In a world transitioning to the era of second quantum revolution, avoiding processes such as dissipation, which annihilates the quantum state unnecessarily, is crucial. Therefore, understanding the sources of loss responsible for the relaxation in a given quantum system is highly relevant. Since superconducting quantum circuits are the favorite contenders for quantum computing, two directions are followed in this work to study the sources of loss in such circuits.1.Superconducting high quality factor resonators have several applications in quantum technology. They are also the best test beds to study losses. In this work, the study of losses is carried out by realizing Aluminum resonators of different mean free path and capacitances. The behavior of the internal quality factor as a function of applied microwave power and temperature is investigated. The study focuses on the quasiparticle and dielectric losses in the resonators which have been argued to be the main cause of losses in superconducting quantum circuits. A comparative analysis of ground plane loss is also carried out in order to estimate the losses caused by the metallic ground plane. 2.Fluxonium qubit is one of the state of the art superconducting qubits. Their relaxation times are as high as 8-10 milliseconds in 3D architecture. To achieve large scalability, the qubits must be fabricated using 2D architecture. The change in architecture places new constraints on traditional sources of loss while also introducing new ones. The sources of loss causing qubit relaxation in 2D Fluxonium qubit are the area of emphasis in this work. Furthermore, the causes of noise in such a qubit are examined in order to understand the limitations on the coherence of the qubit.
In a world transitioning to the era of second quantum revolution, avoiding processes such as dissipation, which annihilates the quantum state unnecessarily, is crucial. Therefore, understanding the sources of loss responsible for the relaxation in a given quantum system is highly relevant. Since superconducting quantum circuits are the favorite contenders for quantum computing, two directions are followed in this work to study the sources of loss in such circuits.1.Superconducting high quality factor resonators have several applications in quantum technology. They are also the best test beds to study losses. In this work, the study of losses is carried out by realizing Aluminum resonators of different mean free path and capacitances. The behavior of the internal quality factor as a function of applied microwave power and temperature is investigated. The study focuses on the quasiparticle and dielectric losses in the resonators which have been argued to be the main cause of losses in superconducting quantum circuits. A comparative analysis of ground plane loss is also carried out in order to estimate the losses caused by the metallic ground plane. 2.Fluxonium qubit is one of the state of the art superconducting qubits. Their relaxation times are as high as 8-10 milliseconds in 3D architecture. To achieve large scalability, the qubits must be fabricated using 2D architecture. The change in architecture places new constraints on traditional sources of loss while also introducing new ones. The sources of loss causing qubit relaxation in 2D Fluxonium qubit are the area of emphasis in this work. Furthermore, the causes of noise in such a qubit are examined in order to understand the limitations on the coherence of the qubit.
Fluxonium superconducting qubits have demonstrated long coherence times and high single- and two-qubit gate fidelities, making them a favorable building block for superconducting quantum processors. We investigate the dominant limitations to fluxonium qubit energy relaxation time T1 using a set of eight planar, aluminum-on-silicon qubits. We find that a circuit-based model for capacitive dielectric loss best captures the frequency dependence of T1, which we analyze within both a two-level and a six-level energy relaxation model. We convert the measured T1 into an effective capacitive quality factor QCeff to compare qubits on equal footing, accounting for independently estimated contributions from 1/f flux noise and radiative loss to the control and readout circuitry. We apply this methodology to compare qubits from two fabrication processes: a baseline process and one that applies a fluorine-based wet treatment prior to Josephson junction deposition. We resolve a small improvement of (13.8 ± 8.4)% in the process mean QCeff, indicating that the fluorine treatment may have reduced loss from the metal-substrate interface, but did not address the primary source of loss in these fluxonium qubits.
Superconducting qubits are a leading system for realizing large-scale quantum processors, but overall gate fidelities suffer from coherence times limited by microwave dielectric loss.Recently discovered tantalum-based qubits exhibit record lifetimes exceeding 0.3 ms.Here, we perform systematic, detailed measurements of superconducting tantalum resonators in order to disentangle sources of loss that limit state-of-the-art tantalum devices.By studying the dependence of loss on temperature, microwave photon number, and device geometry, we quantify materials-related losses and observe that the losses are dominated by several types of saturable two-level systems (TLSs), with evidence that both surface and bulk related TLSs contribute to loss.Moreover, we show that surface TLSs can be altered with chemical processing.With four different surface conditions, we quantitatively extract the linear absorption associated with different surface TLS sources.Finally, we quantify the impact of the chemical processing at singlephoton powers, the relevant conditions for qubit device performance.In this regime, we measure resonators with internal quality factors ranging from 5 to 15 × 10 6 , comparable to the best qubits reported.In these devices, the surface and bulk TLS contributions to loss are comparable, showing that systematic improvements in materials on both fronts are necessary to improve qubit coherence further.
