Cryogenic Thermometry Based on Superconducting Microwave Resonators

André Chatel

Published Jan 1, 2026• 0 citations

Abstract

Cryogenic systems are essential to many modern scientific and technological applications, including MRI superconducting magnets, particle accelerators, astrophysical detectors and quantum computing platforms, all of which operate at temperatures well below 120 K. In this framework, accurate temperature monitoring is, therefore, critical. However, conventional Resistance Temperature Detectors (RTDs) suffer from significant limitations in cryogenic environments, such as wiring complexity, power dissipation, limited low-temperature operation and large footprint, which restrict their integration in increasingly complex cryogenic infrastructures. Superconducting devices offer a promising alternative due to their high sensitivity at low temperatures, low power dissipation and compatibility with integrated quantum technologies. Inspired by Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs), this work investigates superconducting microwave resonators as minimally invasive, frequency-multiplexed cryogenic thermometers operating below 12 K. In particular, strategies to tune and enhance temperature sensitivity are explored by studying the effects of the superconducting thin-film thickness and surface nanostructuring. The first part of the study examines NbTi(N) planar resonators with thicknesses ranging from 20 nm to 150 nm, where temperature sensing is based on the temperature dependence of the kinetic inductance. S-shaped split-ring resonators resonating near 1.1 GHz are inductively coupled to a coplanar transmission line and characterized under cryogenic conditions. A clear trade-off between temperature sensitivity and quality factor is observed: thinner films achieve higher sensitivity, up to approximately 19 MHz/K for 20 nm thick devices, while the quality factor, typically exceeding 10^4, is found to degrade when the thickness is reduced. This trade-off leads to an optimal temperature resolution, with sub-microkelvin noise-equivalent temperature (NET) values. In particular, a minimum NET of (0.53±0.09) µK/Hz^(1/2) at 4.2 K is achieved for a 100 nm thick resonator, which is also exploited to study low-frequency temperature fluctuations in liquid helium. In the second part, a possible approach to enhance the temperature sensitivity, through surface nanostructuring, is investigated. Arrays of nanogaps are patterned in high-current regions of a 1.3 GHz resonator, in order to locally suppress superconductivity, reduce the critical temperature of the film and, therefore, accentuate the slope of the temperature-sensitive curve. These weak-links are realized by partially etching a 100 nm NbTi film, to leave 20-30 nm thick remaining nanogaps. Measurements reveal a significant increase in temperature sensitivity, reaching values as high as up to (62±1) MHz/K, which correspond to one order-of-magnitude improvement over non-nanostructured devices. Although this enhancement comes with increased noise-equivalent temperature, the results demonstrate the feasibility of engineering superconducting weak links to improve RF cryogenic thermometry and provide a solid foundation for future optimization. In reason of the achieved results, such an approach could find successful applications for a sub-µK high-resolution cryogenic temperature monitoring, specifically for integrated quantum architectures, further benefiting from the frequency-multiplexing that naturally arises from the multiple allocation of different superconducting microwave resonators.

DOI: 10.5075/epfl-thesis-11256

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