Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

IEICE Transactions on Electronics

Possibilities and Challenges of Superconducting Qubits in the Intrinsic Josephson Junctions

Haruhisa Kitano

Published Dec 11, 2022• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJs) in the high-Tc cuprate superconductors have several fascinating properties, which are superior to the usual Josephson junctions obtained from conventional superconductors with low Tc, as follows; (1) a very thin thickness of the superconducting layers, (2) a strong interaction between junctions since neighboring junctions are closely connected in an atomic scale, (3) a clean interface between the superconducting and insulating layers, realized in a single crystal with few disorders. These unique properties of IJJs can enlarge the applicable areas of the superconducting qubits, not only the increase of qubit-operation temperature but the novel application of qubits including the macroscopic quantum states with internal degree of freedom. I present a comprehensive review of the phase dynamics in current-biased IJJs and argue the challenges of superconducting qubits utilizing IJJs.

DOI
10.1587/transele.2022sei0002

Related papers

Terahertz Radiations and Switching Phenomena of Intrinsic Josephson Junctions in High-Temperature Superconductors: Josephson Phase Dynamics in Long- and Short-Ranged Interactions

Itsuhiro Kakeya

Studies on intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJs) of cuprate superconductors are reviewed. A system consisting of a few IJJs provides phenomena to test the Josephson phase dynamics and its interaction between adjacent IJJs within a nanometer scale, which is unique to cuprate superconductors. Quasiparticle density of states, which provides direct information on the Cooper-pair formation, is also revealed in the system. In contrast, Josephson plasma emission, which is an electromagnetic wave radiation in the sub-terahertz frequency range from an IJJ stack, arises from the synchronous phase dynamics of hundreds of IJJs coupled globally. This review summarizes a wide range of physical phenomena in IJJ systems having capacitive and inductive couplings with different nanometer and micrometer length scales, respectively.

IEICE Transactions on Electronics•Dec 6, 2022•1 citation

Intrinsic Josephson Microwave Phase Shifter

Timothy A. Wootton

Phase shifters are a vital part of communication systems, and research into superconducting electronic devices has highlighted the possible application of Josephson junctions in this field of research. Intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJs) are created by the high-density atomic-scale superconducting/insulator layering found within high temperature superconductors, such as Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8. This means a large number of series junctions are able to be created in relatively small dimensions in comparison to extrinsic devices limited in size by fabrication techniques. By designing IJJ tracks with large numbers of junctions in series, the phase shift from each individual junction sums to produce significant measurable phase tunability. I have studied the characteristics of IJJ tracks fabricated in Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 to investigate the their use as microwave phase shifters. This involved determining the optimum track dimensions to ensure true Josephson behaviour of the IJJs by measuring the current-voltage characteristics at 4.2K. I have derived the equations governing the phase bias relationship, used these to simulate the expected junction characteristics based on the track parameters. These were then compared with the measured results and discussed in the context of other research in the field. Based on the phase tunability measured in the Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 tracks, I then proceed to investigate the possible use of the coplanar IJJ transmission line as a parametric amplifier. The results presented highlight a small region of gain coupled to a geometric resonance, however this is not due to any parametric effect. Further research in this area is required to excite parametric amplification from these devices.

•Apr 28, 2019•0 citations

Dynamical behaviour of intrinsic Josephson junctions

Paul A. Warburton, J. C. Fenton, Sajid Saleem +2 more

Measurements of macroscopic quantum tunnelling (MQT) in intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJs) suggest that they may be suitable as qubits. An advantage of using IJJs over trilayers is the absence of any artificial barrier and hence the possible absence of decohering two-level fluctuators. A disadvantage is that it is difficult to fabricate single IJJs. Hence all IJJ MQT experiments have been carried out on arrays of many IJJs in series. Since MQT is suppressed by dissipation, it is important (a) to understand the role of dissipation on the dynamics of IJJs and (b) to consider how the dissipation and the dynamics change as a function of the number of junctions in the array which are in the voltage state. We have measured distributions of the nth-order switching current in TlBaCaCuO IJJ arrays, where n indicates switching from n to n+1 junctions being in the voltage state. The junctions show conventional underdamped behaviour at temperatures below some temperature T*, with a suppression of the width of the distribution above T*. We find that T* depends upon n. For n = 0 (i.e. switching from the supercurrent branch), T* is less than 4.2 K. For n > 0, we measured T* values between 20 K and 40 K. Calculations and simulations show that a change in T* results from a change in Q. Analysis suggests that the Q of the IJJs is determined by the environmental impedance when all junctions in the array are in the zero-voltage state, whereas having one junction or more in the voltage state isolates the array from the environment leading to a higher Q. We discuss our data in the context of possible qubit applications.

