Determination of the current-phase relation of an InAs 2DEG Josephson junction with a microwave resonator
Zoltán Scherübl, Máté Sütő, Dávid Kóti, Endre Tóvári, Csaba Horváth, Tamás Kalmár, Bence Vasas, Martin Berke, Magdhi Kirti, G. Biasiol, Szabolcs Csonka, Péter Makk, Gergő Fülöp
Semiconductor-superconductor hybrid nanocircuits are of high interest because of their potential applications in quantum computing. Semiconductors with strong spin-orbit coupling and large g factor are particularly attractive since they are the basic building blocks of novel qubit architectures. However, for the engineering of these complex circuits, the building blocks must be characterized in detail. We have investigated a Josephson junction where the weak link is a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) hosted in an InAs/InGaAs heterostructure grown on a GaAs substrate. We employed the epitaxially grown Al layer as a superconducting contact to form an rf SQUID, and also to create a microwave resonator for sensing the Josephson inductance. We determined the gate-dependent current-phase relation and observed supercurrent interference in out-of-plane magnetic fields. With the application of an in-plane magnetic field, we induced asymmetry in the interference pattern, which was found to be anisotropic in the device plane.
Semiconductor-superconductor hybrid nanocircuits are of high interest because of their potential applications in quantum computing. Semiconductors with strong spin-orbit coupling and large g factor are particularly attractive since they are the basic building blocks of novel qubit architectures. However, for the engineering of these complex circuits, the building blocks must be characterized in detail. We have investigated a Josephson junction where the weak link is a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) hosted in an InAs/InGaAs heterostructure grown on a GaAs substrate. We employed the epitaxially grown Al layer as a superconducting contact to form an rf SQUID, and also to create a microwave resonator for sensing the Josephson inductance. We determined the gate-dependent current-phase relation and observed supercurrent interference in out-of-plane magnetic fields. With the application of an in-plane magnetic field, we induced asymmetry in the interference pattern, which was found to be anisotropic in the device plane.
Hybrid superconductor(S)-semiconductor(Sm) devices bring a range of functionalities into superconducting circuits. In particular, hybrid parity-protected qubits and Josephson diodes were recently proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Such devices leverage the nonsinusoidal character of the Josephson current-phase relation (CPR) in highly transparent S-Sm-S junctions. Here, we report an experimental study of superconducting quantum-interference devices (SQUIDs) embedding Josephson field-effect transistors fabricated from a SiGe/Ge/SiGe heterostructure grown on a 200-mm silicon wafer. The single-junction CPR shows up to three harmonics with gate-tunable amplitude. In the presence of microwave irradiation, the ratio of the first two dominant harmonics, corresponding to single and double Cooper-pair transport processes, is consistently reflected in relative weight of integer and half-integer Shapiro steps. A combination of magnetic-flux and gate-voltage control enables tuning the SQUID functionality from a nonreciprocal Josephson-diode regime with 27% asymmetry to a π -periodic Josephson regime suitable for the implementation of parity-protected superconducting qubits. These results illustrate the potential of Ge-based hybrid devices as versatile and scalable building blocks of superconducting quantum circuits. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
Abstract Hybrid superconductor-semiconductor Josephson field-effect transistors (JoFETs) function as Josephson junctions with a gate-tunable critical current. Additionally, they can feature a non- sinusoidal current-phase relation (CPR) containing multiple harmonics of the superconducting phase difference, a so-far underutilized property. In this work, we exploit this multi-harmonicity to create a Josephson circuit element with an almost perfectly π-periodic CPR, indicative of a largely dominant charge-4e supercurrent transport. Such a Josephson element was recently proposed as the basic building block of a protected superconducting qubit. Here, it is realized using a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) with low-inductance aluminum arms and two nominally identical JoFETs. The latter are fabricated from a SiGe/Ge/SiGe quantum-well heterostructure embedding a high-mobility two-dimensional hole gas. By carefully adjusting the JoFET gate voltages and finely tuning the magnetic flux through the SQUID close to half a flux quantum, we achieve a regime where the sin(2φ) component accounts for more than 95 % of the total supercurrent. This result demonstrates a new promising route for the realization of superconducting qubits with enhanced coherence properties.
Hybrid quantum systems play an essential role in efforts towards the advancements of quantum information technology and quantum sensing by bridging distinct technological platforms. In particular, hybrid systems comprising superconducting microwave circuits are being pursued intensely in light of existing achievements in superconducting qubits and precise quantum control in microwave circuits. Their realization relies on the design of superconducting resonators capable of coupling to an oscillatory mode of a second quantum system, facilitating the probing and manipulation of one via the other. In order to accommodate the coupled system, its particular constraints and requirements must be respected, which may be quite extreme from the perspective of established superconducting circuit design and operation. Overcoming this challenge has proved to be a substantial obstacle for the attainment of strongly coupled hybrid systems, despite spectacular advances in superconducting microwave circuits individually. In this work, we examine two approaches tackling this issue for different hybrid quantum systems, focusing on the optimization and characterization of the superconducting circuits. The first device aims at a superconductor-atom hybrid system through the coupling to Rydberg-Rydberg transitions in ultra-cold Rb-87 atoms trapped near the superconducting chip. Using simulations in conjunction with theoretical considerations, we demonstrate a comprehensive geometry parameter optimization procedure for maximum coupling rate. Presenting an experimental implementation of the resulting circuit, we validate its suitability for use under the intended operation conditions, including the option of tuning the electronic transition frequencies using a dc voltage. Secondly, we investigate a device designed for applications in large magnetic in-plane fields used to mediate coupling to integrated micromechanical oscillators; more specifically it is a flux-tunable SQUID resonator comprising Josephson nano-constrictions as nonlinear inductive components. Performing a thorough characterization of its frequency and Kerr anharmonicity tuning behavior at fields up to several hundred mT, we discover a pronounced asymmetry in its flux response at large fields. We show this asymmetry to be caused by the nano-constrictions turning into Josephson diodes, develop an intuitive macroscopic model for its field-induced emergence and reconstruct the diode current-phase relation from the flux tuning data. Several figures of merit informing the suitability of the SQUID resonators for optomechanical systems as well as other applications are improved by the diode effect, highlighting the potential of Josephson diodes in superconducting microwave circuits. Our results provide a promising stepping stone for the advancement of hybrid systems involving superconducting microwave circuits, putting new and exciting operation and coupling regimes within reach.
