<!-- mobian-agent-page publisher="dailydev" canonical="https://daily.dev/posts/researchers-curb-unwanted-transitions-in-ultrafast-quantum-gates-aquyvbvnb" -->

---
title: Researchers Curb Unwanted Transitions in Ultrafast...
description: Researchers from Jülich, Aachen and Cologne performed a single-qubit quantum operation in 6.8 nanoseconds with over 99.98% accuracy. Typical superconducting...
canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/researchers-curb-unwanted-transitions-in-ultrafast-quantum-gates-aquyvbvnb
twitter:card: summary_large_image
twitter:site: @dailydotdev
og:type: website
og:site_name: daily.dev
og:title: Researchers Curb Unwanted Transitions in Ultrafast Quantum Gates | daily.dev
og:description: Researchers from Jülich, Aachen and Cologne performed a single-qubit quantum operation in 6.8 nanoseconds with over 99.98% accuracy. Typical superconducting...
og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/researchers-curb-unwanted-transitions-in-ultrafast-quantum-gates-aquyvbvnb
og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/aqUyvbVNb.png
og:image:alt: Researchers Curb Unwanted Transitions in Ultrafast Quantum Gates
og:image:width: 1200
og:image:height: 630
og:locale: en
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Researchers Curb Unwanted Transitions in Ultrafast Quantum Gates

**[The Quantum Insider](https://daily.dev/sources/thequantuminsider)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

Researchers from Jülich, Aachen and Cologne performed a single-qubit quantum operation in 6.8 nanoseconds with over 99.98% accuracy. Typical superconducting qubit operations take several tens of nanoseconds. Their new R2D pulse-shaping method, built on the established DRAG technique, cuts unwanted multiphoton transitions by more than 20 times. Tests ran on a single isolated transmon qubit, with accuracies of 99.981% and 99.989% and error transition probability below 0.002% per operation. Larger processors and two-qubit operations still need testing.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://thequantuminsider.com/2026/10/29/researchers-curb-unwanted-transitions-in-ultrafast-quantum-gates>

## Questions this post answers

### What is the R2D pulse-shaping method for superconducting qubits?

R2D is a pulse-shaping technique developed by researchers at Jülich, Aachen and Cologne that builds on the established DRAG method for controlling superconducting qubits. It shapes control pulses with high precision, suppressing specific frequency components so the pulse still triggers the intended operation while barely exciting unwanted transitions to higher energy states. It reduced unwanted multiphoton transitions by more than 20 times compared to DRAG.

_Anyone tracking qubit control breakthroughs can follow quantum computing research like this on daily.dev._

### How fast and accurate was the single-qubit gate demonstrated using R2D pulse shaping?

The operation took 6.8 nanoseconds with accuracies of 99.981% and 99.989% for two fundamental quantum operations. Typical superconducting qubit operations take several tens of nanoseconds. The probability of the qubit unintentionally jumping to a higher energy state stayed below 0.002% per operation, tested on a single transmon qubit fabricated at the Helmholtz Nano Facility in Jülich.

_Researchers comparing qubit gate benchmarks can keep up with results like these on daily.dev._

### What are multiphoton transitions and why are they a problem in superconducting qubit gates?

Multiphoton transitions happen when strong, rapid microwave pulses used for fast qubit operations push a qubit not just one energy level beyond its intended state but two or three levels higher. This effect was previously overlooked and is particularly damaging because it can persist across multiple computational steps and impair quantum error correction, unlike simpler single-level overshoot errors.

_Developers following quantum error correction progress can track findings like this on daily.dev._

## Similar posts on daily.dev

- [Ultrafast single-qubit gates through multi-photon transition removal](https://daily.dev/posts/ultrafast-single-qubit-gates-through-multi-photon-transition-removal-ijlneepcz) · Nature · 0 upvotes · 0 comments
- [Researchers Improve Superconducting Qubit Coherence Using Tantalum and Silicon](https://daily.dev/posts/researchers-improve-superconducting-qubit-coherence-using-tantalum-and-silicon-zwmxwvdln) · The Quantum Insider · 0 upvotes · 0 comments
- [A new trick brings stability to quantum operations](https://daily.dev/posts/a-new-trick-brings-stability-to-quantum-operations-axxjh1z65) · Hacker News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments
- [Unconditionally teleported quantum gates between remote solid-state qubit registers](https://daily.dev/posts/unconditionally-teleported-quantum-gates-between-remote-solid-state-qubit-registers-pmdil12ic) · Nature · 2 upvotes · 0 comments

---

Tags: [#quantum-computing](https://daily.dev/tags/quantum-computing)

[View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/researchers-curb-unwanted-transitions-in-ultrafast-quantum-gates-aquyvbvnb)

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]}
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Researchers Curb Unwanted Transitions in Ultrafast Quantum Gates","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/researchers-curb-unwanted-transitions-in-ultrafast-quantum-gates-aquyvbvnb","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/researchers-curb-unwanted-transitions-in-ultrafast-quantum-gates-aquyvbvnb"},"datePublished":"2026-10-29T09:12:15.440Z","dateModified":"2026-10-29T09:12:41.360Z","description":"Researchers from Jülich, Aachen and Cologne performed a single-qubit quantum operation in 6.8 nanoseconds with over 99.98% accuracy. Typical superconducting...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/8dd93ad8a066a4df36b0025fa0792c96?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/8dd93ad8a066a4df36b0025fa0792c96?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"The Quantum Insider","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Quantum Insider","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/7b14a6b34c1b464c9e8a88d9a0dac951","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/thequantuminsider"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/researchers-curb-unwanted-transitions-in-ultrafast-quantum-gates-aquyvbvnb","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"quantum-computing","timeRequired":"PT4M"}
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Quantum Insider","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/thequantuminsider"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Researchers Curb Unwanted Transitions in Ultrafast Quantum Gates"}]}
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/researchers-curb-unwanted-transitions-in-ultrafast-quantum-gates-aquyvbvnb#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the R2D pulse-shaping method for superconducting qubits?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"R2D is a pulse-shaping technique developed by researchers at Jülich, Aachen and Cologne that builds on the established DRAG method for controlling superconducting qubits. It shapes control pulses with high precision, suppressing specific frequency components so the pulse still triggers the intended operation while barely exciting unwanted transitions to higher energy states. It reduced unwanted multiphoton transitions by more than 20 times compared to DRAG. Anyone tracking qubit control breakthroughs can follow quantum computing research like this on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How fast and accurate was the single-qubit gate demonstrated using R2D pulse shaping?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The operation took 6.8 nanoseconds with accuracies of 99.981% and 99.989% for two fundamental quantum operations. Typical superconducting qubit operations take several tens of nanoseconds. The probability of the qubit unintentionally jumping to a higher energy state stayed below 0.002% per operation, tested on a single transmon qubit fabricated at the Helmholtz Nano Facility in Jülich. Researchers comparing qubit gate benchmarks can keep up with results like these on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What are multiphoton transitions and why are they a problem in superconducting qubit gates?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Multiphoton transitions happen when strong, rapid microwave pulses used for fast qubit operations push a qubit not just one energy level beyond its intended state but two or three levels higher. This effect was previously overlooked and is particularly damaging because it can persist across multiple computational steps and impair quantum error correction, unlike simpler single-level overshoot errors. Developers following quantum error correction progress can track findings like this on daily.dev."}}]}
```

