arXiv subjects

P. J. Leek

Publications and source records attributed to P. J. Leek.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2021

Characterisation of spatial charge sensitivity in a multi-mode superconducting qubit

Understanding and suppressing sources of decoherence is a leading challenge in building practical quantum computers. In superconducting qubits, low frequency charge noise is a well-known decoherence mechanism that is effectively suppressed in the transmon qubit. Devices with multiple charge-sensitive modes can exhibit more complex behaviours, which can be exploited to study charge fluctuations in superconducting qubits. Here we characterise charge-sensitivity in a superconducting qubit with two transmon-like modes, each of which is sensitive to multiple charge-parity configurations and charge-offset biases. Using Ramsey interferometry, we observe sensitivity to four charge-parity configurations and track two independent charge-offset drifts over hour timescales. We provide a predictive theory for charge sensitivity in such multi-mode qubits which agrees with our results. Finally, we demonstrate the utility of a multi-mode qubit as a charge detector by spatially tracking local-charge drift.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Radio-frequency characterization of a supercurrent transistor made from a carbon nanotube

A supercurrent transistor is a superconductor-semiconductor hybrid device in which the Josephson supercurrent is switched on and off using a gate voltage. While such devices have been studied using DC transport, radio-frequency measurements allow for more sensitive and faster experiments. Here a supercurrent transistor made from a carbon nanotube is measured simultaneously via DC conductance and radio-frequency reflectometry. The radio-frequency measurement resolves all the main features of the conductance data across a wide range of bias and gate voltage, and many of these features are seen more clearly. These results are promising for measuring other kinds of hybrid superconducting devices, in particular for detecting the reactive component of the impedance, which a DC measurement can never detect.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Modelling Enclosures for Large-Scale Superconducting Quantum Circuits

Superconducting quantum circuits are typically housed in conducting enclosures in order to control their electromagnetic environment. As devices grow in physical size, the electromagnetic modes of the enclosure come down in frequency and can introduce unwanted long-range cross-talk between distant elements of the enclosed circuit. Incorporating arrays of inductive shunts such as through-substrate vias or machined pillars can suppress these effects by raising these mode frequencies. Here, we derive simple, accurate models for the modes of enclosures that incorporate such inductive-shunt arrays. We use these models to predict that cavity-mediated inter-qubit couplings and drive-line cross-talk are exponentially suppressed with distance for arbitrarily large quantum circuits housed in such enclosures, indicating the promise of this approach for quantum computing. We find good agreement with a finite-element simulation of an example device containing more than 400 qubits.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Critical slowing down in the bistable regime of circuit quantum electrodynamics

We investigate the dynamics of the bistable regime of the generalized Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian (GJC), realised by a circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) system consisting of a transmon qubit coupled to a microwave cavity. In this regime we observe critical slowing down in the approach to the steady state. By measuring the response of the cavity to a step function drive pulse we characterize this slowing down as a function of driving frequency and power. We find that the critical slowing down saturates as the driving power is increased. We compare these results with the predictions of analytical and numerical calculations both with and without the Duffing approximation. We find that the Duffing approximation incorrectly predicts that the critical slowing down timescale increases exponentially with the drive, whereas the GJC model accurately predicts the saturation seen in our data, suggesting a different process of quantum activation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Calibration of the cross-resonance two-qubit gate between directly-coupled transmons

Quantum computation requires the precise control of the evolution of a quantum system, typically through application of discrete quantum logic gates on a set of qubits. Here, we use the cross-resonance interaction to implement a gate between two superconducting transmon qubits with a direct static dispersive coupling. We demonstrate a practical calibration procedure for the optimization of the gate, combining continuous and repeated-gate Hamiltonian tomography with step-wise reduction of dominant two-qubit coherent errors through mapping to microwave control parameters. We show experimentally that this procedure can enable a $\hat{ZX}_{-π/2}$ gate with a fidelity $F=97.0(7)\%$, measured with interleaved randomized benchmarking. We show this in a architecture with out-of-plane control and readout that is readily extensible to larger scale quantum circuits.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Strong coupling of microwave photons to antiferromagnetic fluctuations in an organic magnet

Coupling between a crystal of di(phenyl)-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)iminoazanium radicals and a superconducting microwave resonator is investigated in a circuit quantum electrodynamics (circuit QED) architecture. The crystal exhibits paramagnetic behavior above 4~K, with antiferromagnetic correlations appearing below this temperature, and we demonstrate strong coupling at base temperature. The magnetic resonance acquires a field angle dependence as the crystal is cooled down, indicating anisotropy of the exchange interactions. These results show that multispin modes in organic crystals are suitable for circuit QED, offering a platform for their coherent manipulation. They also utilize the circuit QED architecture as a way to probe spin correlations at low temperature.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Double-sided coaxial circuit QED with out-of-plane wiring

