The dominant source of decoherence in contemporary frequency-tunable superconducting qubits is 1/$f$ flux noise. To understand its origin and find ways to minimize its impact, we systematically study flux noise amplitudes in more than 50 flux qubits with varied SQUID geometry parameters and compare our results to a microscopic model of magnetic spin defects located at the interfaces surrounding the SQUID loops. Our data are in agreement with an extension of the previously proposed model, based on numerical simulations of the current distribution in the investigated SQUIDs. Our results and detailed model provide a guide for minimizing the flux noise susceptibility in future circuits.
We demonstrate enhanced relaxation and dephasing times of transmon qubits, up to ~ 60 mu s by fabricating the interdigitated shunting capacitors using titanium nitride (TiN). Compared to lift-off aluminum deposited simultaneously with the Josephson junction, this represents as much as a six-fold improvement and provides evidence that previous planar transmon coherence times are limited by surface losses from two-level system (TLS) defects residing at or near interfaces. Concurrently, we observe an anomalous temperature dependent frequency shift of TiN resonators which is inconsistent with the predicted TLS model.
Decoherence largely limits the physical realization of qubits and its mitigation is critical to quantum science. Here, we construct a robust qubit embedded in a decoherence-protected subspace, obtained by hybridizing an applied microwave drive with the ground-state electron spin of a silicon carbide divacancy defect. The qubit is protected from magnetic, electric, and temperature fluctuations, which account for nearly all relevant decoherence channels in the solid state. This culminates in an increase of the qubits inhomogeneous dephasing time by over four orders of magnitude (to > 22 milliseconds), while its Hahn-echo coherence time approaches 64 milliseconds. Requiring few key platform-independent components, this result suggests that substantial coherence improvements can be achieved in a wide selection of quantum architectures.
A notorious problem in high-resolution biological electron microscopy is radiation damage to the specimen caused by probe electrons. Hence, acquisition of data with minimal number of electrons is of critical importance. Quantum approaches may represent the only way to improve the resolution in this context, but all proposed schemes to date demand delicate control of the electron beam in highly unconventional electron optics. Here we propose a scheme that involves a flux qubit based on a radio-frequency superconducting quantum interference device (rf-SQUID), inserted in essentially a conventional transmission electron microscope. The scheme significantly improves the prospect of realizing a quantum-enhanced electron microscope for radiation-sensitive specimens.
We demonstrate theoretically the noise-stimulated enhancement of quantum coherence in a superconducting flux qubit. First, an external classical noise can increase the off-diagonal components of the qubit density matrix. Second, in the presence of noise, the Rabi oscillations survive for times significantly longer than the Rabi decay time in a noiseless system. These Rabi oscillations appear as a modulation of the forced response of the qubit to the ac driving field. These effects can be considered as a manifestation of quantum stochastic resonance and are relevant to experimental techniques, such as Rabi spectroscopy.