Superconducting qubit manipulated by fast pulses: experimental observation of distinct decoherence regimes

A particular superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) qubit, namely the double SQUID qubit, can be manipulated by rapidly modifying its potential with the application of fast flux pulses. In this system we observe coherent oscillations exhibiting non-exponential decay, indicating an unconventional decoherence mechanism. Moreover, via tuning the qubit in different conditions (different oscillation frequencies) by changing the pulse height, we observe a crossover between two distinct decoherence regimes and the existence of an 'optimal' point where the qubit is only weakly sensitive to intrinsic noise. We find that this behavior is in agreement with a model considering the decoherence caused essentially by low-frequency noise contributions, and we discuss the experimental results and possible issues.