Superconducting Qubits I:

Making Your First Qubit

From an Oscillator
Introduction to Circuit
Quantum Electrodynamics (cQED)

Zlatko K. Minev

IBM Quantum
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY

Image copyright:
@zlatko_minev zlatko-minev.com ZKM unless otherwise noted
 What is a real qubit?

How can you design, control,

and measure a real qubit?

Why?

Illustration: IBM Qiskit Textbook Zlatko Minev — Qiskit Global Summer School 2020 (2)
 On the road ahead
Qubit in the cloud cQED: Transmon qubit Unveiling the
quantum oscillator

Qubit from atom / oscillator Classical circuits & the LC Transmon qubit

* Road image: based on Freepik IBM Quantum

 This Lecture

Introductory and skill reaffirming

Don't need to know much going in, but we will go far Advanced
material
Examples: simplest, most practical examples

Step by step

Ask questions!

Tightly integrated lab work by Dr. Nick Bronn and Co.!

Icons here by FreePik. Dangerous bend symbol based on Donald Knuth. Zlatko Minev — Qiskit Global Summer School 2020 (4)
 Avoid firehose of information

Thanks to Fred Moxley for gif reference. IBM Quantum

 Qubit

From Idea to Reality

THE BIG PICTURE

before calculations

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 Qubit: idea

Energy levels Hilbert space Quantum cloud?

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* Images: Minev, arXiv:1902.10355; Illustration on right: IBM Qiskit Textbook; Zlatko Minev — Qiskit Global Summer School 2020 (7)
 Qubit: idea and reality

Energy levels Hilbert space

Lab Fridge

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* Images: Minev, arXiv:1902.10355; Illustration on right: IBM, Qiskit Textbook Zlatko Minev — Qiskit Global Summer School 2020 (8)
 Qubit: idea and reality

Energy levels Hilbert space The Mona Lisa Case

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* Images: Minev, arXiv:1902.10355; Illustration on right: IBM, Qiskit Textbook Zlatko Minev — Qiskit Global Summer School 2020 (9)
 Operation at
15 mK (-273.13 °C)
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 qubit
qubit
readout
qubit
readout
qubit
readout qubit
readout
…
readout
…

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Zlatko Minev — Qiskit Global Summer School 2020 (12)
 cQED qubit in the cloud: Summary of flow

* Laptop image: rawpixel.com; Photos: IBM Zlatko Minev — Qiskit Global Summer School 2020 (13)
 Qubit

From Idea to Reality

Concepts

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 From qubit representation to reality

Realization Energy levels Hilbert space*

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* Bloch sphere is a mere geometrical representation of SO(3), but the density matrix ρ is in SU(2), a double cover of SO(3).
* A density matrix operator lives not in the Hilbert space H but in the Liouville space H ⊗ H.
Images: Minev, arXiv:1902.10355; atom art: Indoleces. Zlatko Minev — Qiskit Global Summer School 2020 (15)
 Origins of quantum
e.g., atom cloud

individual
atom

(experiments until c. 1980)

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Atomic emission of light

Image: Averill and Eldredge, Principles of General Chemistry

Atomic emission of light

Image: Averill and Eldredge, Principles of General Chemistry

Atomic emission of light

Image: Averill and Eldredge, Principles of General Chemistry

Atomic emission of light

Image: Averill and Eldredge, Principles of General Chemistry

 Quantized levels
Atomic emission spectra Atoms are quantum:
discrete intrinsic energy levels*
Hydrogen
Energy

…
|3⟩
Helium
|2⟩
Neon
|1⟩
Sodium

|0⟩
Mercury
Quantization of energy
* The notion of an energy level was proposed by Bohr in 1913.
Image credit: NMSU, N. Vogt
Zlatko Minev — Qiskit Global Summer School 2020 (21)
The light of atoms

Image: Averill and Eldredge, Principles of General Chemistry

 Atomic energy levels and transitions

Electron potential-energy landscape

Quantization of
energy

Radial distance from nucleus

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 Qubit from Atom
Anharmonic degree of
freedom and spin

Isolated from environment

Energy
and thermal bath

Low-loss
No level here
Level diagram allows for
qubit-specific control and
readout

There are always more than

two levels
Radius
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Artificial atoms

capacitor inductor

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 Anharmonic d.o.f. and spin Harmonic oscillator
Energy Energy

Magnetic flux
Radius
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 non-linear
inductor

Anharmonic d.o.f. and spin Anharmonic oscillator

Energy Energy

anharmonicity

Magnetic flux
Radius
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 Big-picture connections

Idealization of Anharmonic Physical circuit Physical layout

qubit oscillator model

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Idealization Physical reality

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Circuit Quantum
Electrodynamics
(cQED)
Macro
overview

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 There are two kinds of physicists:

Those who believe all of physics is spins.

