Materials and Technology for Quantum Systems

Introduction – Qubit – Decoherence

Clement Merckling
clement.merckling@kuleuven.be
imec & KU Leuven (MTM)
Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven

Joris van de Vondel

joris.vandevondel@kuleuven.be
Quantum Solid-state Physics (QSP)
Celestijnenlaan 200D, B-3001 Leuven
Introduction

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Introduction
The first classical computers were analog machines, but these proved to be too error-prone to compete
with their digital cousins. Later generations used discrete digital bits, taking the values of 𝟎 and 𝟏, and
some basic gates to perform logical operations. As Moore’s law describes, digital computers got faster,
smaller, and more powerful at an accelerating pace. Today a typical computer chip holds about 20x109 bits
(or transistors) while the latest smartphone chip holds about 6x109 bits (or transistors).
Digital computers are known to be universal in the sense that they can in principle solve any
computational problem (although they possibly require an impractically long time). Digital computers are
also truly reliable at the bit level, with fewer than one error in 1024 operations; the far more common
sources of error are software and mechanical malfunction.
Quantum computers, building on the pioneering ideas of physicists Richard Feynman and David
Deutsch in the 1980’s, leverage the unique properties of matter at nanoscale. They differ from classical
computers in two fundamental ways. First, quantum computing is not built on bits that are either 𝟎 or 𝟏, but
on qubits that can be overlays of zeros and ones (meaning part zero and part one at the same time).
Second, qubits do not exist in isolation but instead become entangled and act as a group. These two
properties enable qubits to achieve an exponentially higher information density than classical computers.

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History of quantum computation
1936 Alan Turing • Church-Turing thesis:
There is a “Universal Turing Machine”, that can efficiently simulate any other
algorithm on any physical devices

1982 Feynman • Computer based on quantum mechanism might avoid problems in simulating
quantum mechanism systems

1985 Deutch • Search for a computational device to simulate an arbitrary physical system
- Quantum mechanics  Quantum computer
Efficient solution of algorithms on a quantum computer with no efficient solution
on a Turing machine ?

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History of quantum computation
1994 Peter Shor • Efficient quantum algorithms
- Prime factorization
- Discrete logarithm problem
 More power
1995 Lov Grover • Efficient quantum search algorithm

In the 1990s • Efficient simulation of quantum mechanical systems

1995 Schumacher • “Quantum bit” or “qubit” as physical resource

1996 Calderbank, • Quantum error correction codes

Shor, Stean - Protecting quantum states against noise

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 Medicine, chemistry,
Why quantum computing ? materials, catalysts

Quantum computers that directly use the

principles of quantum mechanics to
perform operations on data could offer Financial risk
almost infinite calculation capability.
Quantum Computing (QC) would enable to
solve problems which are impossible today Quantum
with classical computers due to restrictions computing
in data power. applications

QC is believed to have great potential Supply chain

across a vast range of applications, from and logistic
cryptography, supply chain and logistic, big
data, financial risk, scientific simulation
(medicine, materials, chemistry, ...) to even
machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Artificial
intelligence

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From quantum computer to qubit

The basic difference between

quantum computers and their
classical counterparts is that
quantum computers are built on
qubits rather than bits.
Qubits are the building blocks
of quantum computing.

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What’s a qubit ?

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Bit vs. Qubit Bit Qubit
𝒛
A BIT is the basic element of information for classical 𝟎 ȁ 𝟎ۧ
computing. It can have two states 𝟎 or 𝟏. Physically, this
binary data system manifests in transistor switch. When ȁ 𝝍ۧ
current flows through a transistor, that’s a 𝟏 (“on” state), 𝜽
and when it doesn’t, that’s a 𝟎 (“off’ state).
A QUBIT, is the quantum version of a bit. The or
word qubit has two meanings, one physical and one 𝝋 𝒚
conceptual. Conceptually, a qubit is like a bit in a regular
𝒙
computer. Physically, it refers to the individual devices
that are used to carry out calculations in quantum
computers.
Compared to a classical bit, a qubit has many more 𝟏 ȁ 𝟏ۧ
possible states. The states can be represented by an
Regular bits of data are represented as 𝟎 or 𝟏, those
arrow pointing to a location on a sphere. The north pole is
are the only two values the bit can have. Qubits can
equivalent to 𝟏, the south pole to 𝟎. The other locations be ȁ𝟎ۧ and ȁ𝟏ۧ as well as a variety of superpositions
are quantum super-positions of 𝟎 and 𝟏. of these two states, all at the same time.

