Superconducting Microwave Cavity Research Articles

Switching of topological phase and topological channel via asymmetric hopping modulations in a one-dimensional superconducting circuit lattice

We propose a theoretical scheme for a one-dimensional superconducting circuit lattice system to achieve that topological phase transition and topological multi-channel transfer, which is adjusted by the asymmetric hopping modulations. The system consists of an array of coupled superconducting microwave cavities, the hopping between its can be modulated by the qubits. Here, we explore topological stages by introducing parameters to expand the hopping modulation range. We found that the energy bands in the system exhibit different structural characteristics, which can achieve topological phase switching. Meanwhile, the edge modes can undergo a flipping process, which can not only realize dual-channel topological quantum information transfer, but also can achieve four-channel. Furthermore, it is noted that the defect can induce new topological phases, which can be optimized by adjusting the hopping parameters, while disorder can only cause band fluctuations and inversions, but does not change the position and period of edge states, verifying that the edge state transport is robust. The results obtained in this work can be applied to the storage and transmission of quantum information, and have a guiding role in the future development of quantum technology.

Stimulated Emission of Signal Photons from Dark Matter Waves.

The manipulation of quantum states of light has resulted in significant advancements in both dark matter searches and gravitational wave detectors. Current dark matter searches operating in the microwave frequency range use nearly quantum-limited amplifiers. Future high frequency searches will use photon counting techniques to evade the standard quantum limit. We present a signal enhancement technique that utilizes a superconducting qubit to prepare a superconducting microwave cavity in a nonclassical Fock state and stimulate the emission of a photon from a dark matter wave. By initializing the cavity in an |n=4⟩ Fock state, we demonstrate a quantum enhancement technique that increases the signal photon rate and hence also the dark matter scan rate each by a factor of 2.78. Using this technique, we conduct a dark photon search in a band around 5.965GHz (24.67 μeV), where the kinetic mixing angle ε≥4.35×10^{-13} is excluded at the 90% confidence level.

Superconducting microwave cavities and qubits for quantum information systems

Superconducting microwave cavities featuring ultrahigh Q-factors, which measure the efficiency of energy storage in relation to energy loss in a system, are revolutionizing quantum computing by providing long coherence times exceeding 1 ms, crucial for the development of scalable multi-qubit quantum systems with low error rates. In this work, we provide an in-depth analysis of recent advances in ultrahigh Q-factor cavities, integration of Josephson junction-based qubits, and bosonic-encoded qubits in 3D cavities. We examine the sources of quantum state dephasing caused by damping and noise mechanisms in cavities and qubits, highlighting the critical challenges that need to be addressed to achieve even higher coherence times. We critically survey the latest progress made in implementing single 3D qubits using superconducting materials, normal metals, and multi-qubit and multi-state quantum systems. Our work sheds light on the promising future of this research area, including novel materials for cavities and qubits, modes with nontrivial topological properties, error correction techniques for bosonic qubits, and new light–matter interaction effects.

Simulating gauge theories with variational quantum eigensolvers in superconducting microwave cavities

Quantum-enhanced computing methods are promising candidates to solve currently intractable problems. We consider here a variational quantum eigensolver (VQE), that delegates costly state preparations and measurements to quantum hardware, while classical optimization techniques guide the quantum hardware to create a desired target state. In this work, we propose a bosonic VQE using superconducting microwave cavities, overcoming the typical restriction of a small Hilbert space when the VQE is qubit based. The considered platform allows for strong nonlinearities between photon modes, which are highly customisable and can be tuned in situ, i.e. during running experiments. Our proposal hence allows for the realization of a wide range of bosonic ansatz states, and is therefore especially useful when simulating models involving degrees of freedom that cannot be simply mapped to qubits, such as gauge theories, that include components which require infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces. We thus propose to experimentally apply this bosonic VQE to the U(1) Higgs model including a topological term, which in general introduces a sign problem in the model, making it intractable with conventional Monte Carlo methods.

