Types of qubits

Qubits (quantum bits) are the fundamental units of quantum computing, realized physically
through various quantum systems. The most prominent types include superconducting qubits,
trapped ion qubits, photonic qubits, and spin qubits, each with unique advantages and
operational challenges.
Here are the primary types of qubits:
 Superconducting Qubits: These are the most common type used in commercial systems by
companies like Google and IBM. They are built from circuits that carry electrical current without
resistance at extremely low temperatures, and are known for fast operation speeds.
 Trapped Ion Qubits: These use individual charged atoms (ions) held in place by
electromagnetic fields and manipulated with lasers. They are highly precise and have long
coherence times (the time they can maintain their quantum state) but are generally slower than
superconducting qubits.
 Photonic Qubits: These utilize photons (particles of light) to encode information, often using
properties like polarization or path. A key advantage is their ability to operate at room
temperature and travel long distances, making them ideal for quantum communication, though
entanglement can be challenging.
 Spin Qubits (Quantum Dots): These rely on the intrinsic spin of an electron or atomic nucleus,
often confined within semiconductor nanostructures called quantum dots. They are compatible
with existing semiconductor manufacturing techniques, offering potential for large-scale
integration.
 Neutral Atom Qubits: These use uncharged atoms trapped in optical lattices or arrays formed
by laser beams. They offer a high degree of scalability and long coherence times, with
companies like QuEra and Atom Computing actively developing this technology.
 Topological Qubits: Still largely in the research phase (prominently by Microsoft), these are
based on exotic quasiparticles called anyons. The information is stored in the structural
properties of the material, making them theoretically more robust and naturally resistant to
environmental noise and errors.
 Diamond Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) Center Qubits: These use defects in a diamond's crystal
lattice. The electron spin at the NV center can be manipulated with microwaves and optics, and
they uniquely can operate at room temperature, making them useful for quantum sensing
applications.
 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Qubits: These use the nuclear spins of atoms within
molecules, manipulated by radiofrequency pulses in a strong magnetic field. They are primarily
used in academic research and education for small-scale simulations due to scalability
limitations.
Each qubit type has distinct advantages and disadvantages in terms of coherence, fidelity
(accuracy of operations), and scalability, and the ultimate solution for practical quantum
computing may involve a combination of these approaches in hybrid systems.

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 Superconducting qubits
Superconducting qubits are electrical circuits made from superconducting materials (such as
aluminum or niobium) that exhibit quantum mechanical properties and are used as a leading
platform for building quantum computers. They function as "artificial atoms" with discrete,
unevenly spaced energy levels that define the quantum bits (qubits).
How They Work
Superconducting qubits rely on two key components and principles:
 Superconductivity: When cooled to extremely low temperatures (near absolute zero in a
dilution refrigerator), certain materials lose all electrical resistance, allowing current to flow
indefinitely without energy loss. The charge carriers are "Cooper pairs" of electrons, which
behave as bosons.
 Josephson Junction: The critical element is a Josephson junction, a thin insulating barrier
between two superconductors through which Cooper pairs can quantum tunnel. This component
acts as a nonlinear inductor, which is essential for creating the required uneven energy levels that
allow specific "0" and "1" states to be isolated and addressed with microwave pulses. A circuit
with a regular linear inductor would have evenly spaced energy levels, making it impossible to
use as a qubit.
Types of Superconducting Qubits
Several archetypes have been developed, with the transmon qubit being the most widely used
today due to its robustness against charge noise:
 Charge Qubit: Its states are defined by the number of Cooper pairs on a superconducting island.
 Flux Qubit: Encodes information in the magnetic flux or the direction of circulating current
within a superconducting loop.
 Phase Qubit: Energy levels correspond to different quantum charge oscillation amplitudes
across the junction.
 Transmon Qubit: A variation of the charge qubit with a large shunting capacitor, specifically
designed to reduce sensitivity to charge noise and improve coherence times.
Superconducting qubits are a leading technology in the race to build a fault-tolerant quantum
computer, with constant research focused on improving material purity, chip design, and error
correction to scale up the technology.