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The basic of quantum computation
A qubit is a two-level system ȁ𝟎ۧ, ȁ𝟏ۧ , of energy states
ȁ0ۧ: qubit basic state which can exist in one of the two eigenstate states or a
𝒛
ȁ 𝟎ۧ superposition of both (infinite possibilities...).
ȁψۧ: “intermediate” state
The quantum information stored in a qubit is represented
ȁ 𝝍ۧ by a linear combination of quantum states with the
𝜽 𝜃 & 𝜑: angles of
following wavefunction: ȁ𝝍ۧ = 𝜶𝟎 ȁ𝟎ۧ + 𝜶𝟏 ȁ𝟏ۧ , with
the “intermediate”
state vector 𝜶𝟎 & 𝜶𝟏 ∈ ℂ, and 𝜶𝟎 𝟐 + 𝜶𝟏 𝟐 = 𝟏.
2
The probability for ȁ0ۧ state is 𝛼0 and the probability for
𝝋 𝒚
ȁ1ۧ state is 𝛼1 2 .
𝒙 The state of a qubits can be geometrically represented on
a Bloch sphere.
1 0
ȁ0ۧ = ȁ ۧ
, 1 =
ȁ 𝟏ۧ ȁ1ۧ: qubit excited state 0 1
𝜃 𝜃
ȁ𝜓ۧ = 𝛼0 ȁ0ۧ + 𝛼1 ȁ1ۧ → ȁ𝜓ۧ = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 ȁ0ۧ+𝑒 𝑖𝜑 𝑠𝑖𝑛 ȁ1ۧ
The Bloch sphere 2 2

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 Specific rules of the “quantum world”
Superposition
Quantum states can be superposed, and the result will be a valid quantum state

Entanglement
Two qubits in a superposition are correlated with each other: the quantum state
from a single particle cannot be described independently of the quantum state of
the particles generated together.
Reversible
Anything done in quantum world is reversible (also time-reversible) and the
quantum information is not lost during quantum operation (only with read out)

0 0 0 Decoherence
+ or
The loss of quantum coherence corresponds to the time for the superposition
1 1 1
to disappear during quantum state measurements. It is highly dependent of the
Q C interaction between quantum object and its environment (quantum isolation).
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Power of quantum computation
Due to these “in-between” quantum states, a 1 qubit
quantum computer could theoretically store and ȁ𝝍ۧ = 𝜶𝟎 ȁ𝟎ۧ + 𝜶𝟏 ȁ𝟏ۧ
process a lot more information than a
2 qubits
conventional computer, which uses a binary
ȁ𝝍ۧ = 𝜶𝟎 ȁ𝟎𝟎ۧ + 𝜶𝟏 ȁ𝟎𝟏ۧ + 𝜶𝟐 ȁ𝟏𝟎ۧ + 𝜶𝟒 ȁ𝟏𝟏ۧ
system.
In classical computing, the power of a computer
doubles when the number of transistors is ...
doubled. ...
In quantum computing, the potential power of a
quantum computer doubles when you add
one additional qubit. In general, N qubits can store the values of 2N states:
50 qubits ~ 250 bits ~ 1015 bits ~ 1 Pbit
300 qubits ~ 2300 bits ~ 21090 bits

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 Power of quantum computation
Two-level
Computing “In” Computation
states
Classical 𝟎 or 𝟏 3 bits Sequential
computing

