We present coplanar waveguide (CPW) microwave resonators with exceptionally low loss produced from NbN sputtered on Si. The NbN films are deposited with a modest RF substrate bias during reactive DC magnetron sputtering at a substrate temperature of 250 °C and can achieve a critical temperature as high as 15 K depending on the N2 flow rate. We measure the internal quality factors (Qi) of two such resonators at high-powers near saturation and report high-power quality factors in excess of 1.2 × 106 at 200 mK and 3.5 × 105 at 2 K. We also measure the temperature-dependent frequency shift at high power levels and the quality factor at single-photon power levels. From these measurements, we find a low-power (average photon number less than one) Qi value of 4.2 × 105 at 200 mK, which is consistent with a system limited by two-level-system loss.
We present coplanar waveguide (CPW) microwave resonators with exceptionally low loss produced from NbN sputtered on Si. The NbN films are deposited with a modest RF substrate bias during reactive DC magnetron sputtering at a substrate temperature of 250 °C and can achieve a critical temperature as high as 15 K depending on the N2 flow rate. We measure the internal quality factors (Qi) of two such resonators at high-powers near saturation and report high-power quality factors in excess of 1.2 × 106 at 200 mK and 3.5 × 105 at 2 K. We also measure the temperature-dependent frequency shift at high power levels and the quality factor at single-photon power levels. From these measurements, we find a low-power (average photon number less than one) Qi value of 4.2 × 105 at 200 mK, which is consistent with a system limited by two-level-system loss.
The high critical magnetic field and relatively high critical temperature of niobium nitride (NbN) make it a promising material candidate for applications in superconducting quantum technology. However, NbN-based devices and circuits are sensitive to decoherence sources such as two-level system (TLS) defects. Here, we numerically and experimentally investigate NbN superconducting microwave coplanar waveguide resonator arrays, with a 100 nm thickness, capacitively coupled to a common coplanar waveguide on a silicon chip. We observe that the resonators' internal quality factor (Qi) decreases from Qi ~ 1.07*10^6 in a high power regime (< nph > = 27000) to Qi ~ 1.36 *10^5 in single photon regime at temperature T = 100 mK. Data from this study is consistent with the TLS theory, which describes the TLS interactions in resonator substrates and interfaces. Moreover, we study the temperature dependence internal quality factor and frequency tuning of the coplanar waveguide resonators to characterise the quasiparticle density of NbN. We observe that the increase in kinetic inductance at higher temperatures is the main reason for the frequency shift. Finally, we measure the resonators' resonance frequency and internal quality factor at single photon regime in response to in-plane magnetic fields B||. We verify that Qi stays well above 10^4 up to B|| = 240 mT in the photon number < nph > = 1.8 at T = 100 mK. Our results may pave the way for realising robust microwave superconducting circuits for circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) at high magnetic fields necessary for fault-tolerant quantum computing, and ultrasensitive quantum sensing.
Superconducting coplanar waveguide (CPW) microwave resonators are crucial elements in Photon detectors, Quantum-limited parametric amplifiers, Narrow-band filters, Read-out, interconnect in quantum processors and Hybrid devices, connecting solid-state spins with superconducting circuits [1-3]. In the quantum regime, the dominant loss mechanism for high-Q superconducting resonators can be attributed to parasitic two-level systems (TLSs) in the dielectrics. Interface TLSs are common by products of the fabrication process, often introduced by impurities associated with Si surfaces [3]. To reduce intrinsic losses, we employ isotropic deep reactive-ion etching (DRIE) of Si substrate to create suspended NbN superconducting resonators (SSR).In this study, thin films of niobium (Nb) and niobium nitride (NbN) are deposited on Si substrate by a DC magnetron sputtering system. The influence of the N2/Ar gas ratio, the deposition current, the substrate bias potential on the superconducting critical temperature of the films are investigated. Plasma etching of Nb and NbN in a SF6 and Cl2-BCl3 gas plasma is studied using an inductively coupled plasma (icp) reactor. Parametric studies on the effects of total gas flow rate and chamber pressure on the edge angles and etch rates are reported. Finally, the suspended NbN superconducting resonator is fabricated and will be tested. This could be applied to the fabrication of superconducting qubits in integrated circuits, offering a path towards longer qubit coherence times.Reference:[1] Landig et al. Coherent spin–photon coupling using a resonant exchange qubit. Nature 560, 179–184 (2018)[2] Tosi et al. Silicon quantum processor with robust long-distance qubit couplings. Nat Commun 8, 450 (2017)[3] Bruno et al. Reducing intrinsic loss in superconducting resonators by surface treatment and deep etching of silicon substrates, Appl. Phys. Lett. 106, 182601 (2015)[4] Kennedy et al. Tunable Nb Superconducting Resonator Based on a Constriction Nano-SQUID Fabricated with a Ne Focused Ion Beam, Phys. Rev. Applied 11, 014006 (2019).
