arXiv subjects

William D. Oliver

Publications and source records attributed to William D. Oliver.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

An All-van-der-Waals Qubit

Advances in solid-state physics, materials science, and device engineering have accelerated the development of superconducting qubits. Among emerging platforms, van der Waals (vdW) materials and their heterostructures are potentially attractive building blocks for quantum devices, yet their realization in qubit architectures remains largely underexplored. Here we report an all-vdW superconducting qubit based on a NbSe$_2$-hBN-NbSe$_2$ junction, in which a thin hBN layer simultaneously provides Josephson coupling and capacitive shunting between two NbSe$_2$ islands, forming a "merged-element" transmon. Temporal characterization using circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) techniques yields an average energy-relaxation time $T_{1,\mathrm{avg}} = 55 ~μs$, Hahn-echo coherence time $T_{2\mathrm{E},\mathrm{avg}} = 21 ~μs$, and Ramsey coherence time $T_{2\mathrm{R},\mathrm{avg}} = 1.9~μs$. The relatively low Ramsey time is primarily attributable to an enhanced sensitivity to charge noise consistent with the realized device parameters and not a fundamental limitation. These results show that lumped-element superconducting qubits based on vdW heterostructures can achieve coherence times comparable to those of conventional Al-AlO$_\mathrm{x}$-Al qubits, while offering a reduced device footprint and suppressed stray capacitive coupling.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Encapsulation epitaxy of air-stable monolayer superconducting films for quantum circuits and qubits

Two-dimensional (2D) superconductors are an emerging platform for strongly correlated physics and quantum information science. Their reduced dimensionality, atomically flat interfaces, and high crystallinity are attractive for realizing compact lumped-element devices in superconducting circuits. However, synthesizing large-area, monolayer 2D superconductors remains challenging because of their susceptibility to oxidation. Here, we report an "encapsulation epitaxy" mechanism that enables the growth of large-area, air-stable, monolayer superconducting NbSe2 films and explore their use in superconducting quantum circuits. A 2D encapsulation layer, such as graphene or hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), pre-deposited on a 3D substrate (e.g., SiO2 or Si3N4), serves both as a template for epitaxial growth of monolayer NbSe2 (1L-NbSe2) underneath it and as a protective cover. This approach produces uniform, large-area (>1-inch) 1L-NbSe2 with greatly enhanced ambient stability, enabling device fabrication in air. The resulting 1L-graphene/NbSe2 heterostructures exhibit robust superconductivity (Tc ~ 1 K) and enhanced charge density wave order (TCDW ~ 177 K), indicative of high material quality. We further integrate 1L-NbSe2 into superconducting circuits using oxidation-free transfer and superconducting edge-contact techniques. The 1L-NbSe2 exhibits a measured kinetic inductance LK ~ 0.7 nH/square, making it suitable for quantum circuits requiring high-kinetic-inductance elements. Encapsulation epitaxy thus provides a route to air-stable 2D superconductors and van der Waals heterostructures, with potential for wafer-scale, monolithic fabrication of superconducting quantum circuitry.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2026

Characterization and Comparison of Energy Relaxation in Fluxonium Qubits

Fluxonium superconducting qubits have demonstrated long coherence times and high single- and two-qubit gate fidelities, making them a favorable building block for superconducting quantum processors. We investigate the dominant limitations to fluxonium qubit energy relaxation time $T_1$ using a set of eight planar, aluminum-on-silicon qubits. We find that a circuit-based model for capacitive dielectric loss best captures the frequency dependence of $T_1$, which we analyze within both a two-level and a six-level energy relaxation model. We convert the measured $T_1$ into an effective capacitive quality factor $Q_\mathrm{C}^{\mathrm{eff}}$ to compare qubits on equal footing, accounting for independently estimated contributions from $1/f$ flux noise and radiative loss to the control and readout circuitry. We apply this methodology to compare qubits from two fabrication processes: a baseline process and one that applies a fluorine-based wet treatment prior to Josephson junction deposition. We resolve a small improvement of (13.8 $\pm$ 8.4$)\%$ in the process mean $Q_\mathrm{C}^{\mathrm{eff}}$, indicating that the fluorine treatment may have reduced loss from the metal-substrate interface, but did not address the primary source of loss in these fluxonium qubits.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Bosonic quantum control with a weakly coupled fluxonium qubit

