Millimeter-Wave Superconducting Qubit

Manipulating the electromagnetic spectrum at the single-photon level is fundamental for quantum experiments. In the visible and infrared ranges, this can be accomplished with atomic quantum emitters, and with superconducting qubits such control is extended to the microwave range (below 10 GHz). Mean...

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Main Authors: Alexander Anferov, Fanghui Wan, Shannon P. Harvey, Jonathan Simon, David I. Schuster
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2025-05-01
Series:PRX Quantum
Online Access:http://doi.org/10.1103/PRXQuantum.6.020336
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author Alexander Anferov
Fanghui Wan
Shannon P. Harvey
Jonathan Simon
David I. Schuster
author_facet Alexander Anferov
Fanghui Wan
Shannon P. Harvey
Jonathan Simon
David I. Schuster
author_sort Alexander Anferov
collection DOAJ
description Manipulating the electromagnetic spectrum at the single-photon level is fundamental for quantum experiments. In the visible and infrared ranges, this can be accomplished with atomic quantum emitters, and with superconducting qubits such control is extended to the microwave range (below 10 GHz). Meanwhile, the region between these two energy ranges presents an unexplored opportunity for innovation. We bridge this gap by scaling up a superconducting qubit to the millimeter-wave range (near 100 GHz). Working in this energy range greatly reduces sensitivity to thermal noise compared to microwave devices, enabling operation at significantly higher temperatures, up to 1 K. This has many advantages by removing the dependence on rare ^{3}He for refrigeration, simplifying cryogenic systems, and providing orders-of-magnitude higher cooling power, lending the flexibility needed for novel quantum sensing and hybrid experiments. Using low-loss niobium trilayer junctions, we realize a qubit at 72 GHz cooled to 0.87 K using only ^{4}He. We perform Rabi oscillations to establish control over the qubit state, and measure relaxation and dephasing times of 15.8 and 17.4 ns, respectively. This demonstration of a millimeter-wave quantum emitter offers exciting prospects for enhanced sensitivity thresholds in high-frequency photon detection, provides new options for quantum transduction and for scaling up and speeding up quantum computing, enables integration of quantum systems where ^{3}He refrigeration units are impractical, and, importantly, paves the way for quantum experiments exploring a novel energy range.
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spelling doaj-art-55e9a4e714c648368809cdc2ab004eed2025-08-20T03:08:53ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPRX Quantum2691-33992025-05-016202033610.1103/PRXQuantum.6.020336Millimeter-Wave Superconducting QubitAlexander AnferovFanghui WanShannon P. HarveyJonathan SimonDavid I. SchusterManipulating the electromagnetic spectrum at the single-photon level is fundamental for quantum experiments. In the visible and infrared ranges, this can be accomplished with atomic quantum emitters, and with superconducting qubits such control is extended to the microwave range (below 10 GHz). Meanwhile, the region between these two energy ranges presents an unexplored opportunity for innovation. We bridge this gap by scaling up a superconducting qubit to the millimeter-wave range (near 100 GHz). Working in this energy range greatly reduces sensitivity to thermal noise compared to microwave devices, enabling operation at significantly higher temperatures, up to 1 K. This has many advantages by removing the dependence on rare ^{3}He for refrigeration, simplifying cryogenic systems, and providing orders-of-magnitude higher cooling power, lending the flexibility needed for novel quantum sensing and hybrid experiments. Using low-loss niobium trilayer junctions, we realize a qubit at 72 GHz cooled to 0.87 K using only ^{4}He. We perform Rabi oscillations to establish control over the qubit state, and measure relaxation and dephasing times of 15.8 and 17.4 ns, respectively. This demonstration of a millimeter-wave quantum emitter offers exciting prospects for enhanced sensitivity thresholds in high-frequency photon detection, provides new options for quantum transduction and for scaling up and speeding up quantum computing, enables integration of quantum systems where ^{3}He refrigeration units are impractical, and, importantly, paves the way for quantum experiments exploring a novel energy range.http://doi.org/10.1103/PRXQuantum.6.020336
spellingShingle Alexander Anferov
Fanghui Wan
Shannon P. Harvey
Jonathan Simon
David I. Schuster
Millimeter-Wave Superconducting Qubit
PRX Quantum
title Millimeter-Wave Superconducting Qubit
title_full Millimeter-Wave Superconducting Qubit
title_fullStr Millimeter-Wave Superconducting Qubit
title_full_unstemmed Millimeter-Wave Superconducting Qubit
title_short Millimeter-Wave Superconducting Qubit
title_sort millimeter wave superconducting qubit
url http://doi.org/10.1103/PRXQuantum.6.020336
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AT fanghuiwan millimeterwavesuperconductingqubit
AT shannonpharvey millimeterwavesuperconductingqubit
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AT davidischuster millimeterwavesuperconductingqubit