Superconducting circuits are well established as a strong candidate platform for the development of quantum computing. In order to advance to a practically useful level, architectures are needed which combine arrays of many qubits with selective qubit control and readout, without compromising on coherence. Here we present a coaxial circuit QED architecture in which qubit and resonator are fabricated on opposing sides of a single chip, and control and readout wiring are provided by coaxial wiring running perpendicular to the chip plane. We present characterisation measurements of a fabricated device in good agreement with simulated parameters and demonstrating energy relaxation and dephasing times of $T_1 = 4.1\,μ$s and $T_2 = 5.7\,μ$s respectively. The architecture allows for scaling to large arrays of selectively controlled and measured qubits with the advantage of all wiring being out of the plane.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Circuit quantum acoustodynamics with surface acoustic waves

The experimental investigation of quantum devices incorporating mechanical resonators has opened up new frontiers in the study of quantum mechanics at a macroscopic level$^{1,2}$. Superconducting microwave circuits have proven to be a powerful platform for the realisation of such quantum devices, both in cavity optomechanics$^{3,4}$, and circuit quantum electro-dynamics (QED)$^{5,6}$. While most experiments to date have involved localised nanomechanical resonators, it has recently been shown that propagating surface acoustic waves (SAWs) can be piezoelectrically coupled to superconducting qubits$^{7,8}$, and confined in high-quality Fabry-Perot cavities up to microwave frequencies in the quantum regime$^{9}$, indicating the possibility of realising coherent exchange of quantum information between the two systems. Here we present measurements of a device in which a superconducting qubit is embedded in, and interacts with, the acoustic field of a Fabry-Perot SAW cavity on quartz, realising a surface acoustic version of cavity quantum electrodynamics. This quantum acoustodynamics (QAD) architecture may be used to develop new quantum acoustic devices in which quantum information is stored in trapped on-chip surface acoustic wavepackets, and manipulated in ways that are impossible with purely electromagnetic signals, due to the $10^{5}$ times slower speed of travel of the mechanical waves.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Simultaneous bistability of qubit and resonator in circuit quantum electrodynamics

We explore the joint activated dynamics exhibited by two quantum degrees of freedom: a cavity mode oscillator which is strongly coupled to a superconducting qubit in the strongly coherently driven dispersive regime. Dynamical simulations and complementary measurements show a range of parameters where both the cavity and the qubit exhibit sudden simultaneous switching between two metastable states. This manifests in ensemble averaged amplitudes of both the cavity and qubit exhibiting a partial coherent cancellation. Transmission measurements of driven microwave cavities coupled to transmon qubits show detailed features which agree with the theory in the regime of simultaneous switching.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Surface acoustic wave resonators in the quantum regime

We present systematic measurements of the quality factors of surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators on ST-X quartz in the gigahertz range at a temperature of $10 \, \textrm{mK}$. We demonstrate a internal quality factor $Q_\mathrm{i}$ approaching $0.5$ million at $0.5 \, \textrm{GHz}$ and show that $Q_\mathrm{i}\geq4.0\times10^4$ is achievable up to $4.4 \, \textrm{GHz}$. We show evidence for a polynomial dependence of propagation loss on frequency, as well as a weak drive power dependence of $Q_\mathrm{i}$ that saturates at low power, the latter being consistent with coupling to a bath of two-level systems. Our results indicate that SAW resonators are promising devices for integration with superconducting quantum circuits.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

Quantum dot admittance probed at microwave frequencies with an on-chip resonator

We present microwave frequency measurements of the dynamic admittance of a quantum dot tunnel coupled to a two-dimensional electron gas. The measurements are made via a high-quality 6.75 GHz on-chip resonator capacitively coupled to the dot. The resonator frequency is found to shift both down and up close to conductance resonance of the dot corresponding to a change of sign of the reactance of the system from capacitive to inductive. The observations are consistent with a scattering matrix model. The sign of the reactance depends on the detuning of the dot from conductance resonance and on the magnitude of the tunnel rate to the lead with respect to the resonator frequency. Inductive response is observed on a conductance resonance, when tunnel coupling and temperature are sufficiently small compared to the resonator frequency.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Dipole coupling of a double quantum dot to a microwave resonator