Echoed Conditional Displacement (ECD) gates constitute a fundamental building block for quantum control of harmonic oscillator modes. However, bit-flips of the auxiliary qubit remain a dominant error mechanism for this kind of bosonic control. In this work, we present a numerical case study of a bit-flip protected fluxonium operating as the control qubit and numerically implement ECD gates in a single-mode resonator-fluxonium device, demonstrating that fidelities exceeding 99.9% are possible. We systematically investigate the resonator dynamics using a combination of semiclassical trajectories and master equation simulations, numerically revealing asymptotic saturation of the dispersive shift in the strongly driven regime of the resonator. We develop an efficient technique to numerically simulate the strongly driven regime of the resonator using a semiclassical formulation that maps the full perturbation series in the dispersive expansion as order-by-order frequency shifts. This provides a compact polynomial description of the resonator which is intuitive and remains valid throughout the dispersive regime. Furthermore, we propose an improved ECD sequence that accounts for the effects of photon loss and spurious nonlinear terms on resonator trajectories.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Device characterization of Si$/$SiGe double quantum dots using exchange oscillations in Earth's magnetic field

Exchange-based semiconductor qubits encompass a broad family of encodings constructed from singlet- and triplet-like spin states, several of which are compatible with operation at zero applied magnetic field. Their reliable operation requires characterization of environmental noise, residual idle interactions, and exchange-dependent decay, but this characterization often relies on multi-axis control calibration or deliberately engineered magnetic-field gradients. A simpler zero-applied-field diagnostic is particularly valuable for hybrid semiconductor-superconductor systems, in which magnetic fields can degrade superconducting components. Here, we use the intrinsic magnetic-field gradient produced by residual nuclear spins in isotopically enriched Si/SiGe to implement exchange oscillations between two quantum dots as a characterization tool without a micromagnet, dynamic nuclear polarization, or prior multi-axis calibration. Using Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill exchange sequences, we extend the singlet coherence from $T_2^*=1.17\pm0.02~μ$s to $T_2^{\mathrm{CPMG}}=74.8\pm1.8~μ$s with $N=70$ refocusing pulses. The oscillation phase resolves residual exchange in the tens-of-kilohertz regime and enables it to be mapped across the $(1,1)$ charge cell. These results establish intrinsic-gradient exchange oscillations as a simple, more relevant zero-field diagnostic for exchange-only and related semiconductor qubit encodings that is amenable to rapid, high-throughput device characterization.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Quantum sensors that compute: quantum computational magnetic-field sensing using a superconducting qubit

A measurement of a single-qubit quantum sensor reveals at most 1 bit of information about the signal that was sensed. To perform a classification task on the signal, the conventional approach is to repeat a sensing protocol many times, averaging the measurement results to obtain a high-precision estimate of the sensed signal, and then to apply classical postprocessing. Quantum computational sensing (QCS) is an alternative approach that breaks with the paradigm of first obtaining a classical estimate of the signal and then computing a function of the estimated signal in postprocessing. QCS instead combines quantum sensing with quantum computing to concentrate information about the signal relevant to the task into the solitary bit revealed by each measurement. Here, we report on the experimental demonstration of QCS where sensing and computing were both performed by the same single superconducting transmon qubit. We consider various binary classification tasks based on static and oscillating magnetic fields induced by current through a flux line. The fields were sensed through a double-junction superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) loop that was part of the qubit. We used a protocol based on quantum signal processing to preprocess the sensed signals in the quantum domain prior to measurement. For tasks on static magnetic fields, our protocol outperformed the conventional baseline of Ramsey-based phase estimation by as much as 15 percentage points. For tasks on oscillating magnetic fields, we classified signal amplitude and frequency with up to 20 and 15 percentage points higher accuracy, respectively, compared to the conventional baseline of optimized dynamical-decoupling protocols. Our results illustrate how quantum computing can enhance quantum sensing even with a minimally sized quantum system subject to the practical limitations of decoherence and error-prone operations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Adaptive Spectroscopy of Fast Two-Level-System Dynamics in Superconducting Qubits

