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High-dynamic-range quantum sensing of magnons and their dynamics using a superconducting qubit

Sonia Rani1,*, Xi Cao1, Alejandro E. Baptista1, Axel Hoffmann2,3, and Wolfgang Pfaff1,3,†

  • *Contact author: soniar2@illinois.edu
  • †Contact author: wpfaff@illinois.edu
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Phys. Rev. Applied 23, 064032 – Published 12 June, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/6dmm-mnxd

Abstract

Magnons, the quanta of collective spin excitations in magnetic materials, may enable functionalities, such as nonreciprocity and transduction in hybrid quantum devices. To assess the potential of such applications, it is necessary to understand magnon dynamics beyond the simple harmonic oscillator regime, where theory predicts effects like population-dependent damping and quantum fluctuations in the form of magnon shot noise. Probing these phenomena requires sensors with high sensitivity and the ability to resolve magnon properties across different excitation regimes. Here, we demonstrate accurate and sensitive detection of magnon population and decay over a wide range of occupation numbers. We use a superconducting qubit to probe magnons in a ferrimagnet over approximately 2000 excitations. Using qubit control and parametrically induced qubit-magnon interactions, we demonstrate few-excitation sensitive detection of magnons with a dynamic range of approximately 30 dB, and are able to accurately resolve their decay with few-ns sensitivity. These capabilities offer a powerful and practical technique for probing magnon dynamics in or beyond the linear regime over a wide range of excitations.

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Phys. Rev. Applied 23, 064032– Published 12 June, 2025
  • Received 17 December 2024
  • Revised 29 January 2025
  • Accepted 15 May 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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