𝟎𝟎𝟎 or 𝟎𝟎𝟏 or 𝟎𝟏𝟎 N bits hold 1

or 𝟎𝟏𝟏 or 𝟏𝟎𝟎 or value
𝟏𝟏𝟎 or 𝟏𝟎𝟏 or 𝟏𝟏𝟏

Quantum ȁ𝝍ۧ 3 qubits: Simultaneous

= 𝜶 𝟎 ȁ𝟎ۧ + 𝜶 𝟏 ȁ𝟏ۧ ȁ𝝍 ۧ computing
= 𝜶𝟎 ȁ𝟎𝟎𝟎ۧ
+𝜶𝟏 ȁ𝟎𝟎𝟏ۧ ȁ𝟎𝟎𝟎ۧ and ȁ𝟎𝟎𝟏ۧ and
+ 𝜶𝟐 ȁ𝟎𝟏𝟎ۧ N qubits (can)
ȁ𝟎𝟏𝟎ۧ and ȁ𝟎𝟏𝟏ۧ and
+ 𝜶𝟑 ȁ𝟎𝟏𝟏ۧ hold 2N values
ȁ𝟏𝟎𝟎ۧ and ȁ𝟏𝟎𝟏ۧ and
+ 𝜶𝟒 ȁ𝟏𝟎𝟎ۧ ȁ𝟏𝟏𝟎ۧ and ȁ𝟏𝟏𝟏ۧ
+ 𝜶𝟓 ȁ𝟏𝟎𝟏ۧ
+ 𝜶𝟔 ȁ𝟏𝟏𝟎ۧ
+ 𝜶𝟕 ȁ𝟏𝟏𝟏ۧ

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Qubit readout
ȁ𝟎ۧ

Measurement (or “readout”) of qubits plays a key 𝒛

role in quantum computation. Fast and high-fidelity ȁ 𝟎ۧ
readout is crucial for building a quantum computer.
When the qubit is measured, quantum mechanism ȁ 𝝍ۧ Correct !!!
𝜽
requires that the result collapse into an ordinary
𝟖𝟎%
bit: 𝟎 or 𝟏 . The probability of each outcome
depends on the qubit’s “latitude”. measurement
𝝋 𝒚
In general quantum platforms suffer from an 𝟐𝟎%
inherent tradeoff between isolation and access. On 𝒙
the one hand, to achieve long coherence, qubits
need to be isolated from the noisy environment; on
the other hand, if they are too isolated, it is difficult
to control and measure them. ȁ𝟏ۧ

ȁ𝟏ۧ
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Qubit readout fidelity

Readout fidelity measured for two qubits in the IBM

https://www.ibm.com/blogs/research/2020/01/quantum-limited-amplifiers/
Rochester quantum system (53 qubit processor). The
measurements are examples of bad and good readout
fidelities (i.e., F=0.6 and F=0.97, shown in the left and
right-side graphs) measured with nonworking and
working QLAs, respectively. The blue and red dots,
plotted in the two-quadrature plane of microwave signals,
i.e., I and Q, are readout data points, which correspond
to instances in which the qubit is initialized in the ground
(ȁ𝒈ۧ) and excited (ȁ𝒆ۧ) state, respectively. By plotting a
histogram of the data across the x-axis, we obtain
gaussian distributions characterized by mean values
(representing the signal strength) and standard
deviations (representing the noise level). In essence,
readout fidelities is a measure of how much the readout
histograms are separated (distinguishable).

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Qubit errors
ȁ𝟎ۧ
Material
defect
But the quantum states of qubits are fragile. A 𝒛 Vibration
single stray photon, a tiny vibration, or a slight ȁ 𝟎ۧ
variation in temperature, and a qubit’s state can be
lost, which will degrade the readout fidelity. ȁ 𝝍ۧ
𝜽
Qubits also have a penchant for crosstalk effects
𝟒𝟗%
(or “eavesdropping”). They can pick up on signals
intended for their neighbors and change their state. measurement
𝝋 𝒚
Because qubits are so prone to error, it is today 𝟓𝟏%
extremely difficult to figure out whether a qubit 𝒙
correctly gave a “0 state” or whether it incorrectly
gave a “0 state” because it was disturbed by some Wrong !!!
noise. Temperature
ȁ𝟏ۧ variation
Stray
photon
ȁ𝟏ۧ
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Qubit errors
In classical computing, the typical error rate linked
to hardware (transistors) is extremely low: <
0.000,000,000,000,000,000,000,1%.
However, in quantum computing, due to the high
hardware sensitivity of qubits, the typical hardware
error is in the range of ~ 0.1 % ...
Errors from imperfect gates or decoherence result in
deviations (shaded region) from the ideal vector,
thereby decreasing fidelity.
As a result, quantum error correction (QEC) is
likely essential for most applications of quantum Bloch-sphere representation of a single-qubit state; a
computation. superposition of 𝟎 and 𝟏 is described by a complex
amplitude with magnitude and phase, which can be
viewed as residing on the surface of the unit sphere.
Ying Li & Simon Benjamin, Oxford Univ.