Parasitic two-level-system (TLS) defects are a major source of energy relaxation and temporal instability in superconducting quantum processors. Our sub-second adaptive spectroscopy reveals telegraphic switching of TLSs with a characteristic timescale of a few seconds and spectral diffusion with diffusivity $D \approx 0.9~\mathrm{MHz}^2/\mathrm{s}$. These timescales are about $3 \times 10^2$ times faster than what is observed in conventional nonadaptive spectroscopy, which typically requires hours of measurement time. We resolve such fast dynamics on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based controller that enables measurement of frequency- and time-resolved relaxations with sub-second temporal resolution in flux-tunable superconducting qubits. We observe similar defect dynamics across multiple qubits in independently fabricated devices measured in different laboratories. We correlate TLS-induced fluctuations with gate-level errors using randomized benchmarking. Our results reveal a previously inaccessible regime of frequency-resolved TLS dynamics and redefine the timescales relevant to TLS-aware characterization and calibration of superconducting quantum processors.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Hardware-efficient erasure-error detection with an integer fluxonium

Erasure-error detection can improve the efficiency of quantum error correction by revealing the times and locations of their error events. In this work, we demonstrate erasure conversions and mid-circuit erasure detections in a single integer fluxonium, in which the states $\mathrm{|g\rangle, |f\rangle}$ encode the logical states and $\mathrm{|e\rangle}$ encodes the erasure state. The integer fluxonium suppresses direct $|\mathrm{f} \rangle \rightarrow |\mathrm{g} \rangle$ transitions and allows the dominant $|\mathrm{f} \rangle \rightarrow |\mathrm{e}\rangle$ transitions to be converted into detectable erasures. Furthermore, we identified a design space that nullifies the resonant-frequency shift between the two logical states, enabling ancilla-free mid-circuit erasure checks using the same resonator employed for final readout. By discarding the detected erasure events, we achieved an 8.4-fold increase in the $|\mathrm{f}\rangle$ state lifetime, a 1.38-fold increase in the Hahn-echo time, and a reduction of single-qubit gate error from 0.061(2)% to 0.030(5)%. Our results establish integer fluxonium as a hardware-efficient platform for erasure-error detection and conversion, while identifying the improvements required to realize an effective erasure qubit with high erasure bias.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Distinguishing types of correlated errors in superconducting qubits

Errors in superconducting qubits that are correlated in time and space can pose problems for quantum error correction codes. Radiation from cosmic and terrestrial sources can increase the quasiparticle (QP) density in a superconducting qubit device, resulting in an increased rate of QPs tunneling across proximal Josephson junctions (JJs) and causing correlated errors. Mechanical vibrations, such as those induced by the pulse tube (PT) in a dry dilution refrigerator, are also a known source of correlated errors. We measure two types of errors in the same device, linking the first to ionizing radiation and the second to PT operation. We present a method for distinguishing these two types of errors by their temporal, spatial, and frequency domain features, enabling physically motivated error-mitigation strategies. We also present accelerometer data to study the correlation between PT-induced vibrations and the errors. We measure arrays of transmon qubits where the difference in superconducting gap across the JJ is less than the qubit energy, as well as those where the gap is greater than the qubit energy, which has been shown to mitigate radiation-induced errors. The rate of both types of errors is reduced in these latter devices, suggesting that gap engineering is also protective against PT-induced errors.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Enhanced Sensitivity near a Quantum Exceptional Point in the Absence of Engineered Dissipation

Non-Hermitian systems exhibit phenomena absent from Hermitian systems, including exceptional points (EPs), at which two or more eigenvectors coalesce. Conventional implementations rely on gain and loss, which strongly limit quantum coherence. Here, following a proposal by Wang and Clerk (PRA 2019), we realize a closed four-mode quantum system that emulates the dynamics of a PT dimer - two coupled resonators with balanced gain and loss - without engineered dissipation. The four modes are implemented as harmonics of a superconducting coplanar-waveguide resonator, with parametric couplings engineered using a current-pumped SNAIL. We use this device as a sensor for small variations in the PT dimer coupling strength. From signal-to-noise-ratio measurements, we observe enhanced sensitivity near the EP in a non-quantum-limited regime.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Driven-dissipative entanglement of distant giant atoms