Quantum coherence in solid-state systems has been demonstrated in superconducting circuits and in semiconductor quantum dots. This has paved the way to investigate solid-state systems for quantum information processing with the potential benefit of scalability compared to other systems based on atoms, ions and photons. Coherent coupling of superconducting circuits to microwave photons, circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED), has opened up new research directions and enabled long distance coupling of qubits. Here we demonstrate how the electromagnetic field of a superconducting microwave resonator can be coupled to a semiconductor double quantum dot. The charge stability diagram of the double dot, typically measured by direct current (DC) transport techniques, is investigated via dispersive frequency shifts of the coupled resonator. This hybrid all-solid-state approach offers the potential to coherently couple multiple quantum dot and superconducting qubits together on one chip, and offers a method for high resolution spectroscopy of semiconductor quantum structures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Characterization of a microwave frequency resonator via a nearby quantum dot

We present measurements of a hybrid system consisting of a microwave transmission-line resonator and a lateral quantum dot defined on a GaAs heterostructure. The two subsystems are separately characterized and their interaction is studied by monitoring the electrical conductance through the quantum dot. The presence of a strong microwave field in the resonator is found to reduce the resonant conductance through the quantum dot, and is attributed to electron heating and modulation of the dot potential. We use this interaction to demonstrate a measurement of the resonator transmission spectrum using the quantum dot.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Quantum-to-Classical Transition in Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics

The quantum properties of electromagnetic, mechanical or other harmonic oscillators can be revealed by investigating their strong coherent coupling to a single quantum two level system in an approach known as cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED). At temperatures much lower than the characteristic energy level spacing the observation of vacuum Rabi oscillations or mode splittings with one or a few quanta asserts the quantum nature of the oscillator. Here, we study how the classical response of a cavity QED system emerges from the quantum one when its thermal occupation -- or effective temperature -- is raised gradually over 5 orders of magnitude. In this way we explore in detail the continuous quantum-to-classical crossover and demonstrate how to extract effective cavity field temperatures from both spectroscopic and time-resolved vacuum Rabi measurements.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2010

Fabrication and heating rate study of microscopic surface electrode ion traps

We report heating rate measurements in a microfabricated gold-on-sapphire surface electrode ion trap with trapping height of approximately 240 micron. Using the Doppler recooling method, we characterize the trap heating rates over an extended region of the trap. The noise spectral density of the trap falls in the range of noise spectra reported in ion traps at room temperature. We find that during the first months of operation the heating rates increase by approximately one order of magnitude. The increase in heating rates is largest in the ion loading region of the trap, providing a strong hint that surface contamination plays a major role for excessive heating rates. We discuss data found in the literature and possible relation of anomalous heating to sources of noise and dissipation in other systems, namely impurity atoms adsorbed on metal surfaces and amorphous dielectrics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2010

Measurements of the Correlation Function of a Microwave Frequency Single Photon Source

At optical frequencies the radiation produced by a source, such as a laser, a black body or a single photon source, is frequently characterized by analyzing the temporal correlations of emitted photons using single photon counters. At microwave frequencies, however, there are no efficient single photon counters yet. Instead, well developed linear amplifiers allow for efficient measurement of the amplitude of an electromagnetic field. Here, we demonstrate how the properties of a microwave single photon source can be characterized using correlation measurements of the emitted radiation with such detectors. We also demonstrate the cooling of a thermal field stored in a cavity, an effect which we detect using a cross-correlation measurement of the radiation emitted at the two ends of the cavity.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Cavity QED with separate photon storage and qubit readout modes

We present the realization of a cavity quantum electrodynamics setup in which photons of strongly different lifetimes are engineered in different harmonic modes of the same cavity. We achieve this in a superconducting transmission line resonator with superconducting qubits coupled to the different modes. One cavity mode is strongly coupled to a detection line for qubit state readout, while a second long lifetime mode is used for photon storage and coherent quantum operations. We demonstrate sideband based measurement of photon coherence, generation of n photon Fock states and the scaling of the sideband Rabi frequency with the square root of n using a scheme that may be extended to realize sideband based two-qubit logic gates.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Thermal Excitation of Multi-Photon Dressed States in Circuit Quantum Electrodynamics

The exceptionally strong coupling realizable between superconducting qubits and photons stored in an on-chip microwave resonator allows for the detailed study of matter-light interactions in the realm of circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED). Here we investigate the resonant interaction between a single transmon-type multilevel artificial atom and weak thermal and coherent fields. We explore up to three photon dressed states of the coupled system in a linear response heterodyne transmission measurement. The results are in good quantitative agreement with a generalized Jaynes-Cummings model. Our data indicates that the role of thermal fields in resonant cavity QED can be studied in detail using superconducting circuits.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