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Strong coupling in a three-mode superconducting-spin hybrid quantum system

Yingqiu Mao1,2,*, Han-Yu Ren1,2, Zi-Yi Liu1,2, Yi-Zheng Zhen1,2, Tao Rong1,2, Tao Jiang1,2, Zhuo Chen1,2, Zhe-Heng Yuan1,2, Wen-Hua Qin1,2 et al.

Xiaoran Zhang3,4, Xiaobing Liu3,4, Ming Gong1,2, Kae Nemoto5, William J. Munro5, and Johannes Majer1,2,†

  • *Contact author: myingqiu@ustc.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: johannes@majer.ch
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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 023343 – Published 25 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/kydk-qcjn

Abstract

We demonstrate strong coupling in a solid-state hybrid quantum system comprising a fixed-frequency coplanar-waveguide resonator, a superconducting transmon qubit, and an ensemble of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond. Frequency-domain spectroscopy reveals a characteristic three-mode avoided crossing, consistent with excitations being distributed across all three subsystems through hybridized eigenmodes. At higher probe powers, we observe nonlinear features and signatures of transmon-N14 nuclear-spin interactions, highlighting the accessibility of higher-excitation manifolds in this architecture. These results establish an experimentally accessible regime of hybrid cavity QED that integrates superconducting and spin degrees of freedom, providing a platform for exploring complex multicomponent dynamics and developing hybrid quantum interfaces.

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 023343– Published 25 June, 2026
  • Received 15 December 2025
  • Revised 6 February 2026
  • Accepted 22 May 2026
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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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