Those who believe all of physics is oscillators.

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 cQED Ingredients
Circuit elements Microwave oscillators

Combine …

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 cQED Ingredients
Small dissipation
Isolation from environment
Low temperature
Nonlinearity
Large vacuum fluctuations

Superconductivity
Nominally zero intrinsic dissipation and heat
Nominal temperature far below energy level splitting
Non-linear, robust Josephson tunnel junction effect

* Low energy dynamics. Microwave image: vectorpocket; Nobel photograph: Jonathunder; Josephson photograph: Nobel Foundation archive.
 Wavelength (m)

Wavelength
scale

Frequency (Hz)

Effective
temperature

Order of 10-2 K 0.5 K, 10 GHz, 3 cm

magnitude

Spectrum image: Inductiveload, NASA

 A few introductory reviews
And many more… check online or ask us for specific topic
Qiskit Textbook (2020; more chapters coming) Gambetta, J. M., Chow, J. M., & Steffen, M. (2017)
Building logical qubits in a superconducting quantum computing
Blais, A., Grimsmo, A. L., Girvin, S. M., & Wallraff, A. (2020) system. Npj Quantum Information, 3(1), 2
Circuit Quantum Electrodynamics (arXiv:2005.12667)
Girvin, S. M. (2011) Circuit QED: superconducting qubits coupled
Kjaergaard, M., Schwartz, … Oliver, W. D. (2020) to microwave photons. Quantum machines: measurement and
Superconducting Qubits: Current State of Play control of engineered quantum systems, 113, 2.
Annual Reviews of Condensed Matter Physics 11, 369-395
Clerk, A. A., Girvin, S. M., Marquardt, F., & Schoelkopf, R. J. (2010)
Krantz, P., Kjaergaard, M., Yan, F., … & Oliver, W. D. (2019) Introduction to quantum noise, measurement, and amplification
A quantum engineer’s guide to superconducting qubits Reviews of Modern Physics, 82(2), 1155–1208
Applied Physics Reviews, 6(2), 021318
Clarke, J., & Wilhelm, F. K. (2008)
Corcoles, A. D., Kandala, A., … Gambetta, J. M. (2019) Superconducting quantum bits. Nature, 453(7198), 1031–1042
Challenges and Opportunities of Near-Term Quantum
Computing Systems. Proceedings of the IEEE, 1–15. Devoret, M. H. (1997)
Quantum Fluctuations in Electrical Circuits.
Wendin, G. (2017) In Fluctuations Quantiques/Quantum Fluctuations (p. 351)
Quantum information processing with superconducting …
circuits. Reports on Progress in Physics, 80(10), 106001 Zlatko Minev — Qiskit Global Summer School 2020 (34)
Circuit Quantum
Electrodynamics

Introduction
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 To do quantum,

start with classical

Classical oscillator

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Transmon qubit

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 Transmon qubit

Substrate Qubit pad

Dielectric Metal

Qubit inductor
Non-Linear
e.g., Josephson Junction

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 Transmon qubit: charge

Net positive charge Net negative charge

~ 1012 mobile e−

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 Electric field and voltage

Voltage

Electric field

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 Charge and capacitance
Constitute relationship

Capacitance

For a good discussion, see ”The Feynman Lectures on

Physics Vol. II Ch. 22: AC Circuits." Caltech. Zlatko Minev — Qiskit Global Summer School 2020 (41)
Conservation of charge Charge and current
Universal relationship
Caution: Passive
sign convention

Initial conditions

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 Magnetic flux and inductance
Faraday’s law of induction Constitute relationship
Universal relationship

Inductance

Initial conditions

Magnetic flux
For kinetic inductors,
~98% of qubit inductive energy is not
in stored magnetic fields, but in
kinetic inductance
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 Power and energy
Universal

Energy stored in Instantaneous

(delivered to) power flowing
component to component

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Four fundamental manifestations of electricity

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Four fundamental manifestations of electricity

Constitutive
elemental
relationships

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Electromagnetic oscillator

capacitance value node of the circuit

inductance
value

inductor

capacitor
ground

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 Kirchhoff’s network laws*

Conservation of charge Faraday’s law of induction

Kirchhoff’s current law Kirchhoff’s voltage law

As we will see later, for the Lagrangian description in flux basis, KVL acts as a set of holonomic
constraints and KCL as the equations of motion
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 Oscillator analogy

Velocity

Deviation from equilibrium

Equilibrium position

Resonance
frequency Spring: Svjo
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 Lagrangian and Hamiltonian*

Kinetic energy − Potential energy

Canonically conjugate variable

(momentum; charge)

Euler-Lagrange equations, F = ma

Kinetic energy + Potential energy

* Temporarily going to assume some minimal knowledge of classical mechanics.

