Many-excitation removal of a transmon qubit using a single-junction quantum-circuit refrigerator and a two-tone microwave drive

Achieving fast and precise initialization of qubits is a critical requirement for the successful operation of quantum computers. The combination of engineered environments with all-microwave techniques has recently emerged as a promising approach for the reset of superconducting quantum devices. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate the utilization of a single-junction quantum-circuit refrigerator (QCR) for an expeditious removal of several excitations from a transmon qubit. The QCR is indirectly coupled to the transmon through a resonator in the dispersive regime, constituting a carefully engineered environmental spectrum for the transmon. Using single-shot readout, we observe excitation stabilization times down to roughly 500 ns, a 20-fold speedup with QCR and a simultaneous two-tone drive addressing the e–f and f0–g1 transitions of the system. Our results are obtained at a 48-mK fridge temperature and without postselection, fully capturing the advantage of the protocol for the short-time dynamics and the drive-induced detrimental asymptotic behavior in the presence of relatively hot other baths of the transmon. We validate our results with a detailed Liouvillian model truncated up to the three-excitation subspace, from which we estimate the performance of the protocol in optimized scenarios, such as cold transmon baths and fine-tuned driving frequencies. These results pave the way for optimized reset of quantum-electric devices using engineered environments and for dissipation-engineered state preparation.