Generating DC offsets in flux-tunable transmons with persistent current loops

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12430579-B2
Application number	US-202217932656-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 15, 2022
Priority date	Sep 15, 2022
Publication date	Sep 30, 2025
Grant date	Sep 30, 2025

Abstract

A quantum circuit device includes a qubit chip including a plurality of qubits and a plurality of flux tunable couplers. A plurality of fixed frequency qubits are arranged in in a lattice structure, wherein each pair of the plurality of fixed frequency qubits is coupled to one flux tunable coupler. A wiring layer is coupled to the qubit chip, and the wiring layer includes a loop constructed of a superconducting material that is inductively coupled to the flux tunable couplers. A flux bias line is constructed of a superconducting material that is different than the superconducting material of the loop, wherein the flux bias line is inductively coupled to both the loop and the flux tunable couplers.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A quantum circuit device, comprising:
a qubit chip including a plurality of qubits and a plurality of flux tunable couplers;
a plurality of fixed frequency qubits in a lattice structure, wherein each pair of the plurality of fixed frequency qubits is coupled to one flux tunable coupler; and
a wiring layer coupled to the qubit chip, wherein the wiring layer includes:
a loop comprising a superconducting material that is inductively coupled to the flux tunable couplers; and
a flux bias line comprising a superconducting material that is different than the superconducting material of the loop, wherein the flux bias line is inductively coupled to both the loop and the flux tunable couplers.

2. The quantum circuit device according to claim 1 , wherein the wiring layer further includes:
a first flux bias line comprising a first superconducting material and configured to receive a DC current and at least one current pulse (i pulse ) that are inductively coupled to a first flux tunable couplers; and
a first loop formed by a second superconducting material, that is inductively coupled to the first flux bias line, and inductively coupled to the first flux tunable couplers;
wherein a magnetic field generated from the first flux bias line is configured to induce a persistent current in the first loop formed by the second superconducting material and a static flux offset (Φ offset ) through the first flux tunable couplers.

3. The quantum circuit device according to claim 2 ,
wherein the plurality of fixed frequency qubits comprises fixed frequency transmon qubits; and
wherein the plurality of flux tunable couplers comprises flux tunable transmon couplers.

4. The quantum circuit device according to claim 2 , further comprising a signal generation module configured to source the DC current to induce the persistent current in the first loop, the signal generation module is configured to adjust the DC current to reduce an always-on entanglement (ZZ) between a pair of fixed-frequency qubits coupled to the first flux tunable couplers to a substantially minimum value.

5. The quantum circuit device according to claim 2 , further comprising: a signal generation module configured to source the at least one current pulse (i pulse ) through the flux bias line, wherein a value of each one current pulse is based on a value of the Φ offset .

6. The quantum circuit device according to claim 2 , wherein:
the first superconducting material comprises niobium; and
the second superconducting material comprises aluminum.

7. The quantum circuit device according to claim 2 , further comprising a global flux line arranged on the wiring layer proximal to the persistent current loops configured to receive an input of the DC current and generate a magnetic field within the persistent current loops.

8. The quantum circuit device according to claim 2 , wherein:
the second superconducting material is shorted between two sections of a continuous flux bias line, wherein a loop is formed on each flux bias line;
the second superconducting material has a critical temperature (Tc) lower than the critical temperature of the first superconducting material and configured to generate a persistent current (i p ) that gets trapped in a loop formed of the overlapping superconductors; and
the persistent current loops are configured to generate a calibrated flux offset (Φ offset ) based on applied temperature variations to the superconducting materials in the flux tunable transmons.

9. The quantum circuit device according to claim 2 , wherein the flux bias line comprises one or more gradiometric loops.

10. The quantum circuit device according to claim 9 , wherein a flux tunable transmon on a qubit chip is coupled to the pair of fixed frequency qubits on the qubit chip, and the qubit chip is coupled to the wiring layer that generates flux offsets from flux bias lines and persistent current loops.

11. The quantum circuit device according to claim 9 , wherein a first flux tunable transmon is capacitively coupled to a first fixed frequency qubit and to a second fixed frequency qubit of the pair of fixed frequency qubits.

12. The quantum circuit device according to claim 11 , wherein the first flux tunable transmon and the fixed frequency qubits are arranged in a lattice structure to form a multi-qubit device.

13. The quantum circuit device according to claim 1 , wherein the flux bias line comprises a meandering bias line contiguous to the plurality of flux tunable couplers and configured to bias the plurality of flux tunable couplers substantially simultaneously.

14. A quantum circuit device, comprising:
a qubit chip including a plurality of qubits; and
a plurality of flux tunable elements, wherein each flux tunable element includes a respective flux tunable superconducting quantum interference (SQUID) loop, and each flux tunable element is coupled between a respective pair of fixed-frequency qubits;
a wiring layer coupled to the qubit chip, wherein the wiring layer includes:
a contiguous flux bias line comprising a first superconducting material disposed proximal to the flux tunable elements, and configured to output a DC current to provide an offset to the flux tunable elements simultaneously; and
a plurality of flux bias lines disposed non-contiguously to the flux tunable elements, wherein each of the flux bias lines is configured to output flux pulses and independently offset currents with a mutual inductance with the flux tunable elements.

15. The quantum device according to claim 14 , where the contiguous flux bias line is arranged on a first side of the flux tunable elements, and the plurality of flux bias lines disposed non-contiguously are proximal to a second side of the flux tunable elements.

16. The quantum circuit device according to claim 14 , wherein the plurality of flux bias lines comprise gradiometric flux coils.

17. The quantum device circuit according to claim 14 , wherein the flux couplers on the qubit chip each have two spatially separated pickup coils being separately coupled to the contiguous bias line and the independent flux bias lines.

18. A method of generating DC offsets in flux-tunable elements, the method comprising:
inputting a DC current to a flux bias line in proximity to a flux tunable element when a temperature of a first superconducting material is above a critical temperature (Tc) to inductively couple the flux bias line to both the flux tunable element and a loop comprising the first superconducting material that encircles and the flux tunable element, wherein the flux bias line comprises a second superconducting material that is different than the first superconducting material; and
continuing inputting of the DC current to the flux bias line while cooling the first superconducting material below the Tc of the first superconducting material to trap a persistent current within the superconducting loop.

19. The method according to claim 18 , wherein the inputting of the DC current is continued until the persistent current produces a minimum ZZ exchange rate between a first fixed frequency qubit and a second fixed frequency qubit.

20. The method according to claim 18 , further comprising:
biasing the flux tunable elements to a zero-ZZ state; and
pulsing the flux bias line for each of the tunable elements to pulse them to an on state.

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Underwood Devin
• Stehlik Jiri
• Dial Oliver
• Lokken-Toyli David

Classifications

• H10N60/85

  Superconducting active materials · CPC title

• H10N60/82

  Current path · CPC title

• H10N69/00 Primary

  Integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, comprising at least one superconducting element covered by group H10N60/00 · CPC title

• H10N60/81

  Containers; Mountings · CPC title

• G06N10/40 Primary

  Physical realisations or architectures of quantum processors or components for manipulating qubits, e.g. qubit coupling or qubit control · CPC title