Dual-rail encoding with superconducting cavities

The design of quantum hardware that reduces and mitigates errors is essential for practical quantum error correction (QEC) and useful quantum computation. To this end, we introduce the circuit-Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) dual-rail qubit in which our physical qubit is encoded in the single-photon subspace, [Formula: see text], of two superconducting microwave cavities. The dominant photon loss errors can be detected and converted into erasure errors, which are in general much easier to correct. In contrast to linear optics, a circuit-QED implementation of the dual-rail code offers unique capabilities. Using just one additional transmon ancilla per dual-rail qubit, we describe how to perform a gate-based set of universal operations that includes state preparation, logical readout, and parametrizable single and two-qubit gates. Moreover, first-order hardware errors in the cavities and the transmon can be detected and converted to erasure errors in all operations, leaving background Pauli errors that are orders of magnitude smaller. Hence, the dual-rail cavity qubit exhibits a favorable hierarchy of error rates and is expected to perform well below the relevant QEC thresholds with today's coherence times.

Power Dependent Resonant Frequency of a Microwave Cavity Due to Magnetic Levitation

The fact that a magnet levitates above a superconductor is a fascinating consequence of the interaction between electromagnetic fields and the macroscopic quantum state of the superconductor. Such field-matter interactions, which include the Meissner and Josephson effects, combined with superconducting devices, such as low-loss superconducting microwave cavities, are emerging as key elements used in quantum computers. One technique that can be used to monitor the levitation of a magnet is to place the magnet within a superconducting microwave cavity and monitor the microwave resonance of that cavity. Here, we report measurements of the change in resonance frequency of the microwave cavity with the Meissner-levitated permanent magnet. The cavity resonance changes because the magnet perturbs the radio-frequency field inside the microwave cavity. The changes in resonant frequency and quality factor were measured as functions of input power and temperature. The observed power-dependent variations are explained in terms of the power dependence of the London penetration depth.

Coherent optical control of a superconducting microwave cavity via electro-optical dynamical back-action

Recent quantum technologies have established precise quantum control of various microscopic systems using electromagnetic waves. Interfaces based on cryogenic cavity electro-optic systems are particularly promising, due to the direct interaction between microwave and optical fields in the quantum regime. Quantum optical control of superconducting microwave circuits has been precluded so far due to the weak electro-optical coupling as well as quasi-particles induced by the pump laser. Here we report the coherent control of a superconducting microwave cavity using laser pulses in a multimode electro-optical device at millikelvin temperature with near-unity cooperativity. Both the stationary and instantaneous responses of the microwave and optical modes comply with the coherent electro-optical interaction, and reveal only minuscule amount of excess back-action with an unanticipated time delay. Our demonstration enables wide ranges of applications beyond quantum transductions, from squeezing and quantum non-demolition measurements of microwave fields, to entanglement generation and hybrid quantum networks.

Topological phase transitions and topological quantum states modulated by the counter-rotating wave terms in a one-dimensional superconducting microwave cavity lattice

We propose a one-dimensional lattice theory scheme based on superconducting microwave cavities, which includes two different types of microwave cavity unit cells. The coupling between unit cells is controlled by flux qubits to simulate and study their topological insulator characteristics. Specifically, a one-dimensional superconducting microwave cavity lattice scheme with a p-wave superconducting pairing term is achieved by mapping the counter-rotating wave terms to the p-wave superconducting pairing term. We found that the p-wave superconducting pairing term can modulate the topological quantum state of the system, allowing for the creation of topological quantum information transmission channels with four edge states. In addition, when the p-wave superconducting pairing term and the nearest-neighbor interaction exist, we find that the energy band undergoes fluctuations, inducing the generation of new energy bands, but the degeneracy of the edge states remains stable, which can achieve multiple topological quantum state transmission paths. However, when its regulatory value exceeds the threshold, the energy gap of the system will close, causing the edge states to annihilate in new energy bands. Furthermore, when considering the existence of defects in the system, we found that when the strength of the defects are small, the edge state produces small fluctuations, but it can be clearly distinguished, indicating its robustness. When the strength of the defect exceeds the threshold, the edge state and energy band cause irregular fluctuations, allowing the edge state to integrate into the energy band. Our research results have important theoretical value and practical significance, and can be applied in quantum optics and quantum information processing in the future.

