Imaging Photon Lattice States by Scanning Defect Microscopy

Understand

Microwave photons inside lattices of coupled resonators and superconducting qubits can exhibit surprising matter-like behavior.

• Realizing such open-system quantum simulators presents an experimental challenge and requires new tools and measurement techniques.
• Here, we introduce Scanning Defect Microscopy as one such tool and illustrate its use in mapping the normal-mode structure of microwave photons inside a 49-site Kagome lattice of coplanar waveguide resonators.
• Scanning is accomplished by moving a probe equipped with a sapphire tip across the lattice.