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Regional Finalist, SARC 2025

Intrinsic Noise Cancellation in Cryogenic Superconducting Qubits Through Dynamic Time-Reversal Microwave Pulse Engineering for Generation of Phase-Conjugated Echo States

By Rata Radfar, Iran

Abstract:

Recent breakthroughs in quantum technology have greatly enhanced the protocols in error correction and the scalable growth of quantum processors is also expected to enhance efficiency and stability. While most research associated with quantum error correction has been focused on external protocols and qubit redundancy encoding (Viola & Lloyd, 1998), there is a lack of papers that study inherent, hardware-based methods of dynamic error cancellation (Khodjasteh & Lidar, 2005). In the current paper, the Quantum Echo Pairing Architecture (QEPA) is introduced which utilizes a mechanism of self-coupling to generate phase-conjugated echo states via the use of precisely engineered time-reversal microwave pulses with the aim of suppressing noise in real time (Hahn, 1950; Souza et al., 2011). This is attained through the use of scalable cryogenic hardware (Bao et al., 2024) and noise spectroscopy (Bylander et al., 2011). This paper evaluates the fault tolerance and coherence enhancement of QEPA with the aim of enabling fault-tolerant quantum computing (Yan et al., 2016).

 

Introduction:

Quantum computing has the potential to solve problems that cannot be handled by traditional devices; however, qubit decoherence caused by external noise, temperature fluctuations, and electromagnetic interference remains a major challenge. Traditional error correction relies on external protocols and redundancy encoding that demand significant resources and limit the scale (Viola & Lloyd, 1998). While relevant attempts to stabilize the environment of the qubit (Khodjasteh & Lidar, 2005) exist, the explicit implementation of error suppression in qubit circuitry remains relatively unexplored due to the inherent difficulties of interacting with the environment.

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The philosophy behind Quantum Echo Phase Adjustments (QEPA) is to allow each qubit to correct itself by internally creating a counteracting echo state. Practically, dynamic timereversal microwave pulses—painstakingly engineered via high-calibration protocols— synthesize a phase-conjugated copy of the qubit state. While operational noise accrues, the echo pulses reverse the evolution of the quantum phase and "mirror" any error in a similar way to spin-echo effects, as Hahn showed in 1950. Particularly tailored microwave hardware optimised to be reliable in cryogenic use conditions, described by Bao et al. in 2024, ensures high-fidelity pulse synthesis even at millikelvin temperatures and thereby moves error correction from external to internal, hardware-related solutions.

 

Literature Review:

Traditional quantum error correction is represented by passive codes, dynamical decoupling, and active correction (Viola & Lloyd, 1998). Early research in the case of spin-echo methods (Hahn, 1950) set the basis that guides many of the following decoupling schemes (Viola & Lloyd, 1998). Further research has dealt with hardware-based inherent error suppression through fault tolerance from quantum dynamical decoupling (Khodjasteh & Lidar, 2005) and robust echo methods designed to be used in the field of quantum memory (Souza et al., 2011). Use of cryogenic on-chip microwave sources (Bao et al., 2024) and scalable controls helps to further improve such methods. Despite the problem posed by qubit-environment couplings and the accuracy of control, a paradigm of in-situ self-coupling which inherently suppresses noise is a very promising direction towards large-scale quantum computing (Yan et al., 2016).

 

Methodology:​ 

Qubit Synthesis and Group Formation

Superconducting qubits were produced using electron-beam lithography on high-purity silicon substrates. To guarantee a reliable cryogenic setting, the qubits were inside a dilution refrigerator operating at a temperature of about 10 mK. Baseline coherence was determined via the use of Ramsey interferometry and quantum state tomography. For experimental controls, the qubits were divided into two separate groups—Group 1 (experiment) and Group 2 (control)—with similar units deployed in order to limit process variation.