Topological phase transitions and topological quantum states modulated by the counter-rotating wave terms in a one-dimensional superconducting microwave cavity lattice

We propose a one-dimensional lattice theory scheme based on superconducting microwave cavities, which includes two different types of microwave cavity unit cells. The coupling between unit cells is controlled by flux qubits to simulate and study their topological insulator characteristics. Specifically, a one-dimensional superconducting microwave cavity lattice scheme with a p-wave superconducting pairing term is achieved by mapping the counter-rotating wave terms to the p-wave superconducting pairing term. We found that the p-wave superconducting pairing term can modulate the topological quantum state of the system, allowing for the creation of topological quantum information transmission channels with four edge states. In addition, when the p-wave superconducting pairing term and the nearest-neighbor interaction exist, we find that the energy band undergoes fluctuations, inducing the generation of new energy bands, but the degeneracy of the edge states remains stable, which can achieve multiple topological quantum state transmission paths. However, when its regulatory value exceeds the threshold, the energy gap of the system will close, causing the edge states to annihilate in new energy bands. Furthermore, when considering the existence of defects in the system, we found that when the strength of the defects are small, the edge state produces small fluctuations, but it can be clearly distinguished, indicating its robustness. When the strength of the defect exceeds the threshold, the edge state and energy band cause irregular fluctuations, allowing the edge state to integrate into the energy band. Our research results have important theoretical value and practical significance, and can be applied in quantum optics and quantum information processing in the future.

Comparative Study of Magnetic Levitation Models

Levitation refers to free flotation, where the levitated object is suspended freely, against gravity without any physical contact. Among many levitation, magnetic levitation due to a finite-sized type-I superconductor was demonstrated and characterized. Here, we have developed a model by extending the two-loop method to calculate the levitation height for magnetic levitation within the superconducting microwave cavity and is compared with widely used mirror and finite-size superconductor method. The models were used to calculate the levitation height from the center and edge of the superconductor for magnet with strength 0.1 - 2.0 T. We observed a large discrepancy between the models for the edge levitation where our model underestimate the levitation height by 40-95%. Furthermore, in contrast to other models, our model has shown a superior capacity to calculate the levitation height at any location on the superconductor

Thermal self-oscillations in monolayer graphene coupled to a superconducting microwave cavity

Nonlinear phenomena in superconducting resonator circuits are of great significance in the field of quantum technology. We observe thermal self-oscillations in a monolayer graphene flake coupled to molybdenum–rhenium superconducting resonator. The graphene flake forms a SINIS junction coupled to the resonator with strong temperature dependent resistance. In certain conditions of pump power and frequency, this nonlinearity leads to thermal self-oscillations appearing as sidebands in cavity transmission measurements with strong temperature dependence and gate tunability. The experimental observations fit well with theoretical model based on thermal instability. The modelling of the oscillation sidebands provides a method to evaluate electron phonon coupling in disordered graphene sample at low energies.

Simulating and studying the topological properties of the photon-phonon coupled modes in a one-dimensional superconducting circuit lattice

We theoretically study the topological properties in a one-dimensional superconducting circuit lattice, where each unit cell is composed of a superconducting microwave cavity, a nanomechanical resonator (NAMR) and a superconducting qubit. By using diagonalization and dimensional reduction methods, the quantum spin Hall system of the photon-phonon coupled modes can be achieved. We analyze the energy spectrum and edge states of different lattice sizes. It is found that the number of lattices affects the topological characteristics of the system, and the inversion of the edge state distribution can be realized. In addition, considering the effects of defects, dissipation and disorder on the system, we find that they will respectively expand the region of the edge state, change the maximum value of the energy spectrum and cause small fluctuation of the energy spectrum. But the edge state is still very stable, which is due to the topological protection of the edge state. This scheme opens up a new way to study the application of topological matter in quantum information processing, meanwhile, the research results can be used to design novel quantum devices.