Superconducting qubits are essentially engineered anharmonic oscillators, which means their
energy levels are unequally spaced. This is a crucial distinction from the quantum harmonic

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oscillator (QHO) model, where the energy levels are evenly spaced and thus unsuitable for
defining a two-level quantum bit (qubit).
The Role of the Harmonic Oscillator in Superconducting Qubits
The QHO model serves as a foundational building block for understanding superconducting
qubits in two key ways:

 Classical LC Circuits: The starting point for deriving the quantum mechanical
description of a superconducting circuit is often a classical LC (inductor-capacitor)
oscillator circuit. The equations of motion for an LC circuit are analogous to a
mechanical harmonic oscillator, with charge and magnetic flux playing the roles of
position and momentum, respectively.
 Circuit QED: In circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED), a superconducting qubit (the
"artificial atom") is often coupled to a microwave cavity or resonator, which is modeled
as a quantum harmonic oscillator. This coupling allows for the control and measurement
of the qubit state.

The Need for Anharmonicity

To function as a qubit, a system must have two distinct, addressable energy states (labeled
|0⟩and 1⟩).

 A true QHO has energy levels given by 𝐸𝑛=(𝑛+1/2)ℏ𝜔0, where the spacing between any
adjacent levels is the same (ℏ𝜔0).
 If a control pulse designed to excite the transition from |0⟩to |1⟩were applied to a QHO, it
would also simultaneously excite the transition from |1⟩ to |2⟩, making it impossible to
isolate the desired two-level system for computation.
The Josephson Junction: The Key Nonlinear Element
The solution is the incorporation of a Josephson junction into the superconducting circuit. A
Josephson junction is a nonlinear circuit element that provides an anharmonic potential energy
function (typically a cosine potential).

 This nonlinearity causes the energy levels to be unequally spaced, with the energy gap
between the first two levels (𝜔10) being different from the gap between the next two
levels (𝜔21).
 This energy difference, or anharmonicity, allows scientists to selectively address and
manipulate only the |0⟩and |1⟩ states using precisely tuned microwave pulses, effectively
creating a functional two-level quantum system.

(a) LC oscillator circuit behaving a harmonic oscillator with equally spaced energy levels. (b) Equivalent LC oscillator with inductor replaced by
Josephson junction behaving an anharmonic oscillator.

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Different types of qubits, such as transmon, flux, and phase qubits, manage the balance between
the harmonic (capacitive/inductive) elements and the nonlinear Josephson junction to optimize
properties like coherence and noise insensitivity.

Charge qubit: A superconducting charge qubit, also known as a Cooper Pair Box, is a tiny
superconducting circuit that encodes quantum information in the number of Cooper pairs on a
small "island". Its circuit features a Josephson junction (an insulator between superconductors)
connecting the island to a superconducting reservoir, controlled by a gate voltage that tunes the
electrostatic energy, allowing superposition of charge states (e.g., zero or one extra Cooper pair)
for quantum computing.
Key Components & How It Works:

 Superconducting Island: A small patch of superconducting material (like aluminum)

cooled to extremely low temperatures, allowing current (Cooper pairs) to flow without
resistance.
 Josephson Junction: A thin insulating barrier (e.g., Aluminum Oxide) allowing Cooper
pairs to quantum mechanically tunnel across, creating a non-linear inductor.
 Capacitor & Gate: A capacitor links the island to a control gate, allowing external
voltage to shift the island's chemical potential, thus controlling the number of Cooper
pairs.
 Quantum States: The qubit states (|0⟩ and |1⟩) represent different numbers of Cooper
pairs on the island (e.g., 𝑁 or 𝑁+1pairs).
 Superposition: By tuning the gate voltage, the system can be placed in a superposition of
having 𝑁 and 𝑁+1 Cooper pairs simultaneously.

The basic circuit for a charge qubit consists of the following components:

 A Superconducting Island: A small piece of superconducting material, often aluminum,

that can hold a discrete number of Cooper pairs.
 A Josephson Junction (𝐸𝐽): A thin insulating barrier between two layers of
superconducting material. It acts as a nonlinear inductor and allows Cooper pairs to
tunnel through, enabling quantum mechanical effects like superposition and quantum
tunneling.

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  A Gate Capacitor (𝐶𝑔): A capacitor connecting the superconducting island to a voltage
source (𝑉𝑔). This allows control over the "gate-induced charge" on the island, which is
used to tune the qubit's energy levels.
 A Superconducting Reservoir: The main body of the circuit to which the island is
connected.

The resulting circuit is analogous to an artificial atom, with quantized and unequally spaced
energy levels due to the Josephson junction's nonlinearity.

