We propose and investigate a novel method for the controlled coupling of two Josephson charge qubits by means of a variable electrostatic transformer. The value of the coupling capacitance is given by the discretized curvature of the lowest energy band of a Josephson junction, which can be positive, negative, or zero. We calculate the charging diagram of the two-qubit system that reflects the transition from positive to negative through vanishing coupling. We also discuss how to implement a phase gate making use of the controllable coupling.

• Received 26 March 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.057003