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Delivering Dynamic Echo Pulse Sequences

A sequence of carefully synchronized microwave pulses, scientifically calculated to trigger the cycle of self-coupling, was applied to group 1 qubits. Dynamically, the sequence of pulses is engineered so that each pulse is a time-reversal operator; phase-conjugated echo states generated by the pulses "bounce back" the evolution of the quantum state and correct the phase distortion arising from the environment (Hahn, 1950; Souza et al., 2011). Highprecision microwave signal generation gear that is cryogenics-optimized (Bao et al., 2024) was used to generate pulses in such a way that the phase and time profiles are preserved with high fidelity. In addition to that, pulse-calibration routines implementing feedback in real time also aim to increase the fidelity of echo generation

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Advanced Measurement and Error Analysis

Following the pulse sequence implementation, the qubit performance was systematically analyzed by applying quantum process tomography and advanced spin-echo techniques (Bylander et al., 2011). Coherence times (Tâ‚‚) and error rates were determined by using dispersive readout methods. This careful monitoring allowed for the assessment of the effectiveness of the intrinsic error cancellation mechanism compared to the control group, whose operations were under the control of ordinary microwave pulses without echo modulation.

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Configuration Optimization and Statistical Evaluation

The performance metrics were subject to a thorough statistical comparison utilizing T-tests and survival analyses in the form of log-rank tests to determine the mean coherence times and error rates in the control and experimental groups (Yan et al., 2016). Statistical analyses assisted in the optimisation of pulse sequence factors and in determining the optimal setup in realizing the inherent suppression of the error. Statistical analysis is also needed to determine that the self-coupling mechanism offers a considerable improvement over existing schemes and helps in planning further scaling experiments.

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Conclusion:

Given the high mortality associated with late-stage lung cancer diagnosis in India, and the severe disparity in diagnostic access between urban and rural populations, there is an urgent need for scalable, low-cost early detection tools. By expanding my original research into a pan-India study, this project will enable the development of a robust, AIdriven, symptom-based lung cancer screening tool, adaptable for use in primary care settings across diverse regions. This tool can empower frontline healthcare workers to identify at-risk patients earlier, prioritize interventions, and ultimately save lives in communities where the traditional healthcare infrastructure is weak. By combining machine learning innovation with a commitment to healthcare equity, this research has the potential to meaningfully reduce the burden of lung cancer mortality across India.

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References :

Bao, Z., et al. (2021). On‑demand storage and retrieval of microwave photons using a superconducting multiresonator quantum memory. Physical Review Letters, 127, 010503. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.010503

 

Bao, Z., Li, Y., Wang, Z., Wang, J., Yang, J., Xiong, H., Song, Y., Wu, Y., Zhang, H., & Duan, L. (2024). A cryogenic on‑chip microwave pulse generator for large‑scale superconducting quantum computing. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2407.11775

 

Bardin, J. C., Slichter, D. H., & Reilly, D. J. (2021). Microwaves in quantum computing. IEEE Journal of Microwaves, 1, 403. https://doi.org/10.1109/JMW.2020.3034071

 

Bylander, J., et al. (2011). Noise spectroscopy through dynamical decoupling with a superconducting flux qubit. Nature Physics, 7, 565–570. https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys2032

 

Hahn, E. L. (1950). Spin echoes. Physical Review, 80(4), 580–594. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.80.580

 

Kim, Y., et al. (2023). Evidence for the utility of quantum computing before fault tolerance. Nature, 618, 500. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06096-3

 

Khodjasteh, K., & Lidar, D. A. (2005). Fault‑Tolerant Quantum Dynamical Decoupling. Physical Review Letters, 95, 180501. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.180501

 

Pauka, S., et al. (2021). A cryogenic CMOS chip for generating control signals for multiple qubits. Nature Electronics, 4, 64. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-020-00528-y

 

Souza, A. M., Álvarez, G. A., & Suter, D. (2011). Robust dynamical decoupling for quantum computing and quantum memory. Physical Review Letters, 106(24), 240501. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.240501

 

Viola, L., & Lloyd, S. (1998). Dynamical suppression of decoherence in two‑state quantum systems. Physical Review A, 58(4), 2733–2744. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.58.2733

 

Yan, C., et al. (2021). A low-noise on-chip coherent microwave source. Nature Electronics, 4, 885. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-021-00680-z

 

Yan, F., Gustavsson, S., Kamal, A., Birenbaum, J., Pritchett, E. J., Houck, A. A., & Oliver, W. D. (2016). The flux qubit revisited to enhance coherence and reproducibility. Nature Communications, 7, 12964. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12964

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