How It Works
The qubit's operation is governed by the competition between two energy scales: the charging
energy (𝐸𝐶) (the energy required to add a single Cooper pair to the island) and the Josephson
energy (𝐸𝐽) (the energy associated with Cooper pairs tunneling across the junction).
In a charge qubit, the charging energy is much larger than the Josephson energy (𝐸𝐶≫𝐸𝐽). The
two lowest energy states correspond to having zero or one extra Cooper pair on the island
(labeled as |0⟩ and |1⟩).

 Control: Applying microwave pulses through the gate capacitor manipulates the qubit's
state, driving Rabi oscillations between the |0⟩and |1⟩states.
 Measurement: The qubit state is typically measured by coupling the island to an
electrometer, such as a Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID), which
detects changes in the charge state.
 Optimizing Coherence: Original charge qubits had short coherence times due to
electrical noise. Modern variants, like the transmon qubit, add a large shunt capacitor to
significantly increase the 𝐸𝐽/𝐸𝐶 ratio, making them much less sensitive to charge noise
while maintaining sufficient anharmonicity to isolate the two desired energy levels

Matrix representation: The state vectors |0> and |1> can be written as column vectors (a
matrix with only one column)

1 0
|0> = |1> =
0 1
These are called column vectors since they have single column.

Problem: Show that I|0> = |0> I|1> = |1> using the matrix form of I, |0>, and |1>

Pauli matrices and its operations on |0> and |1> states

W. Pauli introduced a set of three 2×2 matrices to describe a particle of spin ½ in non-relativistic
quantum mechanics which is now of relevance to quantum computation and quantum
information.

0 1 0 −𝑖 1 0
𝜎 = , 𝜎 = ,𝜎 =
1 0 𝑖 0 0 −1
Problem: Carry out the matrix multiplication of 𝜎 , 𝜎 , 𝜎 with |0>, and |1> respectively.

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Problem: Consider A, a linear operator from V to V such that A|0> = |1> and I|1> = |0>
Obtain the matrix representation of A.

Conjugate of a matrix, transpose of a matrix, Unitary Matrix U: Examples

Hermitian conjugate: In the matrix representation of an operator A, the action of Hermitian

conjugate is to take A to the conjugate transpose matrix of A.

i.e. 𝐴 = (A∗ )

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Example: 𝐴 = 𝐴 = [1 −𝑖 ]
𝑖
A is said to be a Hermitian matrix if 𝐴 = 𝐴

1 4 + 3𝑖
Problem: Check if matrix 𝐴 = is Hermitian.
4 − 3𝑖 5
Unitary matrix: A matrix U is Unitary if 𝑈𝑈 = 𝐼 . An operator is Unitary if and only if each of
its matrix representations is Unitary. Unitary operators assume significance since they preserve
the inner product between vectors.

√ √
Problem: Show that 𝐴 = is Unitary.
√ √

Row and column matrices and their multiplication (inner product), probability, and
quantum superposition, normalization rule. Orthogonality, orthonormality

Row vectors: We had represented a ket vector in terms of a column matrix

𝛼
|𝑣> = 𝛼

Similarly a row matrix can also be identified with a vector called bra vector

< 𝑣| = [𝛼 ∗ 𝛼 ∗ ]

Where
𝛼
𝛼 = [𝛼 ∗ 𝛼 ∗ ]

Thus bra is the complex conjugate transpose of ket and conversely ket is the complex conjugate
transpose of bra. Flipping between kets and bras is called ‘taking the dual’.

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Example
1⁄√2
If |𝜑> = then
𝑖 ⁄√2
< 𝜑| = 1⁄√2 −𝑖 ⁄√2

1
Problem: Find the bra vector of |0> =
0
Inner product: If there are two states
𝛼
|𝜓> = 𝛼
𝛽
|𝜑> =
𝛽

One way of multiplying |𝜓> and |𝜑> is by taking their inner product as

< 𝜓|𝜑 >= (< 𝜓|) ∗ (|𝜑 >)

𝛽
[𝛼 ∗ 𝛼∗] = 𝛼∗𝛽 + 𝛼∗𝛽
𝛽

< 𝜓|𝜑 > is called the inner product and the result is always a scalar product by which several
properties can be understood.

Problem: Prove that < 𝜑|𝜓> = < 𝜓|𝜑>∗

Probability: Consider a quantum state

|𝜓>= 𝛼|0 > + 𝛽|1 >

1 0 𝛼
|𝜓> = 𝛼 +𝛽 = 𝛽
0 1
let us take an inner product with itself
𝛼
< 𝜓|𝜓 >= [𝛼 ∗ 𝛽 ∗ ] 𝛽 = 𝛼𝛼 ∗ + 𝛽𝛽 ∗ = |𝛼| + |𝛽|

We know that 𝜓𝜓 ∗ = |𝜓| represents the probability [𝜓 ∗ =< 𝜓|

We have < 𝜓|𝜓 >= |𝜓| = |𝛼| + |𝛽| = 1

implying that the state |𝜓> is normalized.

