Electron spins in silicon have long coherence times and are a promising qubit platform. However, electric field noise in semiconductors poses a challenge for most single- and multi-qubit operations in quantum-dot spin qubits. Here, we investigate the dependence of low-frequency charge noise spectra on temperature and aluminum-oxide gate dielectric thickness in Si/SiGe quantum dots with overlapping gates. We find that charge noise increases with aluminum oxide thickness. We also find strong dot-to-dot variations in the temperature dependence of the noise magnitude and spectrum. These findings suggest that each quantum dot experiences noise caused by a distinct ensemble of two-level systems, each of which has a non-uniform distribution of thermal activation energies. Taken together, our results suggest that charge noise in Si/SiGe quantum dots originates at least in part from a non-uniform distribution of two-level systems near the surface of the semiconductor.

Received 29 June 2020DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.102.039902©2020 American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasFluctuations & noiseQuantum computationQuantum information with solid state qubitsPhysical SystemsQuantum dotsSemiconductorsTwo-dimensional electron gasQuantum InformationCondensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Silicon spin qubits show great promise as a scalable qubit platform for fault-tolerant quantum computing. However, fast high-fidelity readout of charge and spin states, which is required for quantum error correction, has remained elusive. Radio-frequency reflectometry enables rapid high-fidelity readout of GaAs spin qubits, but the relatively large resistances and capacitances of accumulation-mode Si quantum dot devices have made radio-frequency reflectometry challenging in these platforms. In this work, we implement radio-frequency reflectometry in a Si/SiGe quantum dot device with overlapping gates by making minor device-level changes that eliminate these challenges. We demonstrate charge state readout with a fidelity above 99.9% in an integration time of 300 ns. We measure the singlet and triplet states of a double quantum dot via both conventional Pauli spin blockade and a charge latching mechanism, and we achieve maximum fidelities of 82.9% and 99.0% in 2.08 $\mu$s and 1.6 $\mu$s integration times, respectively. We also use radio-frequency reflectometry to perform single-shot readout of single-spin states via spin-selective tunneling in microsecond-scale integration times.

The magnetic-field-tuned quantum superconductor-insulator transitions of disordered amorphous indium oxide films are a paradigm in the study of quantum phase transitions and exhibit power-law scaling behavior. For superconducting indium oxide films with low disorder, such as the ones reported on here, the high-field state appears to be a quantum-corrected metal. Resistance data across the superconductor-metal transition in these films are shown here to obey an activated scaling form appropriate to a quantum phase transition controlled by an infinite-randomness fixed point in the universality class of the random transverse-field Ising model. Collapse of the field-dependent resistance vs temperature data is obtained using an activated scaling form appropriate to this universality class, using values determined through a modified form of power-law scaling analysis. This exotic behavior of films exhibiting a superconductor-metal transition is caused by the dissipative dynamics of superconducting rare regions immersed in a metallic matrix, as predicted by a recent renormalization group theory. The smeared crossing points of isotherms observed are due to corrections to scaling which are expected near an infinite-randomness critical point, where the inverse disorder strength acts as an irrelevant scaling variable.

High-fidelity gate operations are essential to the realization of a fault-tolerant quantum computer. In addition, the physical resources required to implement gates must scale efficiently with system size. A longstanding goal of the superconducting qubit community is the tight integration of a superconducting quantum circuit with a proximal classical cryogenic control system. Here we implement coherent control of a superconducting transmon qubit using a Single Flux Quantum (SFQ) pulse driver cofabricated on the qubit chip. The pulse driver delivers trains of quantized flux pulses to the qubit through a weak capacitive coupling; coherent rotations of the qubit state are realized when the pulse-to-pulse timing is matched to a multiple of the qubit oscillation period. We measure the fidelity of SFQ-based gates to be ~95% using interleaved randomized benchmarking. Gate fidelities are limited by quasiparticle generation in the dissipative SFQ driver. We characterize the dissipative and dispersive contributions of the quasiparticle admittance and discuss mitigation strategies to suppress quasiparticle poisoning. These results open the door to integration of large-scale superconducting qubit arrays with SFQ control elements for low-latency feedback and stabilization.

High-fidelity gate operations are essential to the realization of a fault-tolerant quantum computer. In addition, the physical resources required to implement gates must scale efficiently with system size. A longstanding goal of the superconducting qubit community is the tight integration of a superconducting quantum circuit with a proximal classical cryogenic control system. Here we implement coherent control of a superconducting transmon qubit using a single-flux quantum (SFQ) pulse driver cofabricated on the qubit chip. The pulse driver delivers trains of quantized flux pulses to the qubit through a weak capacitive coupling; coherent rotations of the qubit state are realized when the pulse-to-pulse timing is matched to a multiple of the qubit oscillation period. We measure the fidelity of SFQ-based gates to be approximately 95% using interleaved randomized benchmarking. Gate fidelities are limited by quasiparticle generation in the dissipative SFQ driver. We characterize the dissipative and dispersive contributions of the quasiparticle admittance and discuss mitigation strategies to suppress quasiparticle poisoning. These results open the door to integration of large-scale superconducting qubit arrays with SFQ control elements for low-latency feedback and stabilization.

We have used Ramsey tomography to characterize charge noise in a weakly charge-sensitive superconducting qubit. We find a charge noise that scales with frequency as 1/f(alpha) over five decades with alpha = 1.93 and a magnitude S-q(1 Hz) = 2.9 x 10(-4) e(2)/Hz. The noise exponent and magnitude of the low-frequency noise are much larger than those seen in prior work on single electron transistors, yet are consistent with reports of frequency noise in other superconducting qubits. Moreover, we observe frequent large-amplitude jumps in offset charge exceeding 0.1e; these large discrete charge jumps are incompatible with a picture of localized dipolelike two-level fluctuators. The data reveal an unexpected dependence of charge noise on device scale and suggest models involving either charge drift or fluctuating patch potentials.

InOx films that are less disordered than those exhibiting direct quantum superconductor-insulator transitions feature quantum superconductor-metal transitions tuned by magnetic field. Resistance data across this superconductor-metal transition obey activated scaling, with critical exponents suggesting that the transition is governed by an infinite-randomness critical point in the universality class of the random transverse-field Ising model in two dimensions. The transition is accompanied by quantum Griffiths effects. This unusual behavior is expected for systems with quenched disorder in the presence of ohmic dissipation. Disorder leads to the formation of large rare regions which are locally ordered superconducting puddles dispersed in a metallic matrix. Their dissipative dynamics causes the activated scaling, as predicted by a renormalization group theory.