•Aug 22, 2008•0 citations

High-Tc Josephson junction : towards improvement of IcRN product and realization of phase qubits

Atsutaka Maeda, Haruhisa Kitano, Luis B. Gómez +3 more

Josephson junction of high- T c cuprate superconductor is studied in terms of (1) basic characteristics of junction to improve the I c R N product, and (2) a new candidate for quantum bits. Aiming to fabricate phase qubits, the switching current distribution of intrinsic Josephson junctions in Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O y was investigated. The switching current distribution down to 40 K was consistent with the thermally activated escape process in the single junction, while a more complex feature appeared below 40 K, strongly suggesting the importance of the multi-junction effects.

Journal of Physics Conference Series•Jun 1, 2006•2 citations

Study of macroscopic quantum tunnelling in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ intrinsic Josephson junctions

K. Inomata, Shigeo Sato, M. Kinjo +4 more

We report an experimental observation of the macroscopic quantum tunnelling (MQT) in a d-wave high-temperature superconductor (HTSC) Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ intrinsic Josephson junction (IJJs). It is well known that the current-biased Josephson tunnel junction provides an ideal stage for studying a variety of macroscopic quantum phenomena such as MQT. They have been studied and observed in low-temperature superconductor (LTSC) Josephson junctions since the early 1980s and have been established well by now. On the other hand, in the case of HTSC the d-wave pairing symmetry allows for dissipative quasiparticle excitations within the superconducting energy gap, which is expected to severely interfere with an observation of MQT. Contrary to this naive conception, our experimental results have explained that the effects of the nodal quasiparticles are not strong enough to obscure the observation of the MQT. Furthermore, we found that the MQT in IJJs was observed at approximately 1 K, which was ten times higher than that of LTSC Josephson junctions. This higher classical-to-quantum crossover temperature is due to their high plasma frequency. We also discuss the resonant activation of IJJs in the presence of microwave radiation.

Superconductor Science and Technology•Jan 3, 2007•10 citations

Terahertz applications of integrated circuits based on intrinsic Josephson junctions in high Tc superconductors

