Low-Back-Action RF SQUID Readout for a Josephson Flux Qubit Measurement

Superconducting qubits demonstrate good perspectives as scalable blocks for quantum information processing. These systems can be individually readout, addressed, and controlled, making them some of the most attractive thin-film qubits. Quantum measurements should be performed in order to readout the final state of flux qubits. To observe the dynamics of such systems, one requires a fast magnetometer with exceptional sensitivity and low back-action. We address the problem of reducing the back-action of an RF SQUID readout circuit, which may significantly destroy a Josephson flux qubit in the case of the circuits integration. The main sources of such back-action in conventional RF SQUID and DC SQUID circuits are low-ohmic shunting resistors ensuring high damping. The advantage of flux qubits is the presence of an optimal bias point at which, in the first-order approximation, the device is immune to fluctuations in readout and control lines. Nonetheless, even such systems have characteristics limited by a second-order dissipation. The dissipation can be eliminated by using an “ideal parametric readout” based on an RF SQUID acting in non-hysteretic adiabatic mode. In this paper, we propose an RF SQUID in a non-hysteretic regime as a fast, sensitive, and scalable readout system with low back-action for measurements of a single MW photon counter based on a flux qubit.