Abstract: Quantum coherence in natural and artificial spin systems is fundamental to applications ranging from quantum information science to magnetic-resonance imaging and identification. Several multipulse control sequences targeting generalized noise models have been developed to extend coherence by dynamically decoupling a spin system from its noisy environment. In any particular implementation, however, the efficacy of these methods is sensitive to the specific frequency distribution of the noise, suggesting that these same pulse sequences could also be used to probe the noise spectrum directly. Here we demonstrate noise spectroscopy by means of dynamical decoupling using a superconducting qubit with energy-relaxation time T1=12μs. We first demonstrate that dynamical decoupling improves the coherence time T2 in this system up to the T2=2T1 limit (pure dephasing times exceeding 100μs), and then leverage its filtering properties to probe the environmental noise over a frequency (f) range 0.2-20MHz, observing a 1/fα distribution with α<1. The characterization of environmental noise has broad utility for spin-resonance applications, enabling the design of optimized coherent-control methods, promoting device and materials engineering, and generally improving coherence.

Abstract: A critical challenge for the convergence of optics and electronics is that the micrometre scale of optics is significantly larger than the nanometre scale of modern electronic devices. In the conversion from photons to electrons by photodetectors, this size incompatibility often leads to substantial penalties in power dissipation, area, latency and noise. A photodetector can be made smaller by using a subwavelength active region; however, this can result in very low responsivity because of the diffraction limit of the light. Here we exploit the idea of a half-wave Hertz dipole antenna (length approx 380 nm) from radio waves, but at near-infrared wavelengths (length approx 1.3 microm), to concentrate radiation into a nanometre-scale germanium photodetector. This gives a polarization contrast of a factor of 20 in the resulting photocurrent in the subwavelength germanium element, which has an active volume of 0.00072 microm3, a size that is two orders of magnitude smaller than previously demonstrated detectors at such wavelengths.

Abstract: Phase slips are topological fluctuations that carry the superconducting order-parameter field between distinct current-carrying states. Owing to these phase slips, superconducting nanowires acquire electrical resistance. In such wires, it is well known that at higher temperatures phase slips occur through the process of thermal barrier-crossing by the order-parameter field. At low temperatures, the general expectation is that phase slips should proceed through quantum tunnelling events, which are known as quantum phase slips. However, resistive measurements have produced evidence both for and against the occurrence of quantum phase slips. Here, we report evidence for the observation of individual quantum phase-slip events in homogeneous ultranarrow wires at high bias currents. We accomplish this through measurements of the distribution of switching currents for which the width exhibits a rather counter-intuitive, monotonic increase with decreasing temperature. Importantly, measurements show that in nanowires with larger critical currents, quantum fluctuations dominate thermal fluctuations up to higher temperatures.

Abstract: In this paper, we propose and present data from a fast THz detector based on the repurpose of hot electron bolometer mixers (HEB) fabricated from superconducting NbN thinfilm. This detector is essentially a traditional NbN bolometer element that operates under the influence of a microwave pump. The in-jected microwave power serves the dual purpose of enhancing the detector sensitivity and reading out the impedance changes of the device in response to incidentTHz radiation. We have measured an optical Noise Equivalent Power of 4 pW/ Hz for our detector at a bath temperature of 4.2 K. The measurement frequency was 0.83 THz and the modulation frequency was 1.48 kHz. The readout
scheme is versatile and facilitates both high-speed operation as well as multi-pixel applications.

Abstract: A waveguide 1.25–1.39 THz Hot Electron Bolometer (HEB) balanced receiver was successfully developed, characterized and installed at the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX) telescope. The receiver employs a quadrature balanced scheme using a waveguide 90-degree 3 dB RF hybrid, HEB mixers and a 180-degree IF hybrid. The HEB mixers are based on ultrathin NbN film deposited on crystalline quartz with a MgO buffer layer. Integrated into the multi-channel APEX facility receiver (SHeFI), the results presented here demonstrate exceptional performance; a receiver noise temperature of 1000 K measured at the telescope at the center of the receiver IF band 2-4 GHz, and at an LO frequency of 1294 GHz. Stability of the receiver is fully in line with the SIS mixer bands of the SHeFI, and gives a spectroscopic Allan time of more than 200 s with a noise bandwidth of 1 MHz.