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arXiv:1101.3185 · Applied Physics Letters

Improving the performance of superconducting microwave resonators in magnetic fields

Daniel Bothner, T. Gaber, M. Kemmler, D. Koelle, R. Kleiner

Published Mar 7, 2011• 63 citations
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Abstract

The operation of superconducting coplanar waveguide cavities, as used for circuit quantum electrodynamics and kinetic inductance detectors, in perpendicular magnetic fields normally leads to a reduction of the device performance due to energy dissipating Abrikosov vortices. We experimentally investigate the vortex induced energy losses in such Nb resonators with different spatial distributions of micropatterned pinning sites (antidots) by transmission spectroscopy measurements at 4.2 K. In comparison to resonators without antidots we find a significant reduction of vortex induced losses and thus increased quality factors over a broad range of frequencies and applied powers in moderate fields.

DOI
10.1063/1.3560480

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The operation of superconducting coplanar waveguide cavities, as used for circuit quantum electrodynamics and kinetic inductance detectors, in perpendicular magnetic fields normally leads to a reduction of the device performance due to energy dissipating Abrikosov vortices. We experimentally investigate the vortex induced energy losses in such Nb resonators with different spatial distributions of micropatterned pinning sites (antidots) by transmission spectroscopy measurements at 4.2 K. In comparison to resonators without antidots we find a significant reduction of vortex induced losses and thus increased quality factors over a broad range of frequencies and applied powers in moderate fields.
We performed transmission spectroscopy experiments on coplanar half-wavelength niobium resonators at temperature T=4.2T=4.2\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}T=4.2K. We observe not only a strong dependence of the quality factor QQQ and the resonance frequency fres{f}_{\mathrm{res}}fres​ on an externally applied magnetic field but also on the magnetic history of our resonators, i.e., on the spatial distribution of trapped Abrikosov vortices in the device. This is valid for a broad range of frequencies and angles between the resonator plane and the magnetic field direction and holds for resonators with and without antidots near the edges of the center conductor and the ground planes. In a detailed analysis, we show that characteristic features of the experimental data can only be reproduced by calculations if we assume a highly inhomogeneous rf current density and a flux density gradient with maxima at the edges of the superconductor. We furthermore demonstrate that the hysteretic behavior of the resonator properties can be used to considerably reduce the vortex-induced losses and to fine-tune the resonance frequency by the proper way of cycling to a desired magnetic field value.
We experimentally investigate the vortex induced energy losses in niobium coplanar waveguide resonators with and without quasihexagonal arrays of nanoholes (antidots), where large-area antidot patterns have been fabricated using self-assembling microsphere lithography. We perform transmission spectroscopy experiments around 6.25 GHz in magnetic field cooling and zero field cooling procedures with perpendicular magnetic fields up to B = 27 mT at a temperature T = 4.2 K. We find that the introduction of antidot arrays into resonators reduces vortex induced losses by more than one order of magnitude.
Superconducting coplanar waveguide resonators that can operate in strong magnetic fields are important for a variety of high-frequency superconducting devices. Magnetic fields degrade resonator performance by creating Abrikosov vortices that cause resistive losses and frequency fluctuations, or suppress the superconductivity entirely. To mitigate these effects, the authors investigate how device geometry and lithographically defined artificial defects can control vortex dynamics. These techniques allow the resonators to retain single-photon quality factors of about 105{}^{5}5 at ${B}_{\ensuremath{\parallel}}$ \ensuremath{\simeq} 6 T, for fast charge readout of a gate-defined double quantum dot at ${B}_{\ensuremath{\parallel}}$ = 1 T.
Microwave resonators fabricated from superconducting thin films are playing a critical role with recent advances in superconducting quantum computing technology and photon detectors. There has been an intensive worldwide effort to study the sources of loss that limit the quality factors of these resonators. In this thesis, I have focused on the measurements of the microwave response of vortices in Al and Re superconducting thin film resonators cooled in magnetic fields comparable to or less than that of the Earth. Previous work on vortex dynamics at microwave frequencies has involved large magnetic fields, orders of magnitude larger than the Earth's fields. Al and Re are common materials used in superconducting resonant circuits for qubits and detectors. Despite the similarities of Al and Re superconductors, the microwave vortex response is strikingly different in the two materials from my resonator measurements. I present a quantitative model for the dissipation and reactance contributed by the vortices in terms of the elastic pinning forces and the viscous damping from the vortex cores. The differences in the vortex response in Al and Re were due to the vortex pinning strength in the two films The critical role played by pinning in determining the microwave response motivated us to try to modify the pinning in our Al films by nanostructuring the film surface. A single narrow slot along the center line of a resonator was used to increase the pinning in the resonator traces and resulted in a reduction of the loss from vortices by over an order of magnitude. Such patterned pinning techniques could be used on resonators in systems with insufficient shielding or pulsed control fields to reduce the loss from unwanted trapped vortices. Finally, we explored the possibility for using measurements of the power dependence of the resonators to determine if trapped vortices are present.
Microwave resonators with high quality factors have enabled many recent breakthroughs with superconducting qubits and photon detectors, typically operated in shielded environments to reduce the ambient magnetic field. Insufficient shielding or pulsed control fields can introduce vortices, leading to reduced quality factors, although increased pinning can mitigate this effect. A narrow slot etched into the resonator surface provides a straightforward method for pinning enhancement without otherwise affecting the resonator. Resonators patterned with such a slot exhibited over an order of magnitude reduction in the excess loss due to vortices compared with identical resonators from the same film with no slot.
Microwave resonators with high quality factors have enabled many recent breakthroughs with superconducting qubits and photon detectors, typically operated in shielded environments to reduce the ambient magnetic field. Insufficient shielding or pulsed control fields can introduce vortices, leading to reduced quality factors, although increased pinning can mitigate this effect. A narrow slot etched into the resonator surface provides a straightforward method for pinning enhancement without otherwise affecting the resonator. Resonators patterned with such a slot exhibited over an order of magnitude reduction in the excess loss due to vortices compared with identical resonators from the same film with no slot.