Huabing Wang, Peiheng Wu, Tsutomu Yamashita

Using a newly developed double-side fabrication method, an IJJ stack plus a bow-tie antenna and chokes were integrated in a slice 200 nm thick and singled out from inside a bulk Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x (BSCCO) single crystal. The junctions in the fabricated stack were very uniform, and the number of junctions involved was rather controllable. In addition to this method, which can be used to fabricate integrated circuits based on intrinsic Josephson junctions in high temperature (Tc) superconductors, also reported will be terahertz responses of IJJs, and the possible applications in quantum voltage standard, spectroscopy, and so on.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Oct 15, 2001•0 citations
Intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJs) in the high-Tc cuprate superconductors have several fascinating properties, which are superior to the usual Josephson junctions obtained from conventional superconductors with low Tc, as follows; (1) a very thin thickness of the superconducting layers, (2) a strong interaction between junctions since neighboring junctions are closely connected in an atomic scale, (3) a clean interface between the superconducting and insulating layers, realized in a single crystal with few disorders. These unique properties of IJJs can enlarge the applicable areas of the superconducting qubits, not only the increase of qubit-operation temperature but the novel application of qubits including the macroscopic quantum states with internal degree of freedom. I present a comprehensive review of the phase dynamics in current-biased IJJs and argue the challenges of superconducting qubits utilizing IJJs.
Studies on intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJs) of cuprate superconductors are reviewed. A system consisting of a few IJJs provides phenomena to test the Josephson phase dynamics and its interaction between adjacent IJJs within a nanometer scale, which is unique to cuprate superconductors. Quasiparticle density of states, which provides direct information on the Cooper-pair formation, is also revealed in the system. In contrast, Josephson plasma emission, which is an electromagnetic wave radiation in the sub-terahertz frequency range from an IJJ stack, arises from the synchronous phase dynamics of hundreds of IJJs coupled globally. This review summarizes a wide range of physical phenomena in IJJ systems having capacitive and inductive couplings with different nanometer and micrometer length scales, respectively.
Phase shifters are a vital part of communication systems, and research into superconducting electronic devices has highlighted the possible application of Josephson junctions in this field of research. Intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJs) are created by the high-density atomic-scale superconducting/insulator layering found within high temperature superconductors, such as Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8. This means a large number of series junctions are able to be created in relatively small dimensions in comparison to extrinsic devices limited in size by fabrication techniques. By designing IJJ tracks with large numbers of junctions in series, the phase shift from each individual junction sums to produce significant measurable phase tunability. I have studied the characteristics of IJJ tracks fabricated in Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 to investigate the their use as microwave phase shifters. This involved determining the optimum track dimensions to ensure true Josephson behaviour of the IJJs by measuring the current-voltage characteristics at 4.2K. I have derived the equations governing the phase bias relationship, used these to simulate the expected junction characteristics based on the track parameters. These were then compared with the measured results and discussed in the context of other research in the field. Based on the phase tunability measured in the Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 tracks, I then proceed to investigate the possible use of the coplanar IJJ transmission line as a parametric amplifier. The results presented highlight a small region of gain coupled to a geometric resonance, however this is not due to any parametric effect. Further research in this area is required to excite parametric amplification from these devices.
Measurements of macroscopic quantum tunnelling (MQT) in intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJs) suggest that they may be suitable as qubits. An advantage of using IJJs over trilayers is the absence of any artificial barrier and hence the possible absence of decohering two-level fluctuators. A disadvantage is that it is difficult to fabricate single IJJs. Hence all IJJ MQT experiments have been carried out on arrays of many IJJs in series. Since MQT is suppressed by dissipation, it is important (a) to understand the role of dissipation on the dynamics of IJJs and (b) to consider how the dissipation and the dynamics change as a function of the number of junctions in the array which are in the voltage state. We have measured distributions of the nth-order switching current in TlBaCaCuO IJJ arrays, where n indicates switching from n to n+1 junctions being in the voltage state. The junctions show conventional underdamped behaviour at temperatures below some temperature T*, with a suppression of the width of the distribution above T*. We find that T* depends upon n. For n = 0 (i.e. switching from the supercurrent branch), T* is less than 4.2 K. For n > 0, we measured T* values between 20 K and 40 K. Calculations and simulations show that a change in T* results from a change in Q. Analysis suggests that the Q of the IJJs is determined by the environmental impedance when all junctions in the array are in the zero-voltage state, whereas having one junction or more in the voltage state isolates the array from the environment leading to a higher Q. We discuss our data in the context of possible qubit applications.
Josephson junction of high- T c cuprate superconductor is studied in terms of (1) basic characteristics of junction to improve the I c R N product, and (2) a new candidate for quantum bits. Aiming to fabricate phase qubits, the switching current distribution of intrinsic Josephson junctions in Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O y was investigated. The switching current distribution down to 40 K was consistent with the thermally activated escape process in the single junction, while a more complex feature appeared below 40 K, strongly suggesting the importance of the multi-junction effects.
We report an experimental observation of the macroscopic quantum tunnelling (MQT) in a d-wave high-temperature superconductor (HTSC) Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ intrinsic Josephson junction (IJJs). It is well known that the current-biased Josephson tunnel junction provides an ideal stage for studying a variety of macroscopic quantum phenomena such as MQT. They have been studied and observed in low-temperature superconductor (LTSC) Josephson junctions since the early 1980s and have been established well by now. On the other hand, in the case of HTSC the d-wave pairing symmetry allows for dissipative quasiparticle excitations within the superconducting energy gap, which is expected to severely interfere with an observation of MQT. Contrary to this naive conception, our experimental results have explained that the effects of the nodal quasiparticles are not strong enough to obscure the observation of the MQT. Furthermore, we found that the MQT in IJJs was observed at approximately 1 K, which was ten times higher than that of LTSC Josephson junctions. This higher classical-to-quantum crossover temperature is due to their high plasma frequency. We also discuss the resonant activation of IJJs in the presence of microwave radiation.
Using a newly developed double-side fabrication method, an IJJ stack plus a bow-tie antenna and chokes were integrated in a slice 200 nm thick and singled out from inside a bulk Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x (BSCCO) single crystal. The junctions in the fabricated stack were very uniform, and the number of junctions involved was rather controllable. In addition to this method, which can be used to fabricate integrated circuits based on intrinsic Josephson junctions in high temperature (Tc) superconductors, also reported will be terahertz responses of IJJs, and the possible applications in quantum voltage standard, spectroscopy, and so on.