Phononic bath engineering of a superconducting qubit

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how coupling a superconducting qubit to a engineered phononic bath of surface acoustic wave phonons allows control over qubit states and dissipation, advancing open quantum system research.

Contribution

It introduces a novel platform for phononic bath engineering in superconducting qubits, enabling spectral shaping and state stabilization through dissipation control.

Findings

Spectral shaping of qubit loss spectrum achieved

Preparation of superposition states via engineered dissipation

Enhanced understanding of mechanical losses in superconducting qubits

Abstract

Phonons, the ubiquitous quanta of vibrational energy, play a vital role in the performance of quantum technologies. Conversely, unintended coupling to phonons degrades qubit performance and can lead to correlated errors in superconducting qubit systems. Regardless of whether phonons play an enabling or deleterious role, they do not typically admit control over their spectral properties, nor the possibility of engineering their dissipation to be used as a resource. Here we show that coupling a superconducting qubit to a bath of piezoelectric surface acoustic wave phonons enables a novel platform for investigating open quantum systems. By shaping the loss spectrum of the qubit via the bath of lossy surface phonons, we demonstrate preparation and dynamical stabilization of superposition states through the combined effects of drive and dissipation. These experiments highlight the versatility of engineered phononic dissipation and advance the understanding of mechanical losses in superconducting qubit systems.