Orthogonality: Consider the inner product of |0> and |1>

0
< 0|1 >= [1 0] = 1.0 + 0.1 = 0
1
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 < 0|1 > are said to be orthogonal.

Two states |𝜓 > and |𝜑 > are said to be orthogonal if their inner product is zero

< 𝜓|𝜑 >= 0

Orthonormal: Two states|𝜓 > and |𝜑 > are said to be orthonormal if

1. |𝜓 > and |𝜑 > are normalized

and
2. |𝜓 > and |𝜑 > are orthogonal to each other.

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Problem: Verify if |𝜔 >= and |𝑣 >= [1 −1]are orthogonal
1
Problem: Find 𝐴 if |𝜓 >= 𝐴(2|0 > +3𝑖|1 >)

1 1
Problem: Check for orthogonality |𝑖 > = |−𝑖 >=
√ 𝑖 √ −𝑖
Source: Course notes VTU Physics Syllabus Committee November 2022

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quantum Gates:

A classical computer is built using an electrical circuit having wires and logic gates. Likewise, a
quantum computer is built from a quantum circuit containing wires and elementary quantum
gates to transmit and manipulate quantum information.

Single Qubit Gates (circuit, matrix, explanation, truth table):

There are single bit gates in classical computing like the NOT gate that work on only a single bit.
Similarly, single qubit gates are those that act on only a single quantum bit.

Pauli –X, Y and Z Gates

0 1 0 −𝑖 1 0
𝑋= , 𝑌= ,𝑍=
1 0 𝑖 0 0 −1
The truth table for the X, Y and Z Pauli matrices are shown below

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 Hadamard Gate
The Hadamard gate is defined as
1 1 1
𝐻=
√2 1 −1
Hadamard gate transforms |0> into (|0>+|1>)/√2 and |1> into (|0>-|1>)/√2

The truth table for Hadamard gate is as follows

Phase Gate (or S Gate)

The phase gate or S gate is defined as
1 0
𝑆=
0 𝑖
Its effect on |0> is to produce |0> as output
1 0 1 1
=
0 𝑖 0 0
Similarly, its effect on |1> is to produce i|1> as output
1 0 0 0
=
0 𝑖 1 𝑖
The truth table and an S gate is shown below

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T Gate

The T gate is defined as

1 0
𝑇= ( ⁄ )
0 𝑒
If the input is |0>, then the output is |0>
If the input is |1>, then the output is exp(iπ/4)|1>
The truth table and T gate is shown below

Multiple Qubit Gates: We can generalize from single to multiple qubit gates. Similar to
classical multiple input gates such as AND, OR, XOR, NAND, NOR, etc we have multiple qubit
gates.

Controlled gate is one in which the operation is of the kind “If A is true, then do B”. A is
usually referred to as the control qubit and B as the target qubit. If the control qubit is 0, then the
target qubit is not altered. If the control qubit is 1, then the target qubit is transformed. However
the control qubit remains unaltered in both the cases.

CNOT Gate (circuit, matrix, explanation, truth table)

The prototypical multi-qubit quantum logic gate is the controlled NOT or CNOT gate. The
circuit of the CNOT gate is shown below.

The gate has two input qubits:

(a) Control qubit A
(b) Target qubit B
If the control qubit of the gate is set to 0, then the target qubit is not altered. If the controlled
qubit is set to 1, then the target qubit is inverted.

Discussion for 4 different input states.

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 The truth table of a CNOT gate is shown below.

|10>

The truth table of a CNOT gate is shown below.

The CNOT gate can be represented in the matrix form.

Source:
Quantum Computing, Vishal Sahani, McGraw Hill Education, 2007 Edition.

Entanglement, Bell states

Two-qubit gates are essential quantum operations that create entanglement, a non-local
correlation between qubits, allowing for powerful quantum computations beyond classical limits,
with common examples being the CNOT (Controlled-NOT) and CZ (Controlled-Z) gates,
often used in sequences with Hadamard gates to generate Bell states (maximally entangled
states) and form universal quantum circuits.