Quantum interconnects distribute entanglement via controlled light-matter interactions for quantum computing and sensing applications. Many entanglement generation schemes use coherent, reversible interactions that require precisely calibrated pulses to execute. In contrast, driven-dissipative protocols use a continuous-wave drive in the presence of correlated dissipation to stabilize entanglement in protected (dark) states. However, the same dissipation that generates the entanglement also limits its utility once the stabilization protocol ends. Here, we engineer a superconducting system of two giant artificial atoms coupled sequentially to a waveguide, with tunable individual and correlated dissipation enabled by interference between coupling points. Continuously driving the atoms through the waveguide exploits correlated dissipation to generate remote entanglement. We then tune the qubit frequencies in situ to suppress individual dissipation and thereby preserve the entanglement, achieving a Bell-state fidelity F = 0.89 +/- 0.02. This demonstration indicates that the driven dissipation of giant atoms is a viable approach for distributing entanglement across quantum networks.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Characterization of Radiation-Induced Errors in Superconducting Qubits Protected with Various Gap-Engineering Strategies

Impacts from high-energy particles cause correlated errors in superconducting qubits by increasing the quasiparticle density in the vicinity of the Josephson junctions (JJs). Such errors are particularly harmful as they cannot be easily remedied via conventional error correcting codes. Recent experiments reduced correlated errors by making the difference in superconducting gap energy across the JJ larger than the qubit transition energy. In this work, we assess gap engineering near the JJ ($δΔ_{\mathrm{JJ}}$) and the capacitor/ground-plane ($δΔ_{\mathrm{M1}}$) by exposing arrays of transmon qubits to two sources of radiation. For $α$-particles from an $^{241}$Am source, we observe $T_1$ errors correlated in space and time, supporting a hypothesis that hadronic cosmic rays are a major contributor to the $10^{-10}$ error floor observed in Ref. 1. For electrons from a pulsed linear accelerator, we observe temporally correlated $T_1$ and $T_2$ errors, this measurement is insensitive to spatial correlations. We observe that the severity of correlated $T_1$ errors is reduced for qubit arrays with a greater degree of gap engineering at the JJ. For both $T_1$ and $T_2$ errors, the recovery time is hastened by an increased $δΔ_{\mathrm{M1}}$, which we attribute to the trapping of quasiparticles into the capacitor/ground-plane. We construct a model of quasiparticle dynamics that qualitatively agrees with our observations. This work reinforces the multifaceted influence of radiation on superconducting qubits and provides strategies for improving radiation resilience.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Probing Sensitivity near a Quantum Exceptional Point using Waveguide Quantum Electrodynamics

Non-Hermitian Hamiltonians with complex eigenenergies are useful tools for describing the dynamics of open quantum systems. In particular, parity and time (PT) symmetric Hamiltonians have generated interest due to the emergence of exceptional-point degeneracies, where both eigenenergies and eigenvectors coalesce as the energy spectrum transitions from real- to complex-valued. Because of the abrupt spectral response near exceptional points, such systems have been proposed as candidates for precision quantum sensing. In this work, we emulate a passive PT dimer using a two-mode, non-Hermitian system of superconducting qubits comprising one high-coherence qubit coupled to an intentionally lossy qubit via a tunable coupler. The loss is introduced by strongly coupling the qubit to a continuum of photonic modes in an open waveguide environment. Using both pulsed and continuous-wave measurements, we characterize the system dynamics near the exceptional point. We observe a behavior broadly consistent with an ideal passive PT dimer with some corrections due to the tunable coupler element. We extract the complex eigenenergies associated with the two modes and calculate the sensitivity as a function of the coupling strength. Confirming theoretical predictions, we observe no sensitivity enhancement near the quantum exceptional point. This work elucidates the limitations of exceptional-point systems as candidates for quantum-enhanced sensing. We establish waveguide quantum electrodynamics as a versatile platform for exploring non-Hermitian quantum dynamics in superconducting circuits.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Theory of quasiparticle generation by microwave drives in superconducting qubits

Microwave drives play a central role in the control of superconducting quantum circuits, enabling qubit gates, readout, and parametric interactions. As the drive frequencies are typically an order of magnitude smaller than (twice) the superconducting gap, it is generally assumed that such drives do not disturb the BCS ground state. However, sufficiently strong drives can activate multiphoton pair-breaking processes that generate quasiparticles (QPs) and result in qubit errors. In this work, we present a theoretical framework for calculating the rates of multiphoton-assisted pair-breaking transitions induced by charge- or flux-coupled microwave drives. Through illustrative examples, we show that photon-assisted QP generation may affect novel high-frequency dispersive readout architectures, as well as Floquet-engineered superconducting circuits operating under strong driving.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Kinetic Inductance of Few-Layer NbSe$_2$ in the Two-Dimensional Limit

