Catch-disperse-release readout for superconducting qubits

Phys Rev Lett. 2013 May 24;110(21):210501. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.210501. Epub 2013 May 22.

Abstract

We analyze a single-shot readout for superconducting qubits via the controlled catch, dispersion, and release of a microwave field. A tunable coupler is used to decouple the microwave resonator from the transmission line during the dispersive qubit-resonator interaction, thus circumventing damping from the Purcell effect. We show that, if the qubit frequency tuning is sufficiently adiabatic, a fast high-fidelity qubit readout is possible, even in the strongly nonlinear dispersive regime. Interestingly, the Jaynes-Cummings nonlinearity leads to the quadrature squeezing of the resonator field below the standard quantum limit, resulting in a significant decrease of the measurement error.