47 research outputs found
Measuring the temperature dependence of individual two-level systems by direct coherent control
We demonstrate a new method to directly manipulate the state of individual
two-level systems (TLS) in phase qubits. It allows one to characterize the
coherence properties of TLS using standard microwave pulse sequences, while the
qubit is used only for state readout. We apply this method to measure the
temperature dependence of TLS coherence for the first time. The energy
relaxation time is found to decrease quadratically with temperature for
the two TLS studied in this work, while their dephasing time measured in Ramsey
and spin-echo experiments is found to be limited at all temperatures.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Entangling microscopic defects via a macroscopic quantum shuttle
In the microscopic world, multipartite entanglement has been achieved with
various types of nanometer sized two-level systems such as trapped ions, atoms
and photons. On the macroscopic scale ranging from micrometers to millimeters,
recent experiments have demonstrated bipartite and tripartite entanglement for
electronic quantum circuits with superconducting Josephson junctions. It
remains challenging to bridge these largely different length scales by
constructing hybrid quantum systems. Doing this may allow for manipulating the
entanglement of individual microscopic objects separated by macroscopically
large distances in a quantum circuit. Here we report on the experimental
demonstration of induced coherent interaction between two intrinsic two-level
states (TLSs) formed by atomic-scale defects in a solid via a superconducting
phase qubit. The tunable superconducting circuit serves as a shuttle
communicating quantum information between the two microscopic TLSs. We present
a detailed comparison between experiment and theory and find excellent
agreement over a wide range of parameters. We then use the theoretical model to
study the creation and movement of entanglement between the three components of
the quantum system.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
Quantitative evaluation of defect-models in superconducting phase qubits
We use high-precision spectroscopy and detailed theoretical modelling to
determine the form of the coupling between a superconducting phase qubit and a
two-level defect. Fitting the experimental data with our theoretical model
allows us to determine all relevant system parameters. A strong qubit-defect
coupling is observed, with a nearly vanishing longitudinal component. Using
these estimates, we quantitatively compare several existing theoretical models
for the microscopic origin of two-level defects.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures. Supplementary material, lclimits_supp.pd
Rare earth spin ensemble magnetically coupled to a superconducting resonator
Interfacing superconducting quantum processors, working in the GHz frequency
range, with optical quantum networks and atomic qubits is a challenging task
for the implementation of distributed quantum information processing as well as
for quantum communication. Using spin ensembles of rare earth ions provide an
excellent opportunity to bridge microwave and optical domains at the quantum
level. In this letter, we demonstrate magnetic coupling of Er spins
doped in YSiO crystal to a high-Q coplanar superconducting
resonator.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Aluminium-oxide wires for superconducting high kinetic inductance circuits
We investigate thin films of conducting aluminium-oxide, also known as
granular aluminium, as a material for superconducting high quality, high
kinetic inductance circuits. The films are deposited by an optimised reactive
DC magnetron sputter process and characterised using microwave measurement
techniques at milli-Kelvin temperatures. We show that, by precise control of
the reactive sputter conditions, a high room temperature sheet resistance and
therefore high kinetic inductance at low temperatures can be obtained. For a
coplanar waveguide resonator with 1.5\,k sheet resistance and a kinetic
inductance fraction close to unity, we measure a quality factor in the order of
700\,000 at 20\,mK. Furthermore, we observe a sheet resistance reduction by
gentle heat treatment in air. This behaviour is exploited to study the kinetic
inductance change using the microwave response of a coplanar wave guide
resonator. We find the correlation between the kinetic inductance and the sheet
resistance to be in good agreement with theoretical expectations.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure