Cited by 246Quantum Information and CryptographyQuantum Computing Algorithms and ArchitectureSuperconducting and THz Device Technology

Correlated charge noise and relaxation errors in superconducting qubits

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Wilen, C. D., Abdullah, S., Kurinsky, N. A., Stanford, C., Cardani, L., D’Imperio, G., Tomei, C., Faoro, L. +6 more·2021·Nature

Abstract

The central challenge in building a quantum computer is error correction. Unlike classical bits, which are susceptible to only one type of error, quantum bits (qubits) are susceptible to two types of error, corresponding to flips of the qubit state about the X and Z directions. Although the Heisenberg uncertainty principle precludes simultaneous monitoring of X- and Z-flips on a single qubit, it is possible to encode quantum information in large arrays of entangled qubits that enable accurate monitoring of all errors in the system, provided that the error rate is low 1. Another crucial requirement is that errors cannot be correlated. Here we characterize a superconducting multiqubit circuit and find that charge noise in the chip is highly correlated on a length scale over 600 micrometres; moreover, discrete charge jumps are accompanied by a strong transient reduction of qubit energy relaxation time across the millimetre-scale chip. The resulting correlated errors are explained in terms of the charging event and phonon-mediated quasiparticle generation associated with absorption of γ-rays and cosmic-ray muons in the qubit substrate. Robust quantum error correction will require the development of mitigation strategies to protect multiqubit arrays from correlated errors due to particle impacts.

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  • When interacting with the chip, cosmic and gamma rays can deposit energies in the 100 keV to 1 MeV range, dwarfing the typical energy scales in the qubits at around 25 eV.

    “When interacting with the chip, these rays can deposit energies in the 100 keV to 1 MeV range [5, 8], dwar ng the typical energy scales in our qubits at around 25 eV.”

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Authors
Wilen, C. D., Abdullah, S., Kurinsky, N. A., Stanford, C., Cardani, L., D’Imperio, G., Tomei, C., Faoro, L., Ioffe, L. B., Liu, C. H., Opremcak, A., Christensen, B. G., DuBois, J. L., & McDermott, R.
Affiliations
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
  • Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (US)
  • Stanford University (US)
  • Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma I (IT)
  • Google (United States) (US)
  • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (US)
Corresponding author
  • Wilen, C. D.
  • McDermott, R.
Venue
Nature
Published
2021-06-16
Volume
594
Issue
7863
Pages
369-373
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W3166751781
Cited by
246
References
51
Citations by year
2026: 28 · 2025: 54 · 2024: 50 · 2023: 47 · 2022: 39 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 1
FWCI
14.50
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University)
Funders
U.S. Department of Energy (DESC0020313)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › Quantum Information and Cryptography
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › Quantum Computing Algorithms and Architecture
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Superconducting and THz Device Technology
Keywords
superconducting qubits, quantum error correction, cosmic ray muons, gamma-ray attenuation, spatially correlated errors, quantum computing hardware

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