Scalable quantum computing currently requires a large array of qubit integration, but present two-dimensional interconnects face challenges such as wiring congestion, electromagnetic interference, and limited cryogenic space. To overcome this challenge, implementing three-dimensional (3D) vertical architectures becomes crucial. Niobium (Nb), due to its excellent superconducting characteristics and strong fabrication process compatibility, stands out as a prime material choice. The main challenge in Nb-Nb bonding is the presence of an oxide layer at the interface, even after post-bonding annealing across various bonding methods. The native Nb oxide forms rapidly in air, creating a resistive barrier to supercurrent flow and introducing two-level system losses that degrade qubit coherence while increasing the overall thermal budget. These issues show the need for effective surface engineering to suppress oxidation during bonding. This study introduces an ultrathin gold (Au) capping layer as a passivation strategy to prevent oxygen incorporation at the Nb surface. This approach enables low-temperature Nb-Nb thermocompression bonding at 350 °C under a reduced bonding pressure of 0.495 MPa. Detailed microstructural and interfacial analyses confirm that Au passivation effectively suppresses oxide formation and hence enhances bonding uniformity and strength with keeping the superconductivity, establishing a robust route toward low-temperature, low-pressure Nb-Nb bonding for scalable 3D superconducting quantum computing architectures.
Scalable quantum computing currently requires a large array of qubit integration, but present two-dimensional interconnects face challenges such as wiring congestion, electromagnetic interference, and limited cryogenic space. To overcome this challenge, implementing three-dimensional (3D) vertical architectures becomes crucial. Niobium (Nb), due to its excellent superconducting characteristics and strong fabrication process compatibility, stands out as a prime material choice. The main challenge in Nb-Nb bonding is the presence of an oxide layer at the interface, even after post-bonding annealing across various bonding methods. The native Nb oxide forms rapidly in air, creating a resistive barrier to supercurrent flow and introducing two-level system losses that degrade qubit coherence while increasing the overall thermal budget. These issues show the need for effective surface engineering to suppress oxidation during bonding. This study introduces an ultrathin gold (Au) capping layer as a passivation strategy to prevent oxygen incorporation at the Nb surface. This approach enables low-temperature Nb-Nb thermocompression bonding at 350 °C under a reduced bonding pressure of 0.495 MPa. Detailed microstructural and interfacial analyses confirm that Au passivation effectively suppresses oxide formation and hence enhances bonding uniformity and strength with keeping the superconductivity, establishing a robust route toward low-temperature, low-pressure Nb-Nb bonding for scalable 3D superconducting quantum computing architectures.
The current performance of superconducting circuit-based quantum processors is limited by the poor understanding of interface physics, including native surface oxide formation on the superconducting metal, which causes two-level system (TLS) loss. Niobium (Nb), a superconducting metal with a high energy gap, is an ideal choice for superconducting processors, but unfortunately, it is marred by TLS. Several methods have been proposed to minimize surface oxide on the Nb film, and considerable improvement in TLS loss has been demonstrated. These methods include surface passivation through metal capping, self-assembly of organic molecules, and post-cleaning processes. Among these, metal capping is a suitable choice despite forming a 3–5 nm thick oxide, as self-assembly and post-treatment do not protect the Nb film surface during further fabrication. Here, we have proposed ruthenium (Ru) as a capping layer, forming a self-limiting oxidation with a 0.6 nm oxide thickness and predominantly producing fewer oxide compositions while being chemically resistant for further wafer fabrication processes, thus fulfilling all the criteria of an ideal capping layer. Our investigation suggests that Nb/Ru resonators have great potential as versatile and promising tools for advancing superconducting quantum technologies and integrating quantum interconnects into qubits with minimized TLS loss.
Dielectric losses at surfaces and interfaces remains a primary limitation to coherence in superconducting transmon qubits. Niobium (Nb), a widely used material in superconducting quantum circuits, readily forms native oxides under ambient conditions, leading to lossy dielectric interfaces that degrade device performance. Here, we demonstrate a novel fabrication strategy that chemically transforms the native dielectric oxide on Nb into a metallic Pt--Nb surface alloy through post-oxidation Pt deposition followed by thermal annealing, thereby stabilizing Nb surfaces against further oxidation, potentially including sidewall regions. High-purity Nb films were fabricated with bulk-like superconducting transition temperatures (Tc=9.30±0.10~K). Spectroscopic and microscopic analyses confirm the conversion of the native oxide into a chemically stable, metallic alloy-dominated layer that suppresses subsequent oxide growth. Ab initio simulations elucidate the atomic-scale rearrangement and electronic structure evolution associated with Pt incorporation into native niobium oxide, providing insight into the mechanism underlying the oxide-to-metal transformation and stabilization of the alloyed surface.
