Semiconductor-inspired design principles for superconducting quantum computing

TL;DR

This paper explores how design principles from semiconductor spin qubits can inform and improve superconducting qubit architectures, potentially enabling higher fidelity and temperature operation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel encoded qubit approach inspired by semiconductor spin systems, applicable to tunable Josephson junction qubits, and suggests new pathways for qubit design.

Findings

Proposes a microwave-free control method for superconducting qubits.

Demonstrates potential for higher fidelity qubits.

Suggests operation at higher temperatures is feasible.

Abstract

Superconducting circuits offer tremendous design flexibility in the quantum regime culminating most recently in the demonstration of few qubit systems supposedly approaching the threshold for fault-tolerant quantum information processing. Competition in the solid-state comes from semiconductor qubits, where nature has bestowed some very useful properties which can be utilized for spin qubit based quantum computing. Here we begin to explore how selective design principles deduced from spin-based systems could be used to advance superconducting qubit science. We take an initial step along this path proposing an encoded qubit approach realizable with state-of-the-art tunable Josephson junction qubits. Our results show that this design philosophy holds promise, enables microwave-free control, and offers a pathway to future qubit designs with new capabilities such as with higher fidelity or, perhaps, operation at higher temperature. The approach is also especially suited to qubits based on variable super-semi junctions.