Josephson charge qubits: a brief review

The field of solid-state quantum computation is expanding rapidly initiated by our original charge qubit demonstrations. Various types of solid-state qubits are being studied, and their coherent properties are improving. The goal of this review is to summarize achievements on Josephson charge qubits. We cover the results obtained in our joint group of NEC Nano Electronics Research Laboratories and RIKEN Advanced Science Institute, also referring to the works done by other groups. Starting from a short introduction, we describe the principle of the Josephson charge qubit, its manipulation and readout. We proceed with coupling of two charge qubits and implementation of a logic gate. We also discuss decoherence issues. Finally, we show how a charge qubit can be used as an artificial atom coupled to a resonator to demonstrate lasing action.