Rabi oscillations in a large Josephson-junction qubit

We have designed and operated a circuit based on a large-area current-biased Josephson junction whose two lowest energy quantum levels are used to implement a solid-state qubit. The circuit allows measurement of the qubit states with a fidelity of 85% while providing sufficient decoupling from external sources of relaxation and decoherence to allow coherent manipulation of the qubit state, as demonstrated by the observation of Rabi oscillations. This qubit circuit is the basis of a scalable quantum computer.     

Decoherence in josephson phase qubits from junction resonators

Although Josephson junction qubits show great promise for quantum computing, the origin of dominant decoherence mechanisms remains unknown. Improving the operation of a Josephson junction based phase qubit has revealed microscopic two-level systems or resonators within the tunnel barrier that cause decoherence. We report spectroscopic data that show a level splitting characteristic of coupling between a two-state qubit and a two-level system. Furthermore, we show Rabi oscillations whose "coherence amplitude" is significantly degraded by the presence of these spurious microwave resonators. The discovery of these resonators impacts the future of Josephson qubits as well as existing Josephson technologies.     

Rabi-type oscillations in a classical Josephson junction

We study analytically and numerically the phase-modulation properties of a classical Josephson tunnel junction biased in the zero-voltage state and phase locked to an external ac field. We show that the phase-locked state is being modulated in the transients, or in response to perturbations, and the modulation frequency is calculated as a function of relevant system parameters, such as microwave field amplitude. Our analysis demonstrates that the modulation of a phase-locked state in an entirely classical Josephson junction produces oscillations analogous to quantum mechanical Rabi oscillations, expected to be observed under the same conditions.     

Effect of Cherenkov dissipation on vortex velocity in a waveguide-coupled Josephson junction

A motion of slow and fast vortices in a waveguide-coupled Josephson junction induced by a transport current flowing through the entire structure is studied; the coupling is not assumed to be weak. For a fast vortex, conditions are established under which current oscillations due to energy dissipation via Cherenkov radiation of Swihart waves become comparable to the current compensating for ohmic losses in the Josephson junction, waveguide, and adjacent superconductors. For a slow vortex, it is proved that intermediate and strong couplings of the Josephson junction to the waveguide shift current oscillations to the velocity range below the Swihart velocity of the Josephson junction.     

Spin-asymmetric Josephson effect

We propose that with ultracold Fermi gases one can realize a spin-asymmetric Josephson effect in which the two spin components of a Cooper pair are driven asymmetrically--corresponding to driving a Josephson junction of two superconductors with different voltages V(↑) and V(↓) for spin up and down electrons, respectively. We predict that the spin up and down components oscillate at the same frequency but with different amplitudes. Furthermore our results reveal that the standard interpretation of the Josephson supercurrent in terms of coherent bosonic pair tunneling is insufficient. We provide an intuitive interpretation of the Josephson supercurrent as interference in Rabi oscillations of pairs and single particles, the latter causing the asymmetry.     

约瑟夫森结跳变电流在微波辐照下的分布

在16 mK的极低温下,我们对电流偏置的Nb/AlOx/Nb结进行了跳变电流统计分布的测量.在没有外加微波的辐照时,分布曲线只有一个峰;在有外加微波的辐照时,其跳变电流的统计分布除了基峰外,会出现谐振峰,形成双峰结构.该谐振峰的位置和结的量子化的能级相关,其高度随外加微波功率的改变而改变.研究约瑟夫森结跳变电流在微波辐照下的分布,对于研究超导量子比特的能级量子化、Rabi振荡等具有重要的意义.     

Phase-charge duality of a josephson junction in a fluctuating electromagnetic environment

We have measured the current-voltage characteristics of a single Josephson junction placed in a high impedance environment. The transfer of Cooper pairs through the junction is governed by overdamped quasicharge dynamics, leading to Coulomb blockade and Bloch oscillations. Exact duality exists to the standard overdamped phase dynamics of a Josephson junction, resulting in a dual shape of the current-voltage characteristic, with current and voltage changing roles. We demonstrate this duality with experiments which allow for a quantitative comparison with a theory that includes the effect of fluctuations due to the finite temperature of the electromagnetic environment.     

