Coherent manipulation of noise-protected superconducting artificial atoms in the Lambda scheme

We propose a protocol for the manipulation of a three-level artificial atom in Lambda (Λ) configuration. It allows faithful, selective and robust population transfer analogous to stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (Λ-STIRAP), in last-generation superconducting artificial atoms, where protection from noise implies the absence of a direct pump coupling. It combines the use of a two-photon pump pulse with suitable advanced control, operated by a slow modulation of the phase of the external fields, leveraging on the stability of semiclassical microwave drives. This protocol is a building block for manipulation of microwave photons in complex quantum architectures. Its demonstration would be a benchmark for the implementation of a class of multilevel advanced control procedures for quantum computation and microwave quantum photonics in systems based on artificial atoms.