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Controlled release of multiphoton quantum states from a microwave cavity memory

Nature Physics volume 13, pages 882–887 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

Signal transmission loss in a quantum network can be overcome by encoding quantum states in complex multiphoton fields. But transmitting quantum information encoded in this way requires that locally stored states can be converted to propagating fields. Here we experimentally show the controlled conversion of multiphoton quantum states, such as Schrödinger cat states, from a microwave cavity quantum memory into propagating modes. By parametric conversion using the nonlinearity of a single Josephson junction, we can release the cavity state in ∼500 ns, about three orders of magnitude faster than its intrinsic lifetime. This mechanism—which we dub Schrödinger’s catapult—faithfully converts arbitrary cavity fields to travelling signals with an estimated efficiency of >90%, enabling the on-demand generation of complex itinerant quantum states. Importantly, the release process can be precisely controlled on fast timescales, allowing us to generate entanglement between the cavity and the travelling mode by partial conversion.

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Figure 1: Nodes in a quantum network using high-Q cavities as memories.
Figure 2: Cavity damping by mode-conversion.
Figure 3: Travelling multiphoton quantum states.
Figure 4: Generating entanglement between stationary and travelling fields.

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Acknowledgements

We thank J. Blumoff, K. Chou, M. Constantin and M. Reagor for experimental assistance, and K. Sliwa and A. Narla for help setting up the parametric amplifier. We gratefully acknowledge valuable discussions with S. M. Girvin, R. Hanson, Z. Leghtas, K. W. Lehnert, A. Narla, A. Reed, S. Shankar and S. Touzard. This research was supported by the US Army Research Office (W911NF-14-1-0011). W.P. was supported by NSF grant PHY1309996 and by a fellowship instituted with a Max Planck Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation; W.P. and P.R. by the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-15-1-0015); C.J.A. by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (DGE-1122492); L.D.B. by the ARO QuaCGR Fellowship; L.J. by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Packard Foundation. Facilities use was supported by the Yale Institute for Nanoscience and Quantum Engineering (YINQE), the Yale SEAS cleanroom, and the National Science Foundation (MRSECDMR-1119826).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Applied Physics and Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 06520, USA

    Wolfgang Pfaff, Christopher J. Axline, Luke D. Burkhart, Uri Vool, Philip Reinhold, Luigi Frunzio, Liang Jiang, Michel H. Devoret & Robert J. Schoelkopf

  2. Yale Quantum Institute, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 06520, USA

    Wolfgang Pfaff, Christopher J. Axline, Luke D. Burkhart, Uri Vool, Philip Reinhold, Luigi Frunzio, Liang Jiang, Michel H. Devoret & Robert J. Schoelkopf

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  1. Wolfgang Pfaff
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Contributions

W.P., C.J.A. and L.D.B. took and analysed the data, and performed theoretical modelling with input from U.V.; C.J.A. fabricated the device; P.R. contributed to the measurement software; W.P., C.J.A., L.D.B. and R.J.S. wrote the manuscript with input from all authors. R.J.S. supervised the project.

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Correspondence to Wolfgang Pfaff.

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Competing interests

R.J.S., M.H.D. and L.F. are founders and equity shareholders of Quantum Circuits, Inc.

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Pfaff, W., Axline, C., Burkhart, L. et al. Controlled release of multiphoton quantum states from a microwave cavity memory. Nature Phys 13, 882–887 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys4143

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