Spontaneous radiation of a two-level atom into multipole modes of a plasmonic nanoparticle

We consider the relaxation of an excited two-level system (TLS) positioned near a spherical plasmonic nanoparticle (NP). The transition frequency of the TLS is assumed to coincide with the frequency of the condensation point of NP plasmonic resonances. We show that the relaxation of the TLS excitation is a two-step process. Following an initial exponential decay, the TLS breaks in to Rabi oscillations. Depending upon the distance between the TLS and NP, the probability of the TLS being in the excited state exhibits either chaotic or nearly regular oscillations. In the latter case, the eigenfrequency of the TLS-NP system coincides with one of NP multipole modes.     

Rabi type oscillations in damped two-dimensional single electron quantum dots

We present a quantized model of a harmonically confined dot atom with inherent damping in the presence of a transverse magnetic field. The model leads to a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian in coordinate space. We have analytically studied the effects of damping on Rabi type oscillations of the system. The model explains the decoherence of Rabi oscillations in a Josephson Junction.     

Current to frequency conversion in a Josephson circuit

The voltage oscillations which occur in an ideally current-biased Josephson junction were proposed to make a current standard for metrology. We demonstrate similar oscillations in a more complex Josephson circuit derived from the Cooper pair box: the quantronium. When a constant current I is injected in the gate capacitor of this device, oscillations develop at the frequency f(B)=I/2e, with e the electron charge. We detect these oscillations through the sidebands induced at multiples of f(B) in the spectrum of a microwave signal reflected on the circuit, up to currents I exceeding 100 pA. We discuss the potential interest of this current-to-frequency conversion experiment for metrology.     

Josephson结开关电流分布的测量方案探讨

Josephson结的开关电流存在着一定的分布.利用开关电流的分布,我们可以推算出Josephson结的逸出率.进一步结合合适的微波辐照,还可以获得结的诸如能级、拉比振荡等许多相关的量子特性.Josephson结的开关电流分布的获得,对于研究超导量子比特,包括相位量子比特、电荷量子比特、磁通量子比特和涡流量子比特以及他们的组合量子比特都有着重要意义.我们提出了三种测量方案,对这三种方案进行了比较,并初步的对自制的NbN/AlNx/NbN Josephson结的开关电流进行了多次(104次)测量,得到一定温度下的开关电流分布的直方图.针对三种方案各自的优缺点及已有的结果,我们提出了需要进一步改进的措施,对于下一步开展在极低温下(mK)Josephson结的开关电流分布的测量有着重要的意义.     

Very high frequency spectroscopy and tuning of a single-cooper-pair transistor with an on-chip generator

A single-Cooper-pair transistor (SCPT) is coupled capacitively to a voltage biased Josephson junction, used as a high-frequency generator. Thanks to the high energy of photons generated by the Josephson junction, transitions between energy levels, not limited to the first two levels, were induced and the effect of this irradiation on the dc Josephson current of the SCPT was measured. The phase and gate bias dependence of energy levels of the SCPT at high energy is probed. Because the energies of photons can be higher than the superconducting gap we can induce not only transfer of Cooper pairs but also transfer of quasiparticles through the island of the SCPT, thus controlling the poisoning of the SCPT. This can both decrease and increase the average Josephson energy of the SCPT: its supercurrent is then controlled by high-frequency irradiation.     

Josephson junction with two superconducting current components

The properties of a Josephson junction with the 2π- and 4π-periodic superconducting current component have been analyzed. In the range of low voltages, such a junction exhibits the 4π periodicity of the phase difference for the Majorana current amplitude much smaller than the Josephson current, which makes it possible to observe Josephson current oscillations with a fractional period for small dissipation β < 1 in the hysteresis region. The effect the 4π-periodic Majorana current component is also manifested in a change in the sequence of steps in the ladder structure emerging on the current–voltage (I–V) characteristic of the junction. We have determined the interval of external electromagnetic radiation amplitudes, in which the manifestation of the fractional Josephson effect on the I–V characteristic is most significant.     

