Coherence and Decay of Higher Energy Levels of a Superconducting Transmon Qubit

TL;DR

This study measures the coherence and decay of higher energy levels in a superconducting transmon qubit, demonstrating their potential for quantum information encoding with relaxation times over 20 microseconds.

Contribution

It provides detailed experimental characterization of higher energy levels in transmon qubits, including decay dynamics and charge dispersion measurements, advancing quantum information applications.

Findings

Sequential decay dominates relaxation processes.

Relaxation times exceed 20 microseconds for all levels.

Charge dispersion measured via Ramsey fringes.

Abstract

We present measurements of coherence and successive decay dynamics of higher energy levels of a superconducting transmon qubit. By applying consecutive $\pi$-pulses for each sequential transition frequency, we excite the qubit from the ground state up to its fourth excited level and characterize the decay and coherence of each state. We find the decay to proceed mainly sequentially, with relaxation times in excess of 20 $\mu$s for all transitions. We also provide a direct measurement of the charge dispersion of these levels by analyzing beating patterns in Ramsey fringes. The results demonstrate the feasibility of using higher levels in transmon qubits for encoding quantum information.