Since we eliminated the KVL constraints, this is a Lagrangian of the second kind. Zlatko Minev — Qiskit Global Summer School 2020 (50)
Energy The LC classical harmonic oscillator

Graph: Minev; Spring-mass: Svjo

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“It is by logic that we prove,
but by intuition that we discover.”

Henri Poincaré

Photo by Eugène Pirou

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 Hamiltonian dynamics and phase space

with

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Complex action-angle variable

Classical analog of the

bosonic ladder operator

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Unveiling the quantum
Quantum harmonic oscillator

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 Unveiling the quantum

Dangerous bend
ahead on quantization

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 Drawing: Zurek, Physics Today (1991)

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 Dirac's canonical quantization

Quantum (commutator) Classical (Poisson bracket)

These look
a lot alike!

Source: Cambridge University,

Cavendish Laboratory / Wikimedia where where
Commons

Procedure: Supplant the Poisson brackets by commutators

“There is, however, a fairly general
method of obtaining quantum
conditions, applicable to a very large
class of dynamical systems. This is
the method of classical analogy”
P.A.M. Dirac
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 Dirac's canonical quantization: Quick exposure
Supplant classical Poisson bracket
and all quantum algebra follows…

Derivation: Dirac derives the quantum form of the Poisson bracket — the commutator — from
merely assuming that
1. Classical Poisson bracket rules hold (by analogy, the new theory must be consistent with the old!)
2. The dynamical variables do not commute; i.e., xp ≠ px
3. The Poisson bracket has a single result and single unique meaning

Problems:
• Operator ordering ambiguities.
Consider A and B are polynomials in x and p; e.g., x2×p or p×x2
• Curvilinear coordinate systems (potentially transmon if cos(Φ/φ0) considered wrapped)
• Quantum gravity …
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 Photo: F. Schmutzer

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The classical and quantum oscillator

Classical Quantum

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 The classical and quantum oscillator
Classical Quantum

Hamiltonian

Phase space

(Heisenberg
picture)

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 Ladder operators and matrix representation
annihilation creation general hopping

Image: Griffiths, D.J.

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 Hand-written notes

Hamiltonian and energy Mean, variance, and RMS fluctuations

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Calculations of the energy

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Expectation value of magnetic flux and charge

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Fluctuations of flux

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Fluctuations of flux and charge

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 Wavefunctions of the quantum oscillator

Energy

Classically forbidden
region

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 Wavefunctions of the quantum oscillator

Energy /

Scaled
wavefunction
amplitude

Classically forbidden
region

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 Wavefunctions of the quantum oscillator

Energy /

Scaled
wavefunction
amplitude

Classically forbidden
region

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Phase-space (Husimi Q function)

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Pop-up question
The flux and charge operators are Hermitian
observables.

How can some expectations, such as

be imaginary?

Or, others be negative…?

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 Advanced questions

Will discuss
answers on my
blog sometime
soon
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Quantum Harmonic Oscillator Applets

Energy levels of SHO applet from

https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/physics/quvis

Wigner function
https://demonstrations.wolfram.com/WignerFunctionOfHarmonicOscillator/

Coherent states
https://demonstrations.wolfram.com/CoherentStatesOfTheHarmonicOscillator/

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Linear harmonic oscillator summary

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Energy
The LC quantum harmonic oscillator

Graph: Minev; Spring-mass: Svjo Zlatko Minev — Qiskit Global Summer School 2020 (77)
 The LC quantum harmonic oscillator

…
wavefunction amplitude
Energy / Scaled

Classically
forbidden region
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 The road behind and ahead
Qubit in the cloud cQED: Transmon qubit Unveiling the
quantum oscillator

Qubit from atom / oscillator Classical circuits & the LC Transmon qubit

* Road image: based on Freepik IBM Quantum

 Next steps

Tightly integrated lab work with Dr. Nick Bronn and Co.!
More depth on qubit control
Run experiments on real devices

Check out references, problems given in the lecture,

dangerous bends

Break away from the rules of today

Thank you!
Zlatko K. Minev
@zlatko_minev zlatko-minev.com IBM Quantum