Van der Waals (vdW) superconductors remain superconducting down to the monolayer limit, enabling the exploration of emergent physical phenomena and functionality driven by reduced dimensionality. Here, we report the characterization of the kinetic inductance of atomically thin NbSe$_2$, a two-dimensional van der Waals superconductor, using superconducting coplanar waveguides and microwave measurement techniques familiar to circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED). The kinetic inductance scales inversely with the number of NbSe$_2$ layers, reaching 1.2 nH/$\Box$ in the monolayer limit. Furthermore, the measured kinetic inductance exhibits a thickness-dependent crossover from clean- to dirty-limit behavior, with enhanced dirty-limit contributions emerging in the ultra-thin regime. These effects are likely driven by increased surface scattering, multi-band superconductivity, and geometric confinement. Additionally, the self-Kerr nonlinearity of the NbSe$_2$ films ranges from $K/2π$ = -0.008 to -14.7 Hz/photon, indicating its strong potential in applications requiring compact, nearly linear, high-inductance superconducting quantum devices and detectors. The fabrication and characterization techniques demonstrated here are extensible to the investigation of other two-dimensional superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2025

Enabling Technologies for Scalable Superconducting Quantum Computing

Experiments with superconducting quantum processors have successfully demonstrated the basic functions needed for quantum computation and evidence of utility, albeit without a sizable array of error-corrected qubits. The realization of the full potential of quantum computing centers on achieving large scale fault-tolerant quantum computers. Science, engineering and industry advances are needed to robustly generate, sustain, and efficiently manipulate an exponentially large computational (Hilbert) space as well as supply the number and quality components needed for such a scaled system. In this article, we suggest critical areas of quantum system and ecosystem development, with respect to the handling and transmission of quantum information within and out of a cryogenic environment, that would accelerate the development of quantum computers based on superconducting circuits.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Frequency- and Amplitude-Modulated Gates for Universal Quantum Control

Achieving high-fidelity single- and two-qubit gates is essential for executing arbitrary digital quantum algorithms and for building error-corrected quantum computers. We propose a theoretical framework for implementing quantum gates using frequency- and amplitude-modulated microwave control, which extends conventional amplitude modulation by introducing frequency modulation as an additional degree of control. Our approach operates on fixed-frequency qubits, converting the need for qubit frequency tunability into drive frequency modulation. Using Floquet theory, we analyze and design these drives for optimal fidelity within specified criteria. Our framework spans adiabatic to nonadiabatic gates within the Floquet framework, ensuring broad applicability across gate types and control schemes. Using typical transmon qubit parameters in numerical simulations, we demonstrate a universal gate set-including the X, Hadamard, phase, and CZ gates-with control error well below 0.1% and gate times of 25-40 ns for single-qubit operations and 125-135 ns for two-qubit operations. Furthermore, we show an always-on CZ gate tailored for driven qubits, which has gate times of 80-90 ns.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

ZZ-Free Two-Transmon CZ Gate Mediated by a Fluxonium Coupler

Eliminating residual ZZ interactions in a two-qubit system is essential for reducing coherent errors during quantum operations. In a superconducting circuit platform, coupling two transmon qubits via a transmon coupler has been shown to effectively suppress residual ZZ interactions. However, in such systems, perfect cancellation usually requires the qubit-qubit detuning to be smaller than the individual qubit anharmonicities, which exacerbates frequency crowding and microwave crosstalk. To address this limitation, we introduce TFT (Transmon-Fluxonium-Transmon) architecture, wherein two transmon qubits are coupled via a fluxonium qubit. The coupling mediated by the fluxonium eliminates residual ZZ interactions even for transmons detuned larger than their anharmonicities. We experimentally identified zero-ZZ interaction points at qubit-qubit detunings of 409 MHz and 616 MHz from two distinct TFT devices. We then implemented an adiabatic, coupler-flux-biased controlled-Z gate on both devices, achieving CZ gate fidelities of 99.64(6)% and 99.68(8)%.

quant-ph↗