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Quantum Error Correction (QEC)
The number of error correction cycles achievable
(proportional to the number of operations possible
on logical qubits) is plotted against the number of
physical qubits required for each single logical
qubit and the limiting two-qubit gate infidelity.
For systems with errors below a threshold
infidelity, larger computations are possible at the
cost of increased physical qubit counts.
Threshold, error scaling, and overhead
requirements depend strongly on choice of code
and on the physical nature of the error.

Theoretical overheads associated with QEC in a specific

case of the surface code.
Ying Li & Simon Benjamin, Oxford Univ.

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Qubit protection Material
defect
Vibration

Physical qubits are “much more sensitive to noise” 𝒛

than transistors in regular circuits, and a quantum ȁ 𝟎ۧ
computer will need about 200 or so perfect qubits
to perform chemical simulations that are impossible ȁ 𝝍ۧ
on classical computers. 𝜽

These systems are likely to require redundancy,

with tens or perhaps hundreds of faulty qubits
𝝋 𝒚
doing the work of one ideal qubit that gives the
right answer. These so-far-theoretical ideal qubits 𝒙
are often called “logical qubits” or “error-corrected
qubits”.
These “logical qubits” would be imperious to any
ȁ 𝟏ۧ
noise or environmental factor, preserving the
quantum superposition for as long as possible Stray Temperature
before readout. photon variation

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Noisy-intermediate scale quantum computers
In the noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) era, the leading quantum processors contain about 50
to a few hundred qubits but are not advanced enough to reach fault-tolerance. It is used to describe the
current state of the art in the fabrication of quantum processors. The term 'noisy' refers to the fact that
quantum processors are very sensitive to the environment and may lose their quantum state due
to quantum decoherence.
Noisy-intermediate scale quantum (NISQ) computers are running increasingly complicated algorithms on
small to intermediate numbers of qubits. However, their usefulness continues to be limited by noise, leading
to unreliable outputs. Error mitigation schemes compensate for errors through a combination of calibration
measurements and postprocessing but in the NISQ era, the quantum processors are not sophisticated
enough to continuously implement quantum error correction. They have been proposed to bridge the gap
between current devices and future fault-tolerant error correction, which actively corrects errors in the
quantum state.
The creation of a computer with tens of thousands of qubits and enough error correction would eventually
end the NISQ era.

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Quantum computing system
A full fault-tolerant quantum computing system can be envisioned
within a layered structure (Figure). The system is comprised of two
primary levels, a physical qubit level and a logical qubit level.
The lower-level contains physical qubits controlled via a QEC
processor, which is in essence a classical processor that uses
measurement outcomes of the physical qubits to realize a QEC
code. This classical processor keeps track of the physical errors
that arise, and implements the appropriate feedback on the controls
of the physical qubits.
The upper-level functions through control of the physical layer.
A systems view of a quantum
Here, logical qubits are encoded within the fully error-corrected
information processor. It consists
system of physical qubits, and logical controls and readouts are of a physical and logical layer.
governed through a processor that determines how to implement J.M. Gambetta et al., npj
difficult quantum algorithms, e.g. Shor’s, Grover’s, and quantum Quantum Information (2017)

simulation.
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Realization of a quantum computer
The realization of a quantum computer requires qubit devices as
2-level quantum system. The qubits have to be almost completely
isolated from their environment (but not too much ...). This is
necessary to preserve the coherent quantum state.
Completely preventing a quantum system from decoherence is
impossible but very long decoherence time are necessary. And due
to the discovery of quantum error-code, slight decoherence is
tolerable.
It is also necessary to perform operations on several qubits in
parallel. And finally, the readout should be less “destructive”
possible...
All these requirements are summarized in the 5 criteria of
DiVincenzo.

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The 5 criteria (“commandments”) of DiVincenzo
The DiVincenzo criteria are conditions necessary for
constructing a quantum computer, conditions proposed in
2000 by the theoretical physicist David P. DiVincenzo, as
being those necessary to construct such a computer.
Define

Initialize
Protect

Manipulate

Readout

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The 5 criteria (“commandments”) of DiVincenzo
The DiVincenzo criteria are conditions necessary for
ȁ 𝟏ۧ
constructing a quantum computer, conditions proposed in
ȁ 𝟎ۧ
2000 by the theoretical physicist David P. DiVincenzo, as
being those necessary to construct such a computer. ȁ 𝟏ۧ
1. The identification of well-defined and scalable ȁ 𝟎ۧ
qubits physical system.
𝒕𝒄𝒐𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 > 𝒕𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆
2. The ability to initialize the qubit state of the
system.
3. Achieving long coherence time, longer than the ȁ 𝟏ۧ ȁ 𝟏ۧ
gate operation time (decoherence time = 104 ~ ȁ 𝟎ۧ ȁ𝟎ۧ
105 x “clock-time”).
4. The manipulation of qubits by a universal set of ȁ 𝟏ۧ ȁ𝟏ۧ
quantum gates. ȁ 𝟎ۧ ȁ𝟎ۧ
5. The measurement capability of the qubit state
(readout).

