Superconducting quantum circuits are promising systems for experiments testing fundamental quantum mechanics on a macroscopic scale and for applications in quantum information processing. We report on the fabrication and characterization of superconducting flux qubits, readout dc SQUIDs, on-chip shunting capacitors, and high-quality coplanar waveguide resonators. Furthermore, we discuss the tunability and fundamental symmetry aspects inherent to all superconducting qubits, which can be regarded as artificial solid-state atoms. Comparing them to their natural counterparts, we discuss first and second-order energy shifts due to static control fields. Additionally, we present an intuitive derivation of the first- and second-order matrix elements for level transitions in the presence of a coherent microwave driving.
We have successfully synthesized the c-axis oriented YBa2Cu4O8 (Y-124) film on a SrTiO3 (1 0 0) substrate via a coprecipitation and a dip-coating method. The precipitations including Y, Ba and Cu ions were obtained using their metal nitrates solution and the aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide and oxalic acid. Superconducting transition of the synthesized film was observed at 64-70 K corresponding to bulk Y-124 in the magnetization and resistance measurement. The developed method is suitable to synthesize superconducting Y-124 films for technological applications.
Superconducting nanowires undergoing quantum phase-slips have potential for impact in electronic devices, with a high-accuracy quantum current standard among a possible toolbox of novel components. A key element of developing such technologies is to understand the requirements for, and control the production of, superconducting nanowires that undergo coherent quantum phase-slips. We present three fabrication technologies, based on using electron-beam lithography or neon focussed ion-beam lithography, for defining narrow superconducting nanowires, and have used these to create nanowires in niob…
We report on the growth of NdFeAs(O,F) thin films on [001]-tilt MgO bicrystal substrates with misorientation angle theta_GB=6°, 12°, 24° and 45°, and their inter- and intra-grain transport properties. X-ray diffraction study confirmed that all our NdFeAs(O,F) films are epitaxially grown on the MgO bicrystals. The theta_GB dependence of the inter-grain critical current density Jc shows that, unlike Co-doped BaFe2As2 and Fe(Se,Te), its decay with theta_GB is rather significant. As a possible reason of this result, fluorine may have diffused preferentially to the grain boundary region and eroded …
We report the fabrication of small (Ba,A)Fe2As2 (A: Na, K) coils using 10 m-class long round wires, fabricated by powder-in-tube (PIT) method. Coils are sintered using hot-isostatic-press (HIP) technique after glass-fiber insulations are installed. Critical current (Ic) of the whole coil using (Ba,Na)Fe2As2 and (Ba,K)Fe2As2 are 60 A and 66 A under the self-field, and the generated magnetic fields at the center of the coil reach 2.6 kOe and 2.5 kOe, respectively. Furthermore, the largest transport critical current density (Jc) and Ic in (Ba,Na)Fe2As2 wires picked up from the coil reach 54 kAcm-…
Superconducting junctions are widely used in multitude of applications ranging from quantum information science and sensing to solid-state cooling. Traditionally, such devices must be fabricated on flat substrates using standard lithographic techniques. In this study, we demonstrate a highly versatile method that allows for superconducting junctions to be fabricated on a more complex topography. It is based on maskless direct laser writing (DLW) two-photon lithography, which allows writing in 3D space. We show that high-quality normal metal-insulator-superconductor (NIS) tunnel junctions can b…
We report on the fabrication and electrical transport properties of superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) made from a (Bi_{1-x}Sb_x)_2Se_3 topological insulator (TI) nanoribbon (NR) connected with Pb0.5In0.5 superconducting electrodes. Below the transition temperature of the superconducting Pb0.5In0.5 electrodes, periodic oscillations of the critical current are observed in the TI NR SQUID under a magnetic field applied perpendicular to the plane owing to flux quantization. Also the output voltage modulates as a function of the external magnetic field. Moreover, the SQUID the S…
Superconducting devices are prone to reduced performance caused by impurities and defects along the edges of their wires, which can lead to local current crowding. In this study, we explored the use of helium ion irradiation to modify the lattice structure of the superconducting material to change its intrinsic properties. The process will allow us to directly pattern devices and potentially improve the quality of the nanowires. To achieve this, we used the ion beam from a scanning helium ion microscope (HIM) to localize damage on a superconducting material to create a nanowire. Two experiment…
