Radio-Frequency Methods for Majorana-Based Quantum Devices: Fast Charge Sensing and Phase-Diagram Mapping

Abstract

Radio-frequency (RF) reflectometry is implemented in hybrid semiconductor-superconductor nanowire systems designed to probe Majorana zero modes. Two approaches are presented. In the first, hybrid nanowire-based devices are part of a resonant circuit, allowing conductance to be measured as a function of several gate voltages ~40 times faster than using conventional low-frequency lock-in methods. In the second, nanowire devices are capacitively coupled to a nearby RF single-electron transistor made from a separate nanowire, allowing RF detection of charge, including charge-only measurement of the crossover from 2e inter-island charge transitions at zero magnetic field to 1e transitions at axial magnetic fields above 0.6 T, where a topological state is expected. Single-electron sensing yields signal-to-noise exceeding 3 and visibility 99.8% for a measurement time of 1 {\mu}s.