Strong-coupling quantum thermodynamics far from equilibrium: Non-Markovian transient quantum heat and work

In this paper, we investigate the strong-coupling quantum thermodynamics of a hybrid quantum system far from equilibrium, based on the renormalization theory of quantum thermodynamics we developed recently [Phys. Rev. Research 4, 023141 (2022)]. The strong-coupling hybrid system consists of a superconducting microwave cavity and a spin ensemble of the NV centers in diamond under external driving. The non-Markovian dynamics of this strong-coupling hybrid system has been experimentally explored and theoretically investigated. We apply the renormalization theory of quantum thermodynamics to study the transient quantum heat and work in this strong-coupling hybrid system. We find that the dissipation and fluctuation dynamics of the system induce the transient quantum heat current which shows significant non-Markovian effects. On the other hand, the energy and driving field renormalization produces quantum work power. In particular, the driving-induced work power can be largely enhanced by non-Markovian dynamics through the cavity coupling strongly with the spin ensemble at the resonance. Our results show that non-Markovian dynamics makes faster energy conversion of the heat and work.

Flopping-Mode Electric Dipole Spin Resonance in Phosphorus Donor Qubits in Silicon

Single spin qubits based on phosphorus donors in silicon are a promising candidate for a large-scale quantum computer. Despite long coherence times, achieving uniform magnetic control remains a hurdle for scale-up due to challenges in high-frequency magnetic field control at the nanometre scale. Here, we present a proposal for a flopping-mode electric dipole spin resonance qubit based on the combined electron and nuclear spin states of a double phosphorus donor quantum dot. The key advantage of utilizing a donor-based system is that we can engineer the number of donor nuclei in each quantum dot. By creating multidonor dots with antiparallel nuclear spin states and multielectron occupation we can minimize the longitudinal magnetic field gradient, known to couple charge noise into the device and dephase the qubit. We describe the operation of the qubit and show that by minimizing the hyperfine interaction of the nuclear spins we can achieve $\ensuremath{\pi}/2\ensuremath{-}X$ gate error rates of about ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$ using realistic noise models. We highlight that the low charge noise environment in these all-epitaxial phosphorus-doped silicon qubits will facilitate the realization of strong coupling of the qubit to superconducting microwave cavities, allowing for long-distance two-qubit operations.

Multi-outlet single photon quantum router between optics and microwave based on a hybrid optomechanical system

A Multi-outlet single photon quantum router between microwave and optical frequency domain is investigated in a system consisting of a superconducting microwave cavity and an optical nanomechanical cavity coupled to a commom nanomechanical resonator (NAMR). It is demonstration that the single-photon of optical frequency can be routed into three different output ports by adjusting microwave power. More importantly, the two output signals can be selected according to microwave power. Meanwhile, we also show that thermal noise will be insignificant for the optical performance of the single-photon router at temperature of the order of 20 mK. Our proposal may have paved a new avenue towards multi-channel router and quantum network.

Modulation of topological phase transitions and topological quantum states in one-dimensional superconducting transmission line cavities lattice

We propose a theoretical scheme for a one-dimensional lattice based on a superconducting quantum circuit system consisting of two types of superconducting microwave cavities, the interaction between nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor unit cells that can be adjusted by the magnetic flux, the system can obtain the collective dynamic evolution and study the topological properties of the system.First, we investigate the energy spectrum and edge states of the odd-even lattice size and find that the odd-even lattice number affects the topological properties of the system. Furthermore, considering the next-nearest interactions, it is found that there are constraints on the next-nearest interactions, which can be tuned to study the topological phase transitions of the system and the transfer of topological quantum states.In addition, considering the influence of defects on topological properties, it is found that the defect potential energy is small, the system energy band is stable, the edge states remain unchanged, and the energy spectrum fluctuation is small and distinguishable. Conversely, the energy band distribution is destroyed, it will become disordered and chaotic. The research results can design some new quantum devices for quantum optics and quantum information processing.

