficulty might be overcome by using certain strongly disordered superconductors in the vicinity of the superconductor-insulator transition (SIT). Here we report the first direct observation of the CQPS in a strongly disordered indium-oxide (InOx) superconducting wire inserted in a loop, which is manifested by the superposition of the quantum states with different number of fluxes. Similarly to the Josephson effect, our observation is expected to lead to novel applications in superconducting electronics and quantum metrology.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Fast generation of multiparticle entangled state for flux qubits in a circle array of transmission line resonators with tunable coupling

We study a one-step approach to the fast generation of Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states in a circuit QED system with superconducting flux qubits. The GHZ state can be generated in about 10 ns, which is much shorter than the coherence time of flux qubits and comparable with the time of single-qubit operation. In our proposal, a time-dependent microwave field is applied to a superconducting transmission line resonator (TLR) and displaces the resonator in a controlled manner, thus inducing indirect qubit-qubit coupling without residual entanglement between the qubits and the resonator. The design of a tunably coupled TLR circle array provides us with the potential for extending this one-step scheme to the case of many qubits coupled via several TLRs.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2011

Coherent superconducting quantum pump

We demonstrate non-adiabatic charge pumping utilizing a sequence of coherent oscillations between a superconducting island and two reservoirs. Our method, based on pulsed quantum state manipulations, allows to speedup charge pumping to a rate which is limited by the coupling between the island and the reservoirs given by the Josephson energy. Our experimental and theoretical studies also demonstrate that relaxation can be employed to reset the pump and avoid accumulation of errors due to non-ideal control pulses.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Real-time observation of discrete Andreev tunneling events

We provide a direct proof of two-electron Andreev transitions in a superconductor - normal metal tunnel junction by detecting them in a real-time electron counting experiment. Our results are consistent with ballistic Andreev transport with an order of magnitude higher rate than expected for a uniform barrier, suggesting that only part of the interface is effectively contributing to the transport. These findings are quantitatively supported by our direct current measurements in single-electron transistors with similar tunnel barriers.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Dynamics of coherent and incoherent emission from an artificial atom in a 1D space

We study dynamics of an artificial two-level atom in an open 1D space by measuring evolution of its coherent and incoherent emission. States of the atom -- a superconducting flux qubit coupled to a transmission line -- are fully controlled by resonant excitation microwave pulses. The coherent emission -- a direct measure of superposition in the atom -- exhibits decaying oscillations shifted by $π/2$ from oscillations of the incoherent emission, which, in turn, is proportional to the atomic population. The emission dynamics provides information about states and properties of the atom. By measuring the coherent dynamics, we derive two-time correlation function of fluctuations and, using quantum regression formula, reconstruct the incoherent spectrum of the resonance fluorescence triplet, which is in a good agreement with the directly measured one.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2010

Charge transport through ultrasmall single and double Josephson junctions coupled to resonant modes of the electromagnetic environment

We have investigated charge transport in ultrasmall superconducting single and double Josephson junctions coupled to resonant modes of the electromagnetic environment. We observe pronounced current peaks in the transport characteristics of both types of devices and attribute them to the process involving simultaneous tunneling of Cooper pairs and photon emission into the resonant modes. The experimental data is well reproduced with the theoretical models.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Photon assisted tunneling as an origin of the Dynes density of states

We show that the effect of a high-temperature environment in current transport through a normal metal-insulator-superconductor tunnel junction can be described by an effective density of states (DOS) in the superconductor. In the limit of a resistive low-ohmic environment, this DOS reduces into the well-known Dynes form. Our theoretical result is supported by experiments in engineered environments. We apply our findings to improve the performance of a single-electron turnstile, a potential candidate for a metrological current source.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Ultimate on-chip quantum amplifier

We report amplification of electromagnetic waves by a single artificial atom in open 1D space. Our three-level artificial atom -- a superconducting quantum circuit -- coupled to a transmission line presents an analog of a natural atom in open space. The system is the most fundamental quantum amplifier whose gain is limited by a spontaneous emission mechanism. The noise performance is determined by the quantum noise revealed in the spectrum of spontaneous emission, also characterized in our experiments.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Detection of mechanical resonance of a single-electron transistor by direct current

We have suspended an Al based single-electron transistor whose island can resonate freely between the source and drain leads forming the clamps. In addition to the regular side gate, a bottom gate with a larger capacitance to the SET island is placed underneath to increase the SET coupling to mechanical motion. The device can be considered as a doubly clamped Al beam that can transduce mechanical vibrations into variations of the SET current. Our simulations based on the orthodox model, with the SET parameters estimated from the experiment, reproduce the observed transport characteristics in detail.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Resonance Fluorescence of a Single Artificial Atom

An atom in open space can be detected by means of resonant absorption and reemission of electromagnetic waves, known as resonance fluorescence, which is a fundamental phenomenon of quantum optics. We report on the observation of scattering of propagating waves by a single artificial atom. The behavior of the artificial atom, a superconducting macroscopic two-level system, is in a quantitative agreement with the predictions of quantum optics for a pointlike scatterer interacting with the electromagnetic field in one-dimensional open space. The strong atom-field interaction as revealed in a high degree of extinction of propagating waves will allow applications of controllable artificial atoms in quantum optics and photonics.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Damping in high-frequency metallic nanomechanical resonators

We have studied damping in polycrystalline Al nanomechanical resonators by measuring the temperature dependence of their resonance frequency and quality factor over a temperature range of 0.1 - 4 K. Two regimes are clearly distinguished with a crossover temperature of 1 K. Below 1 K we observe a logarithmic temperature dependence of the frequency and linear dependence of damping that cannot be explained by the existing standard models. We attribute these phenomena to the effect of the two-level systems characterized by the unexpectedly long (at least two orders of magnitude longer) relaxation times and discuss possible microscopic models for such systems. We conclude that the dynamics of the two-level systems is dominated by their interaction with one-dimensional phonon modes of the resonators.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Parallel pumping of electrons

We present simultaneous operation of ten single-electron turnstiles leading to one order of magnitude increase in current level up to 100 pA. Our analysis of device uniformity and background charge stability implies that the parallelization can be made without compromising the strict requirements of accuracy and current level set by quantum metrology. In addition, we discuss how offset charge instability limits the integration scale of single-electron turnstiles.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