Quantum bits, or qubits, are an example of coherent circuits envisioned for next-generation computers and detectors. A robust superconducting qubit with a coherent lifetime of $O$(100 $μ$s) is the transmon: a Josephson junction functioning as a non-linear inductor shunted with a capacitor to form an anharmonic oscillator. In a complex device with many such transmons, precise control over each qubit frequency is often required, and thus variations of the junction area and tunnel barrier thickness must be sufficiently minimized to achieve optimal performance while avoiding spectral overlap between neighboring circuits. Simply transplanting our recipe optimized for single, stand-alone devices to wafer-scale (producing 64, 1x1 cm dies from a 150 mm wafer) initially resulted in global drifts in room-temperature tunneling resistance of $\pm$ 30%. Inferring a critical current $I_{\rm c}$ variation from this resistance distribution, we present an optimized process developed from a systematic 38 wafer study that results in $<$ 3.5% relative standard deviation (RSD) in critical current ($\equiv σ_{I_{\rm c}}/\left\langle I_{\rm c} \right\rangle$) for 3000 Josephson junctions (both single-junctions and asymmetric SQUIDs) across an area of 49 cm$^2$. Looking within a 1x1 cm moving window across the substrate gives an estimate of the variation characteristic of a given qubit chip. Our best process, utilizing ultrasonically assisted development, uniform ashing, and dynamic oxidation has shown $σ_{I_{\rm c}}/\left\langle I_{\rm c} \right\rangle$ = 1.8% within 1x1 cm, on average, with a few 1x1 cm areas having $σ_{I_{\rm c}}/\left\langle I_{\rm c} \right\rangle$ $<$ 1.0% (equivalent to $σ_{f}/\left\langle f \right\rangle$ $<$ 0.5%). Such stability would drastically improve the yield of multi-junction chips with strict critical current requirements.
Electrical post-fabrication tuning of aluminum Josephson junctions at room temperature
Chalmers University of Technology（查尔姆斯理工大学）；Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience（微技术和纳米科学系）；Silicon Quantum Computing Pty Ltd.（硅量子计算有限公司）；UNSW Sydney（新南威尔士大学悉尼分校）
