Engineering topics

Lu, Yao [Fermilab]

Publications and source records attributed to Lu, Yao [Fermilab].

8 records

DOE OSTI2026

Demonstration of Cross-Resonance Gates with Resonator-Assisted ZZ Cancellation

We present the characterization of a CNOT gate realized by combining cross-resonance interaction with resonator-assisted ZZ cancellation in fixed-frequency transmons on a Rigetti–SQMS co-developed quantum processor. Extending earlier work on dynamical ZZ cancellation via off-resonant resonator drives [1], we demonstrate a direct CNOT gate implementation achieved through two microwave drives on the transmons that generate a CX rotation in the |10⟩−|11⟩ subspace while selectively darkening the |00⟩−|01⟩ transition. This tunable-coupler-free approach enables high-fidelity gates and enhances the scalability of superconducting quantum architectures. [1] Z. Huang et al., Phys. Rev. Applied 22, 034007 (2024)

Heidler, Paul [Fermilab]↗

DOE OSTI2025

Impact of Resonator-Assisted ZZ Cancellation on Cross-Resonance Gate Performance

Strong coupling in superconducting processors enables fast two-qubit gates but also produces static ZZ interactions that degrade performance. Flux-tunable couplers can suppress ZZ but introduce flux noise and additional hardware complexity. A driven-resonator RIP interaction offers a simple method to dynamically cancel ZZ [1]. Using this RIP-based cancellation scheme in a fixed-frequency transmon system, we compare cross-resonance gate behavior with and without ZZ suppression. Idling errors improve substantially when ZZ is cancelled, while CR calibration reveals clear tradeoffs in Hamiltonian composition and achievable gate speed. [1]: Huang, Z. et al. (2024). Physical Review Applied, 22(3), 034007.

Heidler, Paul [Fermilab]↗

DOE OSTI2025

Quantifying Trapped Magnetic Vortex Losses in Niobium Resonators at mK Temperatures

Trapped magnetic vortices in niobium introduce microwave losses that degrade the performance of superconducting resonators. While such losses have been extensively studied above 1 K, we report here their direct quantification in the millikelvin and low-photon regime relevant to quantum devices. Using a high-quality factor 3D niobium cavity cooled through its superconducting transition in controlled magnetic fields, we isolate vortex-induced losses and find the resistive component of the sensitivity to trapped flux S to be approximately 2 nOhm/mG at 10 mK and 6 GHz. The decay rate is initially dominated by two-level system (TLS) losses from the native niobium pentoxide, with vortex-induced degradation of T1 occurring above Btrap~50 mG. In the absence of the oxide, even 10 mG of trapped flux limits performance, Q0 ~ 1010, or T1 ~350 ms, underscoring the need for stringent magnetic shielding. The resistive sensitivity, S, decreases with temperature and remains largely field-independent, whereas the reactive component, S , exhibits a maximum near 0.8 K. These behaviors are well modeled within the Coffey Clem framework in the zero-creep limit, under the assumption that vortex pinning is enhanced by thermally activated processes. Our results suggest that niobium-based transmon qubits can tolerate vortex-induced dissipation at trapped field levels up to several hundred mG, but achieving long coherence times still requires careful magnetic shielding to suppress lower-field losses from other mechanisms

Bafia, Daniel P. [Fermilab]↗

DOE OSTI2025

Fast and High-Fidelity SNAP Gate Enabled by Optimal Control on Floquet-Engineered Systems

Superconducting cavities with high quality factors, coupled to nonlinear ancilla, provide a promising platform for quantum information storage and manipulation. However, the commonly used selective number-dependent arbitrary phase (SNAP) gate faces significant challenges in ultra-high-coherence cavities, where weak dispersive shifts result in prolonged gate times. Here, we propose a protocol to achieve high-fidelity SNAP gates that are orders of magnitude faster than the standard implementation, breaking the speed limit set by the bare dispersive shift. This enhancement is achieved by dynamically amplifying dispersive coupling via sideband interactions, followed by quantum optimal control on Floquet-engineered systems. Additionally, we present a unified perturbation theory that explains both the gate acceleration and associated benign drive-induced decoherence, corroborated by Floquet\textendash Markov simulations. These results pave the way for the experimental realization of high-fidelity control of weakly coupled, high-coherence cavities, and expanding the scope of optimal control techniques in Floquet quantum systems.

