654 research outputs found
Temperature dependence of coherent oscillations in Josephson phase qubits
We experimentally investigate the temperature dependence of Rabi oscillations
and Ramsey fringes in superconducting phase qubits driven by microwave pulses.
In a wide range of temperatures, we find that both the decay time and the
amplitude of these coherent oscillations remain nearly unaffected by thermal
fluctuations. The oscillations are observed well above the crossover
temperature from thermally activated escape to quantum tunneling for undriven
qubits. In the two-level limit, coherent qubit response rapidly vanishes as
soon as the energy of thermal fluctuations kT becomes larger than the energy
level spacing of the qubit. Our observations shed new light on the origin of
decoherence in superconducting qubits. The experimental data suggest that,
without degrading already achieved coherence times, phase qubits can be
operated at temperatures much higher than those reported till now.Comment: 4 pages, 4 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
Enhanced Macroscopic Quantum Tunneling in BiSrCaCuO Intrinsic Josephson Junction Stacks
We have investigated macroscopic quantum tunneling in
BiSrCaCuO intrinsic Josephson junctions at millikelvin
temperatures using microwave irradiation. Measurements show that the escape
rate for uniformly switching stacks of N junctions is about times higher
than that of a single junction having the same plasma frequency. We argue that
this gigantic enhancement of macroscopic quantum tunneling rate in stacks is
boosted by current fluctuations which occur in the series array of junctions
loaded by the impedance of the environment.Comment: 4 pages and 5 figure
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
Fluxon-semifluxon interaction in an annular long Josephson 0-pi-junction
We investigate theoretically the interaction between integer and half-integer
Josephson vortices (fluxons and semifluxons) in an annular Josephson junction.
Semifluxons usually appear at the 0--boundary where there is a
-discontinuity of the Josephson phase. We study the simplest, but the most
interesting case of one -discontinuity in a loop, which can be created
only artificially. We show that measuring the current-voltage characteristic
after injection of an integer fluxon, one can determine the polarity of a
semifluxon. Depending on the relative polarity of fluxon and semifluxon the
static configuration may be stable or unstable, but in the dynamic state both
configurations are stable. We also calculate the depinning current of
fluxons pinned by an arbitrary fractional vortex.Comment: 8pages, 6 figures, submitted to PR
Observation of directly interacting coherent two-level systems in a solid
Parasitic two-level tunneling systems originating from structural material
defects affect the functionality of various microfabricated devices by acting
as a source of noise. In particular, superconducting quantum bits may be
sensitive to even single defects when these reside in the tunnel barrier of the
qubit's Josephson junctions, and this can be exploited to observe and
manipulate the quantum states of individual tunneling systems.
Here, we detect and fully characterize a system of two strongly interacting
defects using a novel technique for high-resolution spectroscopy. Mutual defect
coupling has been conjectured to explain various anomalies of glasses, and was
recently suggested as the origin of low frequency noise in superconducting
devices. Our study provides conclusive evidence of defect interactions with
full access to the individual constituents, demonstrating the potential of
superconducting qubits for studying material defects. All our observations are
consistent with the assumption that defects are generated by atomic tunneling.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures. Includes supplementary materia
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
Superconducting RF Metamaterials Made with Magnetically Active Planar Spirals
Superconducting metamaterials combine the advantages of low-loss, large
inductance (with the addition of kinetic inductance), and extreme tunability
compared to their normal metal counterparts. Therefore, they allow realization
of compact designs operating at low frequencies. We have recently developed
radio frequency (RF) metamaterials with a high loaded quality factor and an
electrical size as small as 658, ( is the free space
wavelength) by using Nb thin films. The RF metamaterial is composed of truly
planar spirals patterned with lithographic techniques. Linear transmission
characteristics of these metamaterials show robust Lorentzian resonant peaks in
the sub- 100 MHz frequency range below the of Nb. Though Nb is a
non-magnetic material, the circulating currents in the spirals generated by RF
signals produce a strong magnetic response, which can be tuned sensitively
either by temperature or magnetic field thanks to the superconducting nature of
the design. We have also observed strong nonlinearity and meta-stable jumps in
the transmission data with increasing RF input power until the Nb is driven
into the normal state. We discuss the factors modifying the induced magnetic
response from single and 1-D arrays of spirals in the light of numerical
simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figure
Nonlinear Seebeck Effect in a Model Granular Superconductor
The change of the Josephson supercurrent density of a weakly-connected
granular superconductor in response to externally applied arbitrary thermal
gradient dT/dx (nonlinear Seebeck effect) is considered within a model of 3D
Josephson junction arrays. For dT/dx>(dT/dx)_c, where (dT/dx)_c is estimated to
be of the order of 10^4 K/m for YBCO ceramics with an average grain's size of
10 microns, the weak-links-dominated thermopower S (Seebeck coefficient) is
predicted to become strongly dT/dx-dependent.Comment: REVTEX, no figure
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