What They Do
 Link Qubits: These gates act on two qubits simultaneously, making their fates intertwined,
unlike single-qubit gates that only affect one qubit.
 Create Entanglement: They transform separable (non-entangled) states into entangled states,
where the combined state cannot be described by individual qubit states.

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 Enable Quantum Power: Entanglement is a key resource for quantum algorithms (like Shor's or
Grover's) and protocols (like teleportation) that offer exponential speedups over classical
methods.
Bell states are quantum states of two qubits that represent simple examples of quantum
entanglement. When one of the two qubits is measured, it takes on a specific value, and the
second qubit is forced to also take on a specific value, as the entangled state collapses.

Entanglement between two qubits is typically created using a combination of a

Hadamard (H) gate and a Controlled-NOT (CNOT) gate. These gates are used to produce
Bell states, which are specific, maximally entangled two-qubit quantum states fundamental to
quantum information science.

Generating Entanglement
A simple quantum circuit using a Hadamard gate and a CNOT gate can transform unentangled
input states (e.g., |00⟩) into one of the four Bell states.

1. Start with two qubits in the initial state |00⟩.

2. Apply a Hadamard gate (H) to the first qubit. This creates a superposition state, for
example: 𝐻|0⟩=1/√2(|0⟩+|1⟩). The combined state becomes 1/√2√(|00⟩+|10⟩).
3. Apply a CNOT gate (Controlled-NOT) using the first qubit as the control and the second
as the target. The CNOT flips the target qubit if, and only if, the control qubit is in the |1⟩
state.

The action of the CNOT gate on the superposition state results in a Bell state:
CNOT(1/√2(|00⟩+|10⟩)=1/√2(|00⟩+|11⟩)=|Φ+⟩
This final state, |Φ+⟩, is an entangled state where the individual qubits cannot be described
independently.
See for the matrix form [Link]
how-the-bell-state-arises-from-the-circuit-with-hadamard-and-cnot-using-ma

The Four Bell States

The four Bell states form an orthonormal basis for the 4-dimensional space of two-qubit
states and are defined as: |Φ+⟩=12√(|00⟩+|11⟩)

|Φ−⟩=1/√2(|00⟩−|11⟩)

|Ψ+⟩=1/√2(|01⟩+|10⟩

|Ψ−⟩=1/√2(|01⟩−|10⟩). These states are maximally entangled, meaning that measuring

one qubit instantaneously determines the state of the other, regardless of the distance
separating them, a phenomenon Einstein called "spooky action at a distance".

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 Applications

Bell states are a key resource for various quantum information processing tasks, including:

 Quantum Teleportation: Transferring a quantum state from one location to another

using a shared entangled pair and classical communication.
 Superdense Coding: A protocol that allows sending two classical bits of information by
transmitting only one qubit.
 Quantum Cryptography (Key Distribution): Utilizing the properties of entanglement
to detect eavesdropping during key generation.

Predictions of circuits with single /two-qubit gates

Single-qubit gates and two-qubit gates can be combined in a structured sequence to give a
quantum circuit containing multiple quantum gates. Consider as an example the circuit shown
below, which depicts a sequence of gates acting on two qubits, labelled |q1> and |q2>. Each qubit
enters its circuit from the left; first, a Hadamard gate is applied to qubit |q1>. Then a CNOT is
applied to |q1> and |q2>, where the control C is |q1> and the target T is |q2> . Finally, a NOT
gate is applied to |q2>.

An example of a quantum circuit with multiple quantum gates

The circuit in the above figure is a sequence of operations applied to qubits and can be analyzed,
with extra subscripts labelling the single-qubit gates and operations so that the qubit each
operation is acting on is clear. Thus 𝐻 acts only on the qubit q1, leaving q2 unchanged.
Therefore, using |00> as a sample input the calculation becomes:
|q1q2>final=𝑋 𝐶𝑋 , 𝐻 |00>.
Now 𝐻 acts only on q1, hence
𝐻 00 >= 𝐻 0 > |0 > =1/√2(|1>1+|0>1)|0>2=1/√2(|10>+|00>)
This means that
|q1q2>final=𝑋 𝐶𝑋 , 1/√2(|10>+|00>)
Next comes the effect of the CNOT gate,
|q1q2>final=𝑋 1/√2(|11>+|00>)
Finally, 𝑋 acts on q2 only,
|q1q2>final=1/√2(|10>+|01>)
Source: OpenLearn, Introduction to quantum computing
Problem: Take |11> as a sample input and calculate the final output.

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