Nowadays the development of high-field magnets strongly relies on the performance of superconducting materials. Iron-based superconductors exhibit high upper critical fields and low electromagnetic anisotropy, making them particularly attractive for high-field applications, especially in particle accelerator magnets, nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers, medical magnetic resonance imaging systems and nuclear fusion reactors. Herein, through an industrially scalable and cost-effective manufacturing strategy, a practical level critical current density up to 1.1x10^5 A/cm2 at 4.2 K in an exte…
Increasing circuit complexity within quantum systems based on superconducting qubits necessitates high connectivity while retaining qubit coherence. Classical micro-electronic systems have addressed interconnect density challenges by using 3D integration with interposers containing through-silicon vias (TSVs), but extending these integration techniques to superconducting quantum systems is challenging. Here, we discuss our approach for realizing high-aspect-ratio superconducting TSVs\textemdash 10 $μ$m wide by 20 $μ$m long by 200 $μ$m deep\textemdash with densities of 100 electrically isolated…
Due to their unique properties as lossless, nonlinear circuit elements, Josephson junctions lie at the heart of superconducting quantum information processing. Previously, we demonstrated a two-layer, submicrometer-scale overlap junction fabrication process suitable for qubits with long coherence times. Here, we extend the overlap junction fabrication process to micrometer-scale junctions. This allows us to fabricate other superconducting quantum devices. For example, we demonstrate an overlap-junction-based Josephson parametric amplifier that uses only 2 layers. This efficient fabrication pro…
We have developed a fabrication technology for the development of large-scale superconducting integrated circuits with Nb-based Josephson junctions. The standard fabrication process with 10 mask levels uses four metal layers including 3 Nb superconducting layers and a Mo resistor layer. The influence of deposition parameters on film stress, electrical properties, and surface roughness were studied systematically. High quality Nb, Al, Mo, and SiO2 films were successfully deposited for the subsequent fabrication of circuits. The circuit fabrication started with the fabrication of Mo resistors wi…
We present the use of a commercially available fixed-angle multi-wavelength ellipsometer for quickly measuring the thickness of NbN thin films for the fabrication and performance improvement of superconducting nanowire single photon detectors. The process can determine the optical constants of absorbing thin films, removing the need for inaccurate approximations. The tool can be used to observe oxidation growth and allows thickness measurements to be integrated into the characterization of various fabrication processes.
Magnetic-field-resilient superconducting coplanar waveguide (SCPW) resonators are essential for developing integrated quantum circuits of various qubits and quantum memory devices. Molybdenum-Rhenium (MoRe), which is a disordered superconducting alloy forming a highly transparent contact to the graphene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), would be a promising platform for realizing the field-resilient SCPW resonators combined with graphene- and CNT-based nano-hybrid qubits. We fabricated MoRe SCPW resonators and investigated their microwave transmission characteristics with varying temperature and ex…
Disorder induced phase slip (PS) events appearing in the current voltage characteristics (IVCs) are reported for two-dimensional TiN thin films produced by a robust substrate mediated nitridation technique. Here, high temperature annealing of Ti/Si3N4 based metal/substrate assembly is the key to produce majority phase TiN accompanied by TiSi2 and elemental Si as minority phases. The method itself introduces different level of disorder intrinsically by tuning the amount of the non-superconducting minority phases that are controlled by annealing temperature (Ta) and the film thickness. The super…
Substrate insulated Josephson junctions for superconducting quantum circuits
Karlsruher Institut für Technologie（卡尔斯鲁厄理工学院）；Fraunhofer-Institut für Elektronische Nanosysteme, Chemnitz（弗劳恩霍夫电子纳米系统研究所，开姆尼茨）；Institut für Quantenmaterialien und Technologie, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie（量子材料与技术研究所，卡尔斯鲁厄理工学院）
We introduce a simplified fabrication technique for Josephson junctions and demonstrate superconducting Xmon qubits with $T_1$ relaxation times averaging above 50$~μ$s ($Q>$1.5$\times$ 10$^6$). Current shadow-evaporation techniques for aluminum-based Josephson junctions require a separate lithography step to deposit a patch that makes a galvanic, superconducting connection between the junction electrodes and the circuit wiring layer. The patch connection eliminates parasitic junctions, which otherwise contribute significantly to dielectric loss. In our patch-integrated cross-type (PICT) juncti…
