Measurable Improvement in Multi-Qubit Readout Using a Kinetic Inductance Traveling Wave Parametric Amplifier
Manuel A. Castellanos-Beltran, Logan A. Howe, Andrea Giachero, Michael R. Vissers, Danilo Labranca, Joel N. Ullom, P. F. Hopkins · IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity · 2025
Increasing the size and complexity of quantum information systems requires highly-multiplexed readout architectures, as well as amplifier chains operating near the quantum limit (QL) of added noise. While documented prior efforts in KI-TWPA integration in quantum systems are scarce, in this work we demonstrate integration of a KI-TWPA with a multiplexed-qubit device. To quantify the system noise improvement we perform an ac Stark shift calibration to precisely determine noise power levels on-chip (at each cavity's reference plane) and the total system gain. We then characterize the qubit state measurement fidelity and the corresponding signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). To conduct the most faithful measurement of the benefits offered by the KI-TWPA we perform these measurements for readout chains where the high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) amplifier is the first-stage amplifier (FSA) – with none of the external hardware required to operate the KI-TWPA – and with the KI-TWPA as the FSA. While some readout cavities fall outside the KI-TWPA bandwidth, for those inside the bandwidth we demonstrate a maximum improvement in the state measurement SNR by a factor of 1.45, and increase the fidelity from 96.2% to 97.8%. These measurements demonstrate a system noise below 5 quantareferenced on-chipand we bound the KI-TWPA excess noise to be below 4 quanta for the six cavities inside its bandwidth. These results show a promising path forward for realizing quantum-limited readout chains in large qubit systems using a single parametric amplifier.