Hybrid quantum circuit with a superconducting qubit coupled to a spin ensemble

Phys Rev Lett. 2011 Nov 25;107(22):220501. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.220501. Epub 2011 Nov 21.

Abstract

We report the experimental realization of a hybrid quantum circuit combining a superconducting qubit and an ensemble of electronic spins. The qubit, of the transmon type, is coherently coupled to the spin ensemble consisting of nitrogen-vacancy centers in a diamond crystal via a frequency-tunable superconducting resonator acting as a quantum bus. Using this circuit, we prepare a superposition of the qubit states that we store into collective excitations of the spin ensemble and retrieve back into the qubit later on. These results constitute a proof of concept of spin-ensemble based quantum memory for superconducting qubits.