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Applied Physics Letters

A flux-tunable YBa2Cu3O7 quantum interference microwave circuit

Kevin Uhl, Daniel Hackenbeck, Christoph Füger, R. Kleiner, D. Koelle, Daniel Bothner

Published May 1, 2023• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Josephson microwave circuits are essential for the currently flourishing research on superconducting technologies, such as quantum computation, quantum sensing, and microwave signal processing. To increase the possible parameter space for device operation with respect to the current standards, many materials for superconducting circuits are under active investigation. Here, we present the realization of a frequency-tunable, weakly nonlinear Josephson microwave circuit made of the high-temperature cuprate superconductor YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO), a material with a high critical temperature and a very high critical magnetic field. An in situ frequency-tunability of ∼300 MHz is achieved by integrating a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) into the circuit based on Josephson junctions directly written with a helium ion microscope (HIM). Our results demonstrate that YBCO-HIM-SQUID microwave resonators are promising candidates for quantum sensing and microwave technology applications.

DOI
10.1063/5.0146524

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Josephson microwave circuits are essential for the currently flourishing research on superconducting technologies, such as quantum computation, quantum sensing, and microwave signal processing. To increase the possible parameter space for device operation with respect to the current standards, many materials for superconducting circuits are under active investigation. Here, we present the realization of a frequency-tunable, weakly nonlinear Josephson microwave circuit made of the high-temperature cuprate superconductor YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO), a material with a high critical temperature and a very high critical magnetic field. An in situ frequency-tunability of ∼300 MHz is achieved by integrating a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) into the circuit based on Josephson junctions directly written with a helium ion microscope (HIM). Our results demonstrate that YBCO-HIM-SQUID microwave resonators are promising candidates for quantum sensing and microwave technology applications.
Superconducting microwave circuits with and without Josephson inductances are the Swiss Army knife for many experiments and technologies from quantum information science to astrophysical particle detectors. Despite a large variety of existing circuit types, thin film materials and Josephson junction technologies, a flexible and reliable platform for high-magnetic-field and high-temperature applications is yet to be found. In this manuscript, we investigate coplanar waveguide cavities made of the high-temperature cuprate superconductor YBa2_22​Cu3_33​O7_77​ (YBCO), integrated with Josephson inductances and quantum interferometers that are generated by the controlled local irradiation of the YBCO with a focused helium ion beam. We obtain strongly flux-tunable microwave resonators, which not only display periodic interferometer oscillations of resonance frequency and decay rate, but also a superimposed Fraunhofer-like modulation pattern. The latter originates from the magnetic field tuning of the individual Josephson junction critical currents due to the out-of-plane junction barriers. It allows adjusting resonance frequency and flux responsivity independently of each other, potentially enabling tunable microwave circuits with low sensitivity to external magnetic-field noise over a broad range of frequencies. Finally, we investigate the temperature dependence of the cavities, show that they have promising characteristics up to 14 \,K, and present a model for the junction-induced cavity losses.
Nonlinear microwave circuits are key elements for many groundbreaking research directions and technologies, such as quantum computation and quantum sensing. The majority of microwave circuits with Josephson nonlinearities to date is based on aluminum thin films, and therefore they are severely restricted in their operation range regarding temperatures and external magnetic fields. Here, we present the realization of superconducting niobium microwave resonators with integrated, three-dimensional (3D) nanobridge-based superconducting quantum interference devices. The 3D nanobridges (constriction weak links) are monolithically patterned into pre-fabricated microwave LC circuits using neon ion beam milling, and the resulting quantum interference circuits show frequency tunabilities, flux responsivities and Kerr nonlinearities on par with comparable aluminum nanobridge devices, but with the perspective of a much larger operation parameter regime. Our results reveal great potential for application of these circuits in hybrid systems with e.g. magnons and spin ensembles or in flux-mediated optomechanics.
Nonlinear microwave circuits are key elements for many groundbreaking research directions and technologies, such as quantum computation and quantum sensing. The majority of microwave circuits with Josephson nonlinearities to date are based on aluminum thin films; therefore, they are severely restricted in their operation range regarding temperatures and external magnetic fields. Here, we present the realization of superconducting niobium microwave resonators with integrated, three-dimensional (3D) nanobridge-based superconducting quantum interference devices. The 3D nanobridges (constriction weak links) are monolithically patterned into prefabricated microwave LCLCLC circuits using neon focused-ion-beam milling, and the resulting quantum interference circuits show frequency tunabilities, flux responsivities, and Kerr nonlinearities on par with comparable aluminum nanobridge devices, but with the perspective of a much larger operation parameter regime. Our results demonstrate that neon focused-ion-beam milling is a promising method for fabricating 3D constriction junctions with flexible parameters and reveal great potential for application of the resulting microwave circuits in hybrid systems with, e.g., magnons and spin ensembles or in flux-mediated optomechanics.
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.
We have fabricated arrays of High-Tc Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) with randomly distributed loop sizes as sensitive detectors for Radio Frequency (RF) waves. These subwavelength size devices known as Superconducting Quantum Interference Filters (SQIFs) detect the magnetic component of the electromagnetic field. We used a scalable ion irradiation technique to pattern the circuits and engineer the Josephson junctions needed to make SQUIDs. Here, we report on a 300 SQUID series array with the loop area ranging from 6 to 60 μm2, folded in a meander line covering a 3.5 mm × 120 μm substrate area, made out of a 150 nm thick YBa2Cu3O7 film. Operating at a temperature of T = 66 K in an unshielded magnetic environment under low DC bias current (I = 60 μA) and a DC magnetic field (B = 3 μT), this SQIF can detect a magnetic field of a few picoteslas at a frequency of 1.125 GHz, which corresponds to a sensitivity of a few hundreds of fT/Hz and shows a linear response over 7 decades in RF power. This work is a promising approach for the realization of low dissipative subwavelength gigahertz magnetometers.
We have prepared meta-atoms based on radio-frequency superconducting quantum-interference devices (rf SQUIDs) and examined their tunability with dc magnetic field, rf current, and temperature. rf SQUIDs are superconducting split-ring resonators in which the usual capacitance is supplemented with a Josephson junction, which introduces strong nonlinearity in the rf properties. We find excellent agreement between the data and a model that regards the Josephson junction as the resistively and capacitively shunted junction. A magnetic field tunability of 80 THz=G at 12 GHz is observed, a total tunability of 56% is achieved, and a unique electromagnetically induced transparency feature at intermediate excitation powers is demonstrated for the first time. An rf SQUID metamaterial is shown to have qualitatively the same behavior as a single rf SQUID with regard to dc flux and temperature tuning.