Magnet Strength Dependence of Levitated Magnets in a Microwave Cavity

We report on the behavior of a superconducting microwave cavity containing levitated permanent magnets having a range of magnet strengths. By observing the changes in the cavity’s loaded quality factor and resonance frequency as functions of temperature and magnet remanence, we gain an understanding of the transient motion of the magnet as well as its steady-state levitation height when the temperature drops below 1 K. Experimental measurements of Meissner-effect levitation within a 10 GHz superconducting aluminum coaxial quarter-wave stub cavity are performed for a sequence of identically shaped millimeter-scale neodymium magnets having varying strengths. Magnet levitation within the cavity is accompanied by both gradual and abrupt shifts in the resonance frequency (with a height sensitivity as large as 400 MHz/mm) as well as changes in the total quality factor (8%-17%) as a function of temperature during the superconducting transition of the aluminum cavity. Prior to magnet motion and levitation, the Q of the cavity changes quadratically with temperature, as expected, as the walls of the cavity undergo the superconducting transition. We observe, however, a deviation from the quadratic trend which is attributable to magnet movement within the cavity. Such an electromechanical system is a transducer between mechanical and microwave oscillators enabling coupling of low-frequency mechanical motion of the magnet to other quantum objects, such as magnons and transmons, which are used for sensing and quantum information processing.

Low-Loss Ferrite Circulator as a Tunable Chiral Quantum System

Microwave circulators are usually treated as auxiliary, classical components in superconducting quantum computing. This study integrates the cavity-magnon polariton modes of a custom-built circulator with superconducting microwave cavities to implement a tunable nonreciprocal interaction. The apparatus is well described by a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian, yielding a theoretical framework to model other nonreciprocally coupled circuit elements on the same platform in the future. The experiment also showcases an experimental probe of the left and right eigenvectors associated with the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian.

Long-range two-hybrid-qubit gates mediated by a microwave cavity with red sidebands

Implementing two-qubit gates via strong coupling between quantum-dot qubits and a superconducting microwave cavity requires achieving coupling rates that are much faster than decoherence rates. Typically, this involves tuning the qubit either to a sweet spot, where it is relatively insensitive to charge noise, or to a point where it is resonant with the microwave cavity. Unfortunately, such operating points seldom coincide. Here, we theoretically investigate several schemes for performing gates between two quantum-dot hybrid qubits, mediated by a microwave cavity. The rich physics of the quantum dot hybrid qubit gives rise to two types of sweet spots, which can occur at operating points with strong charge dipole moments. Such strong interactions provide new opportunities for off-resonant gating, thereby removing one of the main obstacles for long-distance two-qubit gates. Our results suggest that the numerous tuning knobs of quantum dot hybrid qubits make them good candidates for strong coupling. In particular, we show that off-resonant red-sideband-mediated two-qubit gates can exhibit fidelities $>$95\% for realistic operating parameters, and we describe improvements that could potentially yield gate fidelities $>$99\%.

Seamless High- Q Microwave Cavities for Multimode Circuit Quantum Electrodynamics

Multimode cavity quantum electrodynamics-where a two-level system interacts simultaneously with many cavity modes-provides a versatile framework for quantum information processing and quantum optics. Because of the combination of long coherence times and large interaction strengths, one of the leading experimental platforms for cavity QED involves coupling a superconducting circuit to a 3D microwave cavity. In this work, we realize a 3D multimode circuit QED system with single photon lifetimes of 2ms across 9 modes of a novel seamless cavity. We demonstrate a variety of protocols for universal single-mode quantum control applicable across all cavity modes, using only a single drive line. We achieve this by developing a straightforward flute method for creating monolithic superconducting microwave cavities that reduces loss while simultaneously allowing control of the mode spectrum and mode-qubit interaction. We highlight the flexibility and ease of implementation of this technique by using it to fabricate a variety of 3D cavity geometries, providing a template for engineering multimode quantum systems with exceptionally low dissipation. This work is an important step towards realizing hardware efficient random access quantum memories and processors, and for exploring quantum many-body physics with photons.