Superconducting Quantum Devices Group

The Superconducting Quantum Devices (SQD) group explores the rich physics and applications of devices based on superconducting materials operated at ultra-low temperatures.

Some of the common themes of research in our group are the interaction of devices with their environment and quantum control.

Current research directions in the SQD group:

  • Improvement of coherence of superconducting quantum devices. The main current research topics are the improvement of quantum coherence of devices based on niobium through improved growth and surface cleaning and the development of fluxonium quantum bits.
  • Multilevel systems. Our recent work focused on quantum control and process characterization in multilevel systems, also called qudits. We plan to develop advanced quantum control protocols and explore quantum simulators based on qudit.
  • Waveguide quantum electrodynamics. Flux qubits coupled to superconducting waveguides implement the spin-boson Hamiltonian. We are interested in the dynamics at strong system-environment coupling, in the non-Markovian regime. Experiments with two flux qubits coupled to a waveguide can be used to probe the entanglement present in the vacuum state of a quantum field.
  • Quantum sensing. Our group demonstrated an ultra-sensitive magnetometer based on flux qubits. More recently, we started work on using levitated superconductors as a quantum sensing platform.

Principal investigator

Adrian Lupascu

Adrian Lupascu

Faculty, Associate Professor

Research expertise

  • Superconducting flux qubits for quantum information
  • Quantum sensing with superconducting devices
  • Quantum annealing
  • Strong light matter interaction in superconducting circuits
  • Relativistic quantum information with superconducting circuits

Research area

  • QUANTUM MATERIALS
Four images showcasing various quantum experiments and devices

a) Hermetic microwave cavity. Left: assembled cavity. Right: open cavity, showing a sapphire chip with microfabricated niobium resonators. b)Qutrit randomized benchmarking experiment. Top: diagram of the experiment, with an applied sequence of Clifford gates. Bottom left: single control pulse. Bottom right: energy level diagram. c) Image of a device used for waveguide quantum electrodynamics experiments, showing a flux qubit with tunable coupling to a waveguide. d) Qubit sensor used to implement a magnetometer (left) and control protocol for measurements of ac magnetic fields (right).

Current funding support

  • NSERC, Quantum Alliance Program - “Superconducting levitation in the quantum regime - a platform for quantum science and technology”

  • NSERC, Research Tools and Instruments Program - “Critical repair of a dilution refrigerator used for experiments with superconducting devices”
  • CFREF, Transformative Quantum Technologies Program - “Entanglement harvesting with superconducting devices”
  • NSERC, Quantum Alliance Program - “Development of a scalable superconducting quantum computing platform based on fluxonium qubits”
  • NSERC, Quantum Alliance International Program - “Quantum information processing with multilevel systems”
  • US Department of Energy, Quantum Horizons Program - “QIS and nuclear physics technologies for next generation materials and architectures for high coherence superconducting qubits”
  • Defence Research and Development Canada - “Quantum Technologies Support Services”, Quantum magnetometry and gravimetry
  • NSERC, Discovery Program - “Exploring new frontiers in quantum information and open quantum systems using superconducting flux quantum bits”

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