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Quantum gates (1 qubit)
Gate # Circuit Unitary
Final qubit state Description
name qubits symbol matrix
Analogous to classical NOT
Pauli-X, 0 1 𝛼
1 ห𝜓𝑓 ൿ = 𝛽 ȁ0ۧ + 𝛼 ȁ1ۧ gate: switches ȁ0ۧ to ȁ1ۧ and
Not, Bit-flip 1 0 𝛽
vice versa.

Add a relative phase shift of 𝜋

Pauli-Z, Z 1 0 𝛼 between contributing basis
1 ห𝜓𝑓 ൿ = 𝛼 ȁ0ۧ − 𝛽 ȁ1ۧ
Phase-flip 0 −1 𝛽 states. Also named “phase
flip” gate.

𝛼 Adds a relative phase shift of

1 0 𝑖𝜋 Τ4
T gate 1 T 𝛽 ห𝜓𝑓 ൿ = 𝛼 ȁ0ۧ + 𝑒 𝛽 ȁ1ۧ 𝜋 Τ4 between contributing
0 𝑒 𝑖𝜋Τ4
basis states.

1 1 1 Transforms a basis state into

H gate, H 1 𝛼
1 ห𝜓𝑓 ൿ = 𝛼 + 𝛽 ȁ0ۧ + 𝛼 − 𝛽 ȁ1ۧ an even superposition of the
Hadamard 2 1 −1 𝛽 2 two basis states.

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Quantum gates (multiple qubits)
Gate # Circuit Final qubit
Unitary matrix Description
name qubits symbol state

ห𝜓𝑓 ൿ Controlled-not; reversible

1 0 0 0 𝛼
= 𝛼 ȁ00ۧ analogue to classical XOR gate.
0 1 0 0 𝛽
CNOT 2
0 0 0 1 𝛾 + 𝛽 ȁ01ۧ The input connected to the solid
0 0 1 0 𝛿 +𝛿 ȁ10ۧ dot is passed through to make
+ 𝛾 ȁ11ۧ the operation reversible

1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 𝛼
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 𝛽 Controlled-controlled-not; a
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 𝛾 three-qubit gate that switches
CCNOT, 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 𝛿 the third bit for states where the
3 𝜀 ห𝜓𝑓 ൿ = ⋯
Toffoli 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 first two bits are 1 (that is,
0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 𝜖 switches ȁ110ۧ to ȁ111ۧ and vice
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 𝜁
versa)
0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 𝜂

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Qubit requirements
The implementation, materials, fabrication and measurements of qubits will be discussed later in details. At
this stage it is important to remember the defies linked to the realization of quantum devices.
The key challenge resides in the ability to rapidly and accurately manipulate the quantum states (2N complex
coefficients for N qubits), but also a good isolation from the environment to reach long decoherence times.
Moreover, the qubit device should respect the quantum rules, ie. superposition principle, time reversible and
entanglement (= correlation). Of course, the choice in qubit system or materials to host the quantum
information is crucial.
To realize a 2-level systems, different options exists to store the quantum states such as:
Ground- and excited-states of electron orbits
Photon polarizations
Alignment of nuclear spin in magnetic field
Electron spin orientation
...

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 “There are probably about 20
suggested ways of creating
qubits for quantum computers,
with varying degrees of success”
Clarina de la Cruz,
Science coordinator for the Quantum Materials Initiative,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