Qubits on solid state devices could potentially provide the rapid control necessary for developing scalable quantum information processors. Materials innovation and design breakthroughs have increased functionality and coherence of qubits substantially over the past two decades. Here, we show by improving interface between InAs as a semiconductor and Al as a superconductor, one can reliably fabricate voltage-controlled Josephson junction field effect transistor (JJ-FET) that can be used as tunable qubits, resonators, and coupler switches. We find that bandgap engineering is crucial in realizing a two-dimensional electron gas near the surface. In addition, we show how the coupling between the semiconductor layer and the superconducting contacts can affect qubit properties. We present the anharmonicity and coupling strengths from one and two-photon absorption in a quantum two level system fabricated with a JJ-FET.
The technology of quantum computing is believed to solve certain computational problems significantly faster than classical computers, enabling classically inaccessible problems. However, the technology is still in its infancy and it is still too early to conclude which physical system(s) will form the basis of tomorrow's quantum computer. Small-scale quantum processors, built on the superconducting transmon qubit, demonstrated already the anticipated quantum speed-up. Despite this tremendous milestone, scaling up to a full-fledged quantum computer is far from trivial: with these qubits, the flux-control causes crosstalk between qubits and heating, the room-temperature microwave control is hardly scalable and comes with high energetic radiation, and most importantly, the loss of quantum information in time leads to computational errors. Recent advances in various hybrid semiconductor materials enabled novel voltage-controlled transmons, gatemons, which are less susceptible to heating and crosstalk. Even more exciting, gatemons can be designed to host Majorana zero modes in a way that renders the qubit inherently protected against decoherence. In order to induce Majorana zero modes in such nanowire systems strong magnetic fields are required. Problematically, magnetic fields destroy the superconductivity that these microwave circuits rely on. In this thesis we integrate three types of hybrid Josephson junctions in magnetic field compatible microwave devices. Chapter 4 demonstrates the first graphene-based transmon. Due to the mono-atomic thickness of graphene in combination with magnetic field resilient coplanar waveguide resonators, we are able to operate the transmon circuit at an in-plane magnetic field of 1 Tesla. Chapter 5 embeds an InAs-Al semiconducting nanowire Josephson junction in a high quality factor superconducting transmission line resonator, demonstrating on-chip microwave generation. The gate-controllable semiconducting platform lends itself for fast pulse control, providing a perspective for the coherent on-chip manipulation of artificial two-level systems, in particular superconducting qubits such as transmons. Chapter 6 continues the development of InAs-Al nanowire transmons. The offset-charge-sensitive regime, additional plunger gates and magnetic field compatibility prepares the platform for the detection of coherent coupling between Majorana zero modes, a phenomena which unfortunately still remains unobserved. Additionally, we realise the first InSb-Al gatemon. The higher spin-orbit coupling makes InSb to be a preferred material in the search for Majorana signatures. Chapter 7 reports on the dynamics of quasiparticle tunneling events in real-time across the InAs-Al nanowire junction in a transmon architecture. The magnetic field compatibility of our device up to 1 Tesla together with in-situ voltage-controlled quasiparticle trap engineering, allows us to measure the survival of the charge-parity lifetime up to strong magnetic fields. A result which is extremely important in the research field of topological quantum computing, where the qubit space is defined in the charge-parity.
Hybrid superconductor(S)-semiconductor(Sm) devices bring a range of functionalities into superconducting circuits by introducing Josephson field-effect transistors (JoFETs): Josephson junctions with a gate-tunable critical current. In particular, hybrid parity-protected qubits and Josephson diodes were recently proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Such devices leverage the multiharmonicity of the Josephson current-phase relation (CPR) in highly transparent S-Sm-S junctions, a so-far underutilized property. In this work we report an experimental study of superconducting quantum-interference devices (SQUIDs) embedding JoFETs fabricated from a SiGe/Ge/SiGe heterostructure grown at CEA-Grenoble. The single junction CPRs shows multiple harmonics with gate tunable amplitudes. In the presence of microwave irradiation, the appearance of integer and half integer Shapiro steps confirms this observation. A combination of magnetic-flux and gate-voltage control enables tuning the SQUID functionality from a nonreciprocal Josephson-diode regime with 27 % asymmetry to a π-periodic Josephson regime. Within a double SQUID device, we are able to quantitatively characterize a regime where the sin(2φ) component accounts for more than 95 % of the total supercurrent. Finally, this result is placed into perspective through a discussion of the implementation of a cos(2φ) parity-protected qubit within the Al-Ge/SiGe hybrid platform