Two-tone spectroscopy for the detection of two-level systems in superconducting qubits

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new two-tone spectroscopy method for detecting two-level systems in superconducting qubits, enabling TLS characterization without the need for tunable qubits, thus broadening the applicability of TLS studies.

Contribution

A novel two-tone spectroscopy technique that uses only microwave drive and dispersive readout, suitable for fixed-frequency superconducting qubits.

Findings

Effective detection of TLSs using the proposed method.

TLS parameters can be estimated from qubit population data.

Method applicable to fixed-frequency qubits without tunability.

Abstract

Two-level systems (TLS) of unclear physical origin are a major contributor to decoherence in superconducting qubits. The interactions of individual TLS with a qubit can be detected via various spectroscopic methods, most of which have relied on the tunability of the qubit frequency. We propose a novel method that requires only a microwave drive and dispersive readout, and thus also works fixed-frequency qubits. The proposed two-tone spectroscopy involves a microwave pulse of varying frequency and length to excite TLSs of unknown frequencies, followed by a second pulse at the qubit frequency. TLS parameters can be estimated from the qubit population as a function of the first pulse frequency and length.