Resonant readout of a persistent current qubit

We have implemented a resonant circuit that uses a SQUID as a flux-sensitive Josephson inductor for qubit readout. In contrast to the conventional switching current measurement that generates undesired quasiparticles when the SQUID switches to the voltage state, our approach keeps the readout SQUID biased along the supercurrent branch during the measurement. By incorporating the SQUID inductor in a high-Q resonant circuit, we can distinguish the two flux states of a niobium persistent-current (PC) qubit by observing a shift in the resonant frequency of both the magnitude and the phase spectra. The readout circuit was also characterized in the nonlinear regime to investigate its potential use as a nonlinear amplifier.