Nonlinear resonant behavior of a dispersive readout circuit for a superconducting flux qubit

A nonlinear resonant circuit comprising a SQUID magnetometer and a shunting capacitor is studied as a readout scheme for a persistent-current qubit. The flux state of the qubit is detected as a change in the Josephson inductance of the SQUID magnetometer, which in turn mediates a shift in the resonant frequency of the readout circuit. The nonlinearity and resulting hysteresis in the resonant behavior are characterized as a function of the power of both the input drive and the associated resonance-peak response. Numerical simulations based on a nonlinear circuit model shows that the observed nonlinearity is dominated by the effect due to an ac flux rather than current bias through the Josephson inductor.