Superconducting quantum devices have gained increasing interest over the past 15 years because of their role as promising candidates for implementing a large-scale quantum computer and as ultra-sensitive detectors. Superconducting resonators are one type of superconducting device which are used in a variety of applications including quantum computing and radioastronomy. They can achieve large quality factors which are important for these applications and a variety of others. Specific examples of these applications include the readout and coupling of superconducting qubits and also microwave kinetic inductance detector arrays for sub-mm wavelength astronomical measurements. High quality factors also enable the study of very subtle features in the electromagnetic response of the resonator. This feature in turn offers provides a method to characterize loss mechanisms which affect the performance of superconducting qubits, by measuring the quality factor of a resonator. Dielectric loss is an example of such a loss mechanism, and is considered to be one of, if not \\it the \\rm major obstacle to overcome in order to construct scalable quantum technologies based on superconducting devices. This type of loss arises from the coupling of the electric field in the device to spurious degrees of freedom which arise naturally the dielectric environment of the device. The fast-growing interest in the physics and applications of superconducting resonators has renewed interest in an improving our fundamental understanding of dielectric loss. This interest involves the study of a much bigger and older question in condensed matter physics; namely, what is the microscopic physics which governs the behaviour and of an amorphous material at low-temperatures? \n \nIn this thesis, we present a systematic study of dielectric loss in amorphous aluminum oxide using superconducting microwave resonators. Measurements of the intrinsic loss tangent over a large temperature range of 40~mK to 1~K are presented and analyzed in detail. Some aspects of the data are well understood in terms of the standard tunnelling two-level system model, while others require a deeper analysis of the electrodynamics of the resonator and insights from more advanced theories. We employ a consistent approach using numerical simulations of the resonator to understand loss mechanisms arising from both an inhomogeneous electric field and multiple dielectric layers. We measure saturation effects which provide insight into coherent properties of two-level system ensembles and the mutual interaction between them. Excellent agreement with the two-level system model is found for intrinsic losses, however the strong dependence on temperature which we observe for saturation effects is not predicted in the standard form of the model. We find that this dependence can be understood in terms of the theory of spectral diffusion which is consistent with a strong mutual interaction between two-level systems contributes to broadening of their spectral linewidths.
Dissipation dans les circuits quantiques supraconducteurs Dans un monde en transition vers l'ère de la deuxième révolution quantique, il est crucial d'éviter des processus tels que la dissipation, qui annihile inutilement l'état quantique. Par conséquent, comprendre les sources de perte responsables de la relaxation dans un système quantique donné est très pertinent. Puisque les circuits quantiques supraconducteurs sont les prétendants favoris pour l'informatique quantique, deux directions sont suivies dans ce travail pour étudier les sources de perte dans de tels circuits.1. Les résonateurs supraconducteurs à facteur de qualité élevé ont plusieurs applications en technologie quantique. Ce sont aussi les meilleurs bancs d'essai pour étudier les pertes. Dans ce travail, l'étude des pertes est réalisée en réalisant des résonateurs en aluminium de différents libre parcours moyen et capacités. Le comportement du facteur de qualité interne en fonction de la puissance micro-onde appliquée et de la température est étudié. L'étude se concentre sur les quasiparticules et les pertes diélectriques dans les résonateurs, qui sont considérées comme la principale cause de pertes dans les circuits quantiques supraconducteurs. Une analyse comparative des pertes du plan de masse est également effectuée afin d'estimer les pertes causées par le plan de masse métallique.2. Le qubit de fluxonium est l'un des qubits supraconducteurs de pointe. Leurs temps de relaxation peuvent atteindre 8 à 10 millisecondes dans une architecture 3D. Pour atteindre une grande évolutivité, les qubits doivent être fabriqués à l'aide d'une architecture 2D. Le changement d'architecture impose de nouvelles contraintes aux sources traditionnelles de perte tout en en introduisant de nouvelles. Les sources de perte provoquant la relaxation du qubit dans le qubit 2D Fluxonium sont le domaine d'intérêt dans ce travail. De plus, les causes du bruit dans un tel qubit sont examinées afin de comprendre les limites de la cohérence du qubit.
Superconducting resonators with high quality factors are of great interest in many areas. However, the quality factor of the resonator can be weakened by many dissipation channels including trapped magnetic flux vortices and nonequilibrium quasiparticles which can significantly impact the performance of superconducting microwave resonant circuits and qubits at millikelvin temperatures. Quasiparticles result in excess loss, reducing resonator quality factors and qubit lifetimes. Vortices trapped near regions of large microwave currents also contribute excess loss. However, vortices located in current-free areas in the resonator or in the ground plane of a device can actually trap quasiparticles and lead to a reduction in the quasiparticle loss. In this thesis, we will describe experiments involving the controlled trapping of vortices for reducing quasiparticle density in the superconducting resonators. We provide a model for the simulation of reduction of nonequilibrium quasiparticles by vortices. In our experiments, quasiparticles are generated either by stray pair-breaking radiation or by direct injection using normal-insulator-superconductor (NIS)-tunnel junctions.
The performance of superconducting circuits for quantum computing is limited by materials losses. In particular, coherence times are typically bounded by two-level system (TLS) losses at single photon powers and millikelvin temperatures. The identification of low loss fabrication techniques, materials, and thin film dielectrics is critical to achieving scalable architectures for superconducting quantum computing. Superconducting microwave resonators provide a convenient qubit proxy for assessing performance and studying TLS loss and other mechanisms relevant to superconducting circuits such as non-equilibrium quasiparticles and magnetic flux vortices. In this review article, we provide an overview of considerations for designing accurate resonator experiments to characterize loss, including applicable types of losses, cryogenic setup, device design, and methods for extracting material and interface losses, summarizing techniques that have been evolving for over two decades. Results from measurements of a wide variety of materials and processes are also summarized. Finally, we present recommendations for the reporting of loss data from superconducting microwave resonators to facilitate materials comparisons across the field.