Nonequilibrium thermodynamics of erasure with superconducting flux logic

Author(s): Saira, Olli-Pentti; Matheny, Matthew H; Katti, Raj; Fon, Warren; Wimsatt, Gregory; Crutchfield, James P; Han, Siyuan; Roukes, Michael L | Abstract: We implement a thermal-fluctuation driven logical bit reset on a superconducting flux logic cell. We show that the logical state of the system can be continuously monitored with only a small perturbation to the thermally activated dynamics at 500 mK. We use the trajectory information to derive a single-shot estimate of the work performed on the system per logical cycle. We acquire a sample of $10^5$ erasure trajectories per protocol, and show that the work histograms agree with both microscopic theory and global fluctuation theorems. The results demonstrate how to design and diagnose complex, high-speed, and thermodynamically efficient computing using superconducting technology.