Resonator & Cavity Parameters

Resonator and cavity checks that control readout speed, coupling, Q factors,

impedance, and frequency placement.

#

VER ID

Parameter

Severity

Design Rule / Constraint

Ideal / Optimal Value

Acceptable Range

Good

Bad

Why It Matters

9

HFSS-R-001

Resonant Frequency f₀

Critical

4.0 GHz ≤ f₀ ≤ 8.0 GHz; detuned ≥ 300 MHz from qubit

5 – 7 GHz

4 – 8 GHz

5–7 GHz: low thermal photon occupancy; standard coax hardware

< 1 GHz: thermal excitation; > 15 GHz: lossy substrate

Resonator frequency sets readout photon energy, hardware requirements, and

Purcell rate via qubit–resonator detuning.

10

HFSS-R-002

Loaded Q (Q_L)

Critical

Q_L ~ 5,000–20,000 (readout); > 10⁶ (memory)

5,000 – 20,000

1,000 – 50,000

5k–20k: readout BW 250–1000 kHz; fast measurement with acceptable Purcell

< 500: too leaky; rapid Purcell decay; > 10⁶ readout: extremely slow

Loaded Q determines readout bandwidth κ = ω₀/Q_L. Governs measurement time

and Purcell-limited qubit T₁.

11

HFSS-R-003

Internal Q (Q_i)

Critical

Q_i ≥ 10⁵ (2D planar); ≥ 10⁷ (3D cavity)

> 10⁶

10⁵ – 10⁷

> 10⁶: resonator loss << Purcell loss; qubit T₁ not

resonator-limited

< 10⁴: resonator dominates T₁ budget; unacceptable in planar SC circuits

Internal Q reflects intrinsic material, TLS, and vortex losses in resonator

walls. Sets upper limit on qubit T₁ via Purcell.

12

HFSS-R-004

External Q (Q_e)

High

Q_e ~ 2,000 – 50,000 (readout)

2,000 – 20,000

500 – 100,000

2k–20k: controllable readout rate; Purcell rate < qubit decay rate

< 100: over-coupled; Purcell T₁ < 1 µs; > 10⁶: under-coupled

External Q sets coupling to transmission line. With Q_i >> Q_e

(over-coupled), resonator is readout-limited not loss-limited.

13

HFSS-R-005

Coupling Strength g

Critical

50 MHz ≤ g / 2pi ≤ 200 MHz (strong coupling)

50 – 150 MHz

10 – 300 MHz

50–150 MHz: well in strong coupling; g/κ > 10 and g/γ > 10 confirmed

< 1 MHz: weak coupling; cQED regime not achieved; readout fidelity <

90%

Qubit–resonator coupling. Strong coupling (g >> κ, γ) is fundamental

requirement for circuit QED dispersive readout.

14

HFSS-R-006

Dispersive Shift chi

Critical

0.5 MHz ≤ |chi|/2π ≤ 10 MHz

1 – 5 MHz

0.1 – 20 MHz

1–5 MHz: large IQ-plane separation; high-fidelity single-shot readout

< 0.01 MHz: states indistinguishable; > 50 MHz: photon-induced

dephasing

State-dependent resonator frequency shift enables QND readout. chi = g²/Δ

sets IQ-plane angle; drives single-shot fidelity.

15

HFSS-R-007

Photon Decay Rate κ

High

κ/2π = 1 – 5 MHz (readout resonator)

1 – 5 MHz

0.1 – 20 MHz

1–5 MHz: readout ring-up/ring-down time ~100–500 ns; compatible with 1 µs

cycles

< 10 kHz: readout too slow; > 100 MHz: broad resonator; Purcell

collapse

Resonator energy decay rate sets readout speed. Too small → slow readout;

too large → Purcell-limited T₁.

16

HFSS-R-008

Impedance Z_0

Medium

Z_0 = 50 Ω ± 2 Ω (matched to coax)

50 Ω

45 – 55 Ω

50 Ω ± 1 Ω: VSWR < 1.05; full power coupling, no reflections in cryo

lines

< 25 Ω or > 100 Ω: VSWR > 2; large reflections; effective κ shifts

from design

Characteristic impedance matching to 50 Ω coaxial environment. Mismatch

reduces coupling efficiency and shifts κ from design.

17

HFSS-R-009

Frequency Pulling Δf

Medium

Δf < 1 MHz from design target

< 0.5 MHz

< 2 MHz

< 0.5 MHz: resonator on-frequency; readout pulse pre-calibrated

> 5 MHz: readout tone off-resonance; SNR degraded; tone calibration

required

Frequency shift due to coupling, fabrication tolerances, or dielectric

loading. Excess pulling requires per-device calibration.

18

HFSS-R-010

Kinetic Inductance α

Low

0.01 ≤ α ≤ 0.3 for standard Al/Nb resonators

0.05 – 0.2

0.001 – 0.5

0.05–0.2: moderate nonlinearity; resonator frequency stable vs power

> 0.8: strong nonlinearity; resonator bifurcates at readout photon

numbers

Kinetic inductance fraction α = L_k/(L_k+L_geo). Controls resonator

nonlinearity, power handling, and anharmonicity contribution.