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Qubit options
Physical support Name Information support ȁ 𝟎ۧ ȁ 𝟏ۧ
Polarization encoding Polarization of light Horizontal Vertical
Photon Number of photons Fock state Vacuum Single photon state
Time-bin encoding Time of arrival Early Late
Coherent state of light Squeezed light Quadrature Amplitude-squeezed state Phase-squeezed state
Electronic spin Spin Up Down
Electrons
Electron number Charge No electron One electron
Nuclear spin addressed
Nucleus Spin Up Down
through NMR
Optical lattices Atomic spin Spin Up Down
Charged superconducting
Uncharged superconducting
Superconducting charge qubit Charge island (Q=2e, one extra Cooper
island (Q=0)
Josephson junction pair)
Superconducting flux qubit Current Clockwise current Counterclockwise current
Superconducting phase qubit Energy Ground state First excited state
Singly charged quantum
Electron localization Charge Electron on left dot Electron on right dot
dot pair
Quantum dot Dot spin Spin Down Up
Depends on specific Depends on specific
Gapped topological system Non-abelian anyons Braiding of Excitations
topological system topological system
van der Waals
Electron localization Charge Electron on bottom sheet Electron on top sheet
heterostructure[10]
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qubit

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Decoherence, noise & loss

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The “crux” of qubit design
Random, uncontrollable physical processes in the qubit control
and measurement equipment or in the local environment
surrounding the quantum processor are sources of noise that magnetic-field noise
lead to decoherence and reduce the operational fidelity of the
qubits.
Qubits are highly susceptible to disturbances by their
environment, which makes both qubits and qubit operations
(the so-called quantum gates) extremely prone to error.
The origin of these disturbance are generally from local and
environmental noises such as critical current, fluctuations,
charge noise, flux noise, quasiparticles poisoning, ...

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Decoherence
Quantum decoherence is “literally” the loss of quantum coherence,
i.e. the loss of quantum information. It inevitably happens when qubits
lose quantum state to the environment over time.
Decoherence does not generate wave-function collapse. It only
provides a framework for apparent wave-function collapse, as the
quantum nature of the system "leaks" into the environment. This
means that decoherence turns pure states into mixed states: the
wavefunction ȁ𝝍ۧ goes into the Bloch sphere.
Decoherence represents a challenge for the practical realization of
quantum computers, since such machines are expected to rely
heavily on the undisturbed evolution of quantum coherences. They
require that the coherence of states be preserved and that
decoherence is managed, in order to actually perform quantum Decoherence turn pure state into mixed
computation. The preservation of coherence, and mitigation of states: the wavefunction ȁ𝝍ۧ goes into
decoherence effects, are thus related to the concept of quantum error the Bloch sphere.
correction.
P. Krantz et al., Applied Physics Reviews 6, 021318 (2019)

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Longitudinal relaxation
The longitudinal relaxation, often referred to as “energy
decay” or “energy relaxation”, occurs when the environment
exchange energy with the qubit, which results in the mixing
the two states.
If initially a quantum system in a nonequilibrium state will at
some later time go over into an equilibrium state determined
by external conditions (e.g. temperature, electric or magnetic
fields, ...).
This error correspond to a bit flip error and is generally
associated with spontaneous emission (less with absorption).
The energy relaxation is extremely important during the read-
out of the qubit.
Illustration of the energy relaxation process
on the Bloch sphere.
P. Krantz et al., Applied Physics Reviews 6, 021318 (2019)

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Longitudinal relaxation
The origin of energy relaxation is generally from transverse
noise around resonance frequency at 𝑓 = 𝐸01 Τℎ. The energy
relaxation process has the characteristic time 𝑻𝟏 (or
longitudinal relaxation time) and rate 𝜞𝟏 = 𝟏Τ𝑻𝟏 .
Longitudinal relaxation results from energy exchange between
the qubit and its environment, due to transverse noise that
couples to the qubit in the 𝑥 − 𝑦 plane and drives transitions
ȁ𝟎ۧ → ȁ𝟏ۧ. A qubit in state ȁ𝟏ۧ emits energy to the environment
and relaxes to ȁ𝟎ۧ with a rate 𝜞𝟏↓ .
Similarly, a qubit in state ȁ𝟎ۧ absorbs energy from the
environment, exciting it to ȁ𝟏ۧ with a rate 𝜞𝟏↑ . In the typical
operating regime 𝑘𝐵 𝑇 ≪ ℏ𝜔𝑞 , the up-rate is suppressed,
leading to the overall decay rate 𝜞𝟏 ≈ 𝜞𝟏↓ . Illustration of the energy relaxation process
on the Bloch sphere.

