6 research outputs found
Resonance fluorescence from an artificial atom in squeezed vacuum
We present an experimental realization of resonance fluorescence in squeezed
vacuum. We strongly couple microwave-frequency squeezed light to a
superconducting artificial atom and detect the resulting fluorescence with high
resolution enabled by a broadband traveling-wave parametric amplifier. We
investigate the fluorescence spectra in the weak and strong driving regimes,
observing up to 3.1 dB of reduction of the fluorescence linewidth below the
ordinary vacuum level and a dramatic dependence of the Mollow triplet spectrum
on the relative phase of the driving and squeezed vacuum fields. Our results
are in excellent agreement with predictions for spectra produced by a two-level
atom in squeezed vacuum [Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{58}, 2539-2542 (1987)],
demonstrating that resonance fluorescence offers a resource-efficient means to
characterize squeezing in cryogenic environments
Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors: physics and applications
Single-photon detectors based on superconducting nanowires (SSPDs or SNSPDs)
have rapidly emerged as a highly promising photon-counting technology for
infrared wavelengths. These devices offer high efficiency, low dark counts and
excellent timing resolution. In this review, we consider the basic SNSPD
operating principle and models of device behaviour. We give an overview of the
evolution of SNSPD device design and the improvements in performance which have
been achieved. We also evaluate device limitations and noise mechanisms. We
survey practical refrigeration technologies and optical coupling schemes for
SNSPDs. Finally we summarize promising application areas, ranging from quantum
cryptography to remote sensing. Our goal is to capture a detailed snapshot of
an emerging superconducting detector technology on the threshold of maturity.Comment: 27 pages, 5 figures, Review article preprint versio
Analysis and mitigation of interface losses in trenched superconducting coplanar waveguide resonators
© 2018 Author(s). Improving the performance of superconducting qubits and resonators generally results from a combination of materials and fabrication process improvements and design modifications that reduce device sensitivity to residual losses. One instance of this approach is to use trenching into the device substrate in combination with superconductors and dielectrics with low intrinsic losses to improve quality factors and coherence times. Here, we demonstrate titanium nitride coplanar waveguide resonators with mean quality factors exceeding two million and controlled trenching reaching 2.2 μm in the silicon substrate. Additionally, we measure sets of resonators with a range of sizes and trench depths and compare these results with finite-element simulations to demonstrate quantitative agreement with a model of interface dielectric loss. We then apply this analysis to determine the extent to which trenching can improve resonator performance