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Microscopy and Microanalysis

Probing Sources of Decoherence at Defects and Interfaces in Superconducting Quantum Materials and Devices

Akshay A. Murthy, Roberto dos Reis, Stephanie M. Ribet, Mattia Checchin, Anna Grassellino, Vinayak P. Dravid, Alexander Romanenko

Published Jul 22, 2022• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Akshay A Murthy, Roberto dos Reis, Stephanie M Ribet, Mattia Checchin, Anna Grassellino, Vinayak P Dravid, Alexander Romanenko; Probing Sources of Decohere
DOI
10.1017/s143192762200695x

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A critical limitation of solid-state quantum devices arises from the materials from which they are fabricated: uncontrolled surfaces, interfaces, and structural imperfections introduce numerous sources of loss and decoherence. Despite extensive efforts, linking these decoherence mechanisms to their microscopic material origins -- essential for developing effective mitigation strategies -- remains an outstanding challenge that has slowed coherence improvements. Here, using scanning gate microscopy on live superconducting circuits we identify a previously unrecognised decoherence mechanism originating from Coulomb blockade and microwave-driven charge tunnelling in metallic grains. Such grains are ubiquitous in thin-film devices fabricated by standard lithography processes. By characterising multiple defects across different devices, we find such defects to be as common and as debilitating to device performance as two-level system (TLS) defects, while originating from a fundamentally different physical mechanism. Importantly, conventional characterisation techniques would misattribute this loss to other, microwave power-independent processes. Our observations thus reveal a widespread source of decoherence in superconducting circuits, challenging the prevailing paradigm that coherence lifetimes are primarily limited by TLS defects. Eliminating metallic grains during fabrication provides a clear and practical route to suppress this mechanism, offering a pathway towards improved coherence and reduced noise in microwave-based solid-state quantum devices.