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Pure dephasing
The dephasing is the loss of phase information due to variation of
𝐸01 . The environment can create loss of phase memory by smearing
the energy levels, thus changing the phase velocity. This process
requires no energy exchange.
Pure dephasing in the transverse plane arises from longitudinal
noise along the 𝑧 axis that fluctuates the qubit frequency (low
frequency). A Bloch vector along the 𝑥-axis will diffuse clockwise or
counterclockwise around the equator due to the stochastic
frequency fluctuations, depolarizing the azimuthal phase with a
characteristic time 𝑻𝝋 and rate 𝜞𝝋 = 𝟏Τ𝑻𝝋 .
The dephasing is extremely important during the “computation” with
the qubit.
Illustration of the pure dephasing effect
on the Bloch sphere.

P. Krantz et al., Applied Physics Reviews 6, 021318 (2019)

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Transverse relaxation
The transverse relaxation results in a loss of coherence (ie.
superposition state) at a characteristic time 𝑻𝟐 (or transverse
relaxation time) and rate 𝜞𝟐 = 𝟏Τ𝑻𝟐 = 𝜞𝟏 Τ𝟐 + 𝜞𝝋 , due to a
combination of energy relaxation and pure dephasing.
Pure dephasing leads to decoherence of the quantum state,
initially pointed along the 𝑥-axis. Additionally, the excited state
component of the superposition state may relax to the ground
state, a phase-breaking process that loses the orientation of
the vector in the 𝑥 − 𝑦 plane.

Illustration of the transverse relaxation effect

on the Bloch sphere.
P. Krantz et al., Applied Physics Reviews 6, 021318 (2019)

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Measuring 𝑇1
Characterizing longitudinal (𝑻𝟏) relaxation (energy
relaxation) time of a transmon qubit. The qubit is
prepared in the excited state using an 𝑋𝜋 pulse and
measured after a waiting time 𝜏.
For each value 𝜏 , this procedure is repeated to
obtain an ensemble average of the qubit
polarization: +1 corresponding to ȁ0ۧ , and −1
corresponding to ȁ1ۧ.
The resulting exponential decay function has a
characteristic time 𝑇1 = 85 μs.

M. Kjaergaard et al., Appl. Phys. Rev. 6, 021318 (2019)

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Measuring 𝑇2
Characterizing transverse (𝑇2) relaxation (decoherence)
times of a transmon qubit via Ramsey interferometry.
The qubit is prepared on the equator using an 𝑋𝜋Τ2 -
pulse, intentionally detuned from the qubit frequency by
𝛿𝜔, causing the Bloch vector to precess in the rotating
frame at a rate 𝛿𝜔 around the 𝑧-axis.
After a time 𝜏, a second 𝑋𝜋Τ2 -pulse then projects the
Bloch vector back on to the 𝑧 axis, effectively mapping
its former position on the equator to a position on the 𝑧
axis. The oscillations decay with an approximately (but
not exactly) exponential decay function, with a
characteristic time 𝑇2 = 95 μs.

M. Kjaergaard et al., Appl. Phys. Rev. 6, 021318 (2019)

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Decoherence sources
There are different origin as major sources for Can they be controlled ?
decoherence in a quantum system: active and ✓ Cooling, shielding, filtering, tailoring the
passive sources. environment
Active sources are for example stimulated
Manipulation Qubit
absorption and emission which could occurs due to
heat, noise, ...
Passive sources are for example spontaneous 50Ω
emission (only) and could be generated by
quantum (spin) fluctuations (electrons, nuclear),
photons, phonons, quasiparticles, charge traps,
superconducting vortices, ... Read-out

Material dependent
Microscopic “fluctuators”

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Two-level systems (TLS)
In the early 1970’s measurements of specific heat and
thermal conductivity of different amorphous solids taken
below 1 K highlighted that there was a fundamental lack (H)
of understanding of low temperature thermal
properties of amorphous solids.
The standard tunneling two-level system (TLS) model
was developed to explain the experimental results. The
amorphous nature of the materials inevitably creates
variations in the environment, presenting a vast
parameter space with which to form TLS defects.
There are multiple origin to TLS defects such as
tunneling atoms, dangling bonds, hydrogen rotors,
collective motion, ... which makes the task of identifying (OH, H)
such a defect very difficult in specific system. It has
been demonstrated that TLS occurs in the GHz regime.