You, Xinyuan [Fermilab]↗

DOE OSTI2025

Ultracoherent superconducting cavity-based multiqudit platform with error-resilient control

Superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities offer a promising platform for quantum computing due to their long coherence times, yet integrating nonlinear elements like transmons for control often introduces additional loss. We report a multimode quantum system based on a 2-cell elliptical shaped SRF cavity, comprising two cavity modes weakly coupled to an ancillary transmon circuit, designed to preserve coherence while enabling efficient control of the cavity modes. We mitigate the detrimental effects of the transmon decoherence through careful design optimization that reduces transmon-cavity couplings and participation in the dielectric substrate and lossy interfaces, to achieve single-photon lifetimes of 20.6 ms and 15.6 ms for the two modes, and a pure dephasing time exceeding 40 ms. This marks an order-of-magnitude improvement over prior 3D multimode memories. Leveraging sideband interactions and novel error-resilient protocols, including measurement-based correction and post-selection, we achieve high-fidelity control over quantum states. This enables the preparation of Fock states up to $N = 20$ with fidelities exceeding 95%, the highest reported to date to the authors' knowledge, as well as two-mode entanglement with an estimated coherence-limited fidelities of 99.9% after post-selection. These results establish our platform as a robust foundation for quantum information processing, allowing for future extensions to high-dimensional qudit encodings.

Kim, Taeyoon [Fermilab; Northwestern U.]↗

DOE OSTI2025

Building a Long-Lived 3D Multimode Quantum Processing Unit with TESLA Cavities

Superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities, such as TESLA-shaped cavities, are excellent candidates for long-lived quantum memories. Integrating these cavities with nonlinear elements, such as transmons, enables universal quantum control; however, this integration can often introduce unwanted losses. In this talk, we present the successful integration of a long-lived 2-cell TESLA cavity with an ancillary qubit, forming a quantum processing unit (QPU) that allows for robust control while maintaining coherence. We demonstrate universal control of the QPU through various schemes, including ancilla-cavity sideband and echoed conditional displacement (ECD) methods, enabling fault-tolerant high-fidelity preparation of large Fock states and fast entanglement generation. These results illustrate the versatility and efficiency of our 3D quantum processing unit, paving the way for advanced quantum computing applications.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Robust resonator-assisted ZZ cancellation in superconducting quantum processors

Strong qubit interactions are essential for faster two-qubit gates, but they often come with undesirable ZZ interactions that limit gate fidelity. Existing methods to mitigate these interactions, such as flux-tunable couplers, can introduce additional noise and complexity. In contrast, our work presents a simpler, more robust approach using a driven resonator to cancel the static ZZ interaction between qubits [1]. The experiment was performed on a revised 9-qubit quantum processing unit from Rigetti, developed in collaboration with SQMS scientists. We validate the resonator-induced-phase (RIP) interaction, where an off-resonant drive on the resonator dynamically cancels ZZ coupling. This marks an important step toward high gate fidelities. We also explore the entangling gates enabled by this coupling scheme, focusing on minimizing gate duration and qubit decoherence while maintaining effective ZZ cancellation.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Characterizing Microwave Losses in Superconducting Coaxial Cables for Quantum Systems

As superconducting quantum systems scale up to enable applications like large-scale quantum computing, challenges such as fabrication yield, wiring complexity, and microwave crosstalk drive the need for high-fidelity, low-loss, modular interconnects. In recent experiments, the performance of these interconnects is often limited by cable loss, a factor that becomes even more critical as we aim for higher fidelity operations and connect increasingly coherent modules. In this talk, we present a detailed characterization of microwave losses in commercially available superconducting cables and discuss how material characterization techniques can be useful for understanding their microscopic origin.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