Anisotropic rare-earth spin ensemble strongly coupled to a superconducting resonator

Interfacing photonic and solid-state qubits within a hybrid quantum architecture offers a promising route towards large scale distributed quantum computing. Ideal candidates for coherent qubit interconversion are optically active spins magnetically coupled to a superconducting resonator. We report on a cavity QED experiment with magnetically anisotropic Er3+:Y2SiO5 crystals and demonstrate strong coupling of rare-earth spins to a lumped element resonator. In addition, the electron spin resonance and relaxation dynamics of the erbium spins are detected via direct microwave absorption, without aid of a cavity

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

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

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 $T_1$ 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 $T_1$ limited at all temperatures.Comment: 4 pages, 5 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$\Omega$ 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

Optical vector network analysis of ultra-narrow transitions in 166^{166}Er3+^{3+}:7^7LiYF4_4

We present optical vector network analysis (OVNA) of an isotopically purified $^{166}$Er$^{3+}$:$^7$LiYF$_4$ crystal. The OVNA method is based on generation and detection of modulated optical sideband by using a radio-frequency vector network analyzer. This technique is widely used in the field of microwave photonics for the characterization of optical responses of optical devices such as filters and high-Q resonators. However, dense solid-state atomic ensembles induce a large phase shift on one of the optical sidebands which results in the appearance of extra features on the measured transmission response. We present a simple theoretical model which accurately describes the observed spectra and helps to reconstruct the absorption profile of a solid-state atomic ensemble as well as corresponding change of the refractive index in the vicinity of atomic resonances.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

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$^{3+}$ spins doped in Y$_{2}$SiO$_{5}$ crystal to a high-Q coplanar superconducting resonator.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure