  Stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) is a widely used protocol to
realize high-fidelity and robust quantum control in various quantum systems.
However, further application of this protocol in superconducting qubits is
limited by population leakage caused by the only weak anharmonicity. Here we
introduce an optimally controlled shortcut-to-adiabatic (STA) technique to
speed up the STIRAP protocol in a superconducting qudit. By modifying the
shapes of the STIRAP pulses, we experimentally realize a fast (32 ns) and
high-fidelity quantum state transfer. In addition, we demonstrate that our
protocol is robust against control parameter perturbations. Our stimulated
Raman shortcut-to-adiabatic passage transition provides an efficient and
practical approach for quantum information processing.