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Two-level systems (TLS)
Despite the difficulties there have been
some successes in using density
functional theory (DFT) to identify
potential TLS candidates.
Holder et al. found that in amorphous
aluminum oxide (AlOx), hydrogen
impurities are likely to fill aluminum
cation vacancies and create an OH-1
rotors that can act as tunneling TLSs. H (blue) based tunneling rotor defects identified in Al2O3 viewed partially
off axis in the [0001] direction. Dashed circles indicate rotor MEP. Blue
Paik et al. found that nitrogen rich encircled O atoms (red) indicate the local rotor minima. (left) OH rotor
silicon nitride (SiNx) films had a bound to a surface Al (gray) resulting in a 3-fold degenerate rotor. (middle)
relatively high density of N-H bonds Hydrogenated Al bulk vacancy defect resulting in the formation of a 3-fold
which were correlated to TLSs degenerate H+ rotor. (right) Interstitial H+ with six O nearest neighbors
occurring at low temperature. that form a 6-fold degenerate rotor.
arXiv:1303.6713 [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

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Dielectric losses
It is well established that ensembles of TLS contribute
to energy loss in superconducting devices through
their interaction with the electric fields present in the
dielectric materials and at the interfaces.
Efforts to mitigate these losses have employed
techniques from materials science, fabrication
process engineering, and microwave device design.
Materials improvements have focused on lowering
TLS defect densities in bulk materials or removing
TLS-containing dielectrics.
Fabrication process advancements have included
steps aimed at reducing TLS loss through substrate
preparation and chemical residue removal.
Microwave dielectric loss for materials used in
superconducting qubit fabrication.
Martinis et al PRL 95, 210503 (2005)

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Introduction – Qubit – Decoherence
Interface losses
Metal-Vacuum:
Natural oxide
Superconducting quantum computing Etching damages
architectures comprise resonators and qubits
that experience energy loss due to two-level
systems (TLS) in bulk dielectric and at the
interfaces. Metal-Substrate:
Resist residues
Substrate oxides
OH groups Metal
Metal

Substrate Substrate
Substrate-vacuum:
Interaction of TLS present in the bulk dielectric Resist residues
materials and interfaces with electric fields at the OH groups
origin of energy loss in superconducting devices.

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Interface losses
Four distinct dielectric regions are identified, as
shown in the cross-section image below: metal-to-
substrate (MS), substrate-to-air/vacuum (SA),
metal-to-air/vacuum (MA), and the bulk silicon
(Si). These regions are generally expected to have
distinct dielectric values, thicknesses, and loss
tangents. Extracted loss tangents of the different dielectric regions

Using Monte Carlo simulation, the loss tangents of

the individual dielectric regions can be calculated.
This technique stands to significantly enhance the
ability to compare different materials and
fabrication process for improving the performance
of superconducting quantum circuits.

Cross-sectional SEM images of (a) an anisotropically etched

TiN resonator, and (b) an isotropically etched TiN resonator. Woods, arXiv:1808.10347v1 [quant-ph] 30 Aug 2018

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Quasiparticles losses
Quasiparticles, i.e. unpaired electrons, are another
important noise source for superconducting devices.
Quasiparticles are naturally excited due to thermodynamics,
and the quasiparticle density in equilibrium superconductors Cooper pair
should be exponentially suppressed as temperature
e-
decreases.
Equilibrium QP:
−∆ൗ Quasiparticles
𝑁𝑞𝑝 = 2𝑁0 2𝜋𝑘𝐵 𝑇∆. 𝑒 𝑘𝐵 𝑇

with ∆ the superconductor gap (~ 1 meV). e-

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Quasiparticles losses
𝑁𝑞𝑝 = 2𝑁0 2𝜋𝑘𝐵 𝑇∆𝑒𝑥𝑝 −∆Τ𝑘𝐵 𝑇
However, below about 150 mK, the quasiparticle
density observed in superconducting devices –
generally in the range 10−8−10−6 per Cooper pair
– is much higher than BCS theory would predict
for a superconductor in equilibrium with its
cryogenic environment at 10 mK.
Non-equilibrium QP: induces ohmic losses,
dissipates heat
The tunneling of quasiparticles through a qubit
junction may lead to both 𝑻𝟏 relaxation and pure
dephasing 𝑻𝝋 , depending on the type of qubit, the
bias point, and the junction through which the
tunneling event occurs.

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Qubit technologies

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Introduction – Qubit – Decoherence
 Qubit technologies
Semiconductor Super- Topological
Qubit Trapped ions Defects in solids
Quantum Dots conductors interfaces

Current (phase,
State Electron Spin Spin Majorana fermion
charge, flux)

Device

0        

1        

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Materials and Technology for Quantum Systems