Saving superconducting quantum processors from decay and correlated errors generated by gamma and cosmic rays
Abstract Error-corrected quantum computers can only work if errors are small and uncorrelated. Here, I show how cosmic rays or stray background radiation affects superconducting qubits by modeling the phonon to electron/quasiparticle down-conversion physics. For present designs, the model predicts a...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | article |
| Language: | EN |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2021
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doaj.org/article/4e097acef3024c9aae5ec18c56f80155 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Abstract Error-corrected quantum computers can only work if errors are small and uncorrelated. Here, I show how cosmic rays or stray background radiation affects superconducting qubits by modeling the phonon to electron/quasiparticle down-conversion physics. For present designs, the model predicts about 57% of the radiation energy breaks Cooper pairs into quasiparticles, which then vigorously suppress the qubit energy relaxation time (T 1 ~ 600 ns) over a large area (cm) and for a long time (ms). Such large and correlated decay kills error correction. Using this quantitative model, I show how this energy can be channeled away from the qubit so that this error mechanism can be reduced by many orders of magnitude. I also comment on how this affects other solid-state qubits. |
|---|