Optical readout of a superconducting qubit using a piezo-optomechanical transducer

Abstract

Superconducting quantum processors have made significant progress in size and computing potential. However, the practical cryogenic limitations of operating large numbers of superconducting qubits are becoming a bottleneck for further scaling. Due to the low thermal conductivity and the dense optical multiplexing capacity of telecommunications fiber, converting qubit signal processing to the optical domain using microwave-to-optics transduction would significantly relax the strain on cryogenic space and thermal budgets. Here, we demonstrate optical readout of a superconducting transmon qubit through an optical fiber connected via a coaxial cable to a fully integrated piezo-optomechanical transducer. Using a demolition readout technique, we achieve a single shot readout fidelity of 81%. Our results illustrate the benefits of piezo-optomechanical transduction for low-dissipation operation of large quantum processors.