Niobium thin films are central to superconducting qubits, but their complex native oxides contribute significantly to microwave losses. A promising mitigation strategy is to suppress oxide formation using engineered thin-film encapsulation layers. Recent experiments have shown that ∼10 nm metallic overlayers on Nb capacitor films can improve the energy relaxation time T 1 of transmon qubits. Here, we present a comparative study of Au-capped Nb films fabricated in situ by molecular beam epitaxy and ex situ by sequential deposition benchmarked against bare Nb films. Using complementary structural, chemical, and spectroscopic techniques, we correlate the interface quality with superconducting electronic properties of the Au surface. Low-temperature scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) provides spatially resolved quasiparticle density-of-states maps. While both Au-capped Nb samples exhibit large areas with uniform, fully gapped density of states, clear differences emerge between the two interfaces. Compared to in situ Nb–Au, ex situ Nb–Au exhibits a reduced induced superconducting gap, broadened coherence peak, and localized in-gap states, consistent with a residual Nb x O y layer at the interface. Supported by complementary structural and chemical analyses, these findings demonstrate that STS directly links nanoscale superconducting properties to interface preparation, highlighting the importance of controlled in situ encapsulation for minimizing dissipation and improving quantum coherence.
As quantum computing evolves from small-scale qubit systems to more complex large-scale processors, the demand for individual qubit control and scalability will lead to the use of 3D integration and packaging technologies. Although advances in 3D integration in traditional CMOS technology are notable at room temperature, its potential in cryogenic environments, especially in quantum computing, remains largely unexplored. Superconducting qubit technology demands improvements in qubit relaxation and coherence time. Tantalum (Ta), renowned for its minimal loss, remarkable coherence time and superior stability, emerges as a promising candidate for superconducting materials. This study presents a novel approach by utilizing Ta-Ta thermo-compression bonding to create superconducting joints between wafers for vertical integration for the first time. A successful bonding temperature (500 °C) and pressure (0.3 MPa) results in the emergence of$\alpha $-tantalum, which improves the coherence time significantly as reported earlier. The shear strength test shows a bond strength of 200 MPa which is a clear indication of a good bond between the two layers. Hence, we demonstrate the feasibility of achieving 3D integration of superconducting chips using this approach, thus opening doors for inventive quantum computing architectures.
Superconducting coplanar waveguide resonators are essential components in quantum processors, where their internal quality factor (Qi) constrains qubit coherence and readout fidelity. In niobium devices, microwave losses at millikelvin temperatures are strongly influenced by two-level systems (TLS) associated with the complex NbOx surface oxide. To mitigate these losses, we investigate a surface-engineering approach in which Nb films are capped in situ with a thin tantalum layer to suppress Nb2O5 formation and replace the native NbOx interface with a Ta-based oxide.
We fabricate Nb/Ta bilayer and reference Nb resonators on high-resistivity silicon using identical DC sputtering and wet etching conditions, and characterize their performance at millikelvin temperatures. Fresh Ta-encapsulated devices exhibit internal quality factors up to 2.4 x 10^6 in the near-single-photon regime, with power dependence consistent with reduced TLS-related loss at the metal-air interface. A control Nb device fabricated under the same process shows comparatively lower Q_TLS, consistent with the beneficial effect of the Ta capping layer. Furthermore, ageing tests performed on Nb/Ta resonators after six months reveal a moderate reduction in Q_TLS relative to their initial values, yet the performance remains superior to newly fabricated Nb-only devices. These results suggest that thin Ta encapsulation enhances interface quality and contributes to improved temporal stability while remaining compatible with Nb-based fabrication workflows.
Quantum computing is a very interesting field, due to the ability of quantum computers to solve many problems much faster than a classical computer. Superconducting qubits are electronic circuits composed of superconducting capacitors, inductors and Josephson junctions, which can implement a physical qubit. However they need improvements in their coherence time to create a viable quantum computing. In this work I study the effect on decoherence caused by two level systems in the native oxide that forms on the surface of qubit. To this end I fabricate 3D transmon qubits using materials grown my molecular beam epitaxy, to which a variety of different surface treatments had been applied. I began by fabricating qubits from niobium/aluminum oxide/niobium trilayers. To this end I developed a self-aligned process for fabricating sub-micron Josephson junctions. This process presented many challenges. During the development of this process, it became clear that niobium was an inferior material for fabricating qubits compared to aluminum. I then switched to making qubits from Aluminum. I began by studying the growth of aluminum on sapphire, and was able to achieve aluminum films with an RMS roughness of 0.2 nm by growing on c-plane sapphire that had been annealed in oxygen at 1100 °C and dipped in BOE. Next I fabricated 3D transmon qubits by adapting the standard shadowmask process for use with MBE. I fabricated qubits with a long in situ oxidation to fully passivate the surface before exposure to air. I also passivated the surface by means of growing co deposited aluminum oxide, and by grown aluminum nitride using a nitrogen plasma source. The coherence times of these qubits were compared to those a control sample that had been exposed to air immediately after growth. Overall it doesn’t appear that cladding the surface changes the coherence time much, however it is difficult to form conclusions with this small sample size. The coated samples appeared to have slightly longer coherence times than the untreated samples, with diffusive oxidation and coating with aluminum oxide providing the largest increase in T1 and diffusive oxidation providing the largest increase in T2.