Ring-Resonator-Based Coupling Architecture for Enhanced Connectivity in a Superconducting Multiqubit Network

Abstract

Qubit coherence and gate fidelity are typically considered the two most useful metrics for characterizing a quantum processor. An equally useful metric is interqubit connectivity as it minimizes gate count and allows implementing algorithms efficiently with reduced error. However, interqubit connectivity in superconducting processors tends to be limited to nearest neighbor due to practical constraints in typical planar realizations. Here, we introduce a superconducting architecture that uses a ring resonator as a multiqubit coupling element to provide beyond nearest-neighbor connectivity without compromising on coupling uniformity or introducing fabrication complexities. We theoretically analyze the interqubit coupling as a function of frequency for a pair of qubits placed at different positions along the ring resonator and show that for carefully chosen operating frequency and angular spacing between the qubits, the variation of coupling can be minimized. For an operating frequency between the first two resonances of the ring resonator and a ${30}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ angular spacing for qubits, we compute interqubit coupling for a device capable of supporting up to 12 qubits with each qubit connected to nine other qubits. Using four qubits positioned strategically in the ring-resonator coupler, we experimentally verify the theoretical prediction for all possible angular spacings between the two qubits and demonstrate good agreement. Just like the standard bus resonator coupler, the coupling in the ring-resonator coupler is mediated via virtual photons since the operating frequency is far away from the resonant modes of the ring coupler. This ensures that any small internal loss in the ring resonator does not introduce decoherence during the coupling operation. We also compute extensions of this idea involving larger ring resonators and a multiring system and show the possibility of highly connected networks with larger number of qubits. Apart from being plug and play for existing superconducting architectures, our concept is scalable, adaptable to other platforms and has the potential to significantly accelerate progress in quantum computing, annealing, simulations, and error correction.