超导量子比特实验的开端

我们对超导量子比特领域的科学背景、历史起源和早期发展做简要评述.莱格特(Anthony J. Leggett)为这个领域打下了理论基础.克拉克(John Clarke)和他的两个学生马丁尼(John Martinis)和德沃雷(Michel H. Devoret)最早通过偏电流约瑟夫森结,首次观察到约瑟夫森结的量子行为.后来德沃雷实现了电荷量子比特叠加态、电荷-磁通混合量子比特的拉比共振和其他演化及投影测量.中村泰信(Yasunobu Nakamura)首先实现电荷量子比特的量子叠加和拉比振荡,还参与莫伊(J. E. Mooij)组实现了磁通量子比特的拉比振荡和读出.     

Superconducting phase qubits with shadow-evaporated Josephson junctions

We develop a fabrication process for the superconducting phase qubits in which Josephson junctions for both the qubit and superconducting quantum interference device(SQUID) detector are prepared by shadow evaporation with a suspended bridge. Al junctions with areas as small as 0.05 μm~2 are fabricated for the qubit, in which the number of the decoherencecausing two-level systems(TLS) residing in the tunnel barrier and proportional to the junction area are greatly reduced. The measured energy spectrum shows no avoided crossing arising from coherent TLS in the experimentally reachable flux bias range of the phase qubit, which demonstrates the energy relaxation time T_1 and dephasing time T_φ on the order of 100 ns and 50 ns, respectively. We discuss several possible origins of decoherence from incoherent or weakly-coupled coherent TLS and further improvements of the qubit performance.     

Tunneling in superconducting structures

Here we review our results on the breakpoint features in the coupled system of IJJ obtained in the framework of the capacitively coupled Josephson junction model with diffusion current. A correspondence between the features in the current voltage characteristics (CVC) and the character of the charge oscillations in superconducting layers is demonstrated. Investigation of the correlations of superconducting currents in neighboring Josephson junctions and the charge correlations in neighboring superconducting layers reproduces the features in the CVC and gives a powerful method for the analysis of the CVC of coupled Josephson junctions. A new method for determination of the dissipation parameter is suggested.     

Quantum oscillations of the nonequilibrium chemical potential in Josephson junctions

The problem of electron injection in Josephson junctions is considered theoretically. The effect of quantum oscillations of the chemical potential in a nonequilibrium Josephson junction is predicted. The oscillation spectrum is presented by a single Josephson mode if the transparency of the oxide barrier is not too high.     

SNS与SINIS结阵制作工艺的比较

国家电压基准是基于约瑟夫森量子化效应的。传统的SIS结阵具有不能快速选择特定的台阶,相位锁定时间短的问题。I-V曲线无回滞的约瑟夫森结阵,其I-V曲线单值,电压台阶宽,解决了SIS结阵的问题。美国标准技术研究院的Hamilton提出并制作高度阻尼的可编程SNS约瑟夫森结阵电压标准;德国物理技术研究院则选择SINIS结来制作可编程约瑟夫森结阵电压基准。从结构、性能和制作方法等方面对SNS和SINIS可编程约瑟夫森结阵进行了比较。     

Nondemolition measurements of a single quantum spin using Josephson oscillations

We consider a single localized spin-1/2 between the singlet superconducting leads of a Josephson junction (e.g., a superconducting STM). For the spin subject to a dc magnetic field B parallel z, we study the spin dynamics and the possibility to measure the spin state via transport through the junction embedded in a dissipative circuit. Turning on the tunneling or a voltage bias induces oscillations of the Josephson current, with an amplitude sensitive to the initial value of the z component of the spin, S(z)=+/-1/2. At low temperatures, when effects of quasiparticles are negligible, this procedure realizes a quantum nondemolition measurement of S(z).     

High-field Josephson effect caused by the inside-grain vortices

We present a theoretical prediction of the new effects for critical currents across single grain boundaries in polycrystalline superconductors being under an applied magnetic field. It was shown that Josephson oscillation should be observed not only in the case of the increasing of the magnetic flux through the junction but also when vortex penetrates inside grain. In the intergrain Josephson junction the critical transport current is strongly dependent on the normalized grain size ratio, grain anisotropy ratio and grain coupling strength. These results imply that achieving a high degree of texture along these parameters is important for the obtaining of very high critical currents in pure polycrystalline samples. Also, it is shown that in contrast to the well-known Fraunhofer dependence, the period of oscillations corresponds to adding flux quantums per two grains.