The loss in superconducting microwave resonators at low-photon numbers and low temperatures is not well understood but has implications for achievable coherence times in superconducting qubits. We have fabricated single-layer resonators with a high quality factor by patterning a superconducting aluminum film on a sapphire substrate. Four resonator geometries were studied with resonant frequencies ranging from 5 to 7 GHz: a quasi-lumped element resonator, a coplanar strip waveguide resonator, and two hybrid designs that contain both a coplanar strip and a quasi-lumped element. Transmitted power measurements were taken at 30 mK as a function of frequency and probe power. We find that the resonator loss, expressed as the inverse of the internal quality factor, decreases slowly over four decades of photon number in a manner not merely explained by loss from a conventional uniform spatial distribution of two-level systems in an oxide layer on the superconducting surfaces of the resonator.
The high critical magnetic field and relatively high critical temperature of niobium nitride (NbN) make it a promising material for applications in superconducting quantum technology. However, NbN-based superconducting circuits are sensitive to decoherence sources such as two-level system (TLS) defects. Here, we numerically and experimentally investigate NbN superconducting microwave coplanar waveguide resonator arrays with a 100 nm thickness, capacitively coupled to a common coplanar waveguide on a silicon chip. We observe that the resonators' internal quality factor (Qi) decreases fromQi∼1.07×106in a high power regime toQi∼1.36×105in the single photon regime. Data from this study is consistent with the TLS theory, which describes the TLS interactions in resonator substrates and interfaces. Moreover, we study the temperature (T) dependence ofQiand resonance frequencyfrof coplanar waveguide resonators to characterize the quasiparticle density. We observe that the increase in kinetic inductance at higher temperatures is the main reason for the frequency shift. Finally, we measurefrandQiin response to in-plane magnetic fields (B∣∣). We verify thatQistays well above104up toB∣∣= 240 mT in the photon number<nph>= 1.8 atT= 100 mK. Our results could enable the development of robust microwave superconducting circuits for circuit quantum electrodynamics at high magnetic fields required for hybrid superconducting-semiconducting quantum circuits.
Superconducting coplanar waveguide (SCPW) resonators, key components for quantum computing and sensing applications, require a high internal quality factor ( Q i ) for effective qubit readout and quantum sensing applications. Minimizing two-level system (TLS) losses, particularly at material interfaces, is critical for gatemon and topological qubits operating at low temperatures and in high magnetic fields. NbTi, a superconducting alloy with a high upper critical field, enables SCPW resonators resilient to such conditions. We fabricated NbTi SCPW resonators on Si/SiO 2 substrates and systematically characterized their TLS-limited quality factors as functions of temperature and microwave photon number. Our results demonstrate that NbTi-based SCPWs on Si/SiO 2 substrates provide a promising platform for developing next-generation quantum circuits. • Successfully fabricated NbTi SCPW resonators on Si/SiO 2 substrates. • Characterized NbTi SCPW across temperature and photon ranges for quantum apps. • Achieved record TLS-limited quality factor Q TLS,0 = 9.21 × 10 4 for SCPW on Si/SiO 2 . • NbTi SCPW on Si/SiO 2 is promising for gatemon and topological qubits.
Thin films of TiN were sputter-deposited onto Si and sapphire wafers with and without SiN buffer layers. The films were fabricated into rf coplanar waveguide resonators, and internal quality factor measurements were taken at millikelvin temperatures in both the many photon and single photon limits, i.e., high and low electric field regimes, respectively. At high field, we found the highest internal quality factors (∼107) were measured for TiN with predominantly a (200)-TiN orientation. The (200)-TiN is favored for growth at high temperature on either bare Si or SiN buffer layers. However, growth on bare sapphire or Si(100) at low temperature resulted in primarily a (111)-TiN orientation. Ellipsometry and Auger measurements indicate that the (200)-TiN growth on the bare Si substrates is correlated with the formation of a thin, ≈2 nm, layer of SiN during the predeposition procedure. On these surfaces we found a significant increase of Qi for both high and low electric field regimes.