English

An evaluation of A15 Nb3Al superconducting thin films for application in quantum circuits

Materials Science 2025-12-08 v1

Abstract

A15 superconductors are distinguished by their high critical temperatures, magnetic fields, and current-carrying capabilities. Among them, Nb3_3Al is of particular interest for superconducting quantum circuits as a means to extend device operating temperatures, provided that its electrodynamic properties are well understood. Here, we report on the synthesis of Nb3_3Al thin films by magnetron co-sputtering followed by rapid thermal processing, yielding superconducting transition temperatures above 16~K. Microwire devices patterned from these films exhibit a coherence length of 3.2nm3.2\,\mathrm{nm} and superfluid densities as low as 1.1×1026m31.1\times 10^{26}\,\mathrm{m}^{-3}, suggesting that Nb3_3Al may enable high kinetic inductance in thinner films. Coplanar waveguide resonators fabricated on Nb3_3Al demonstrate single-photon internal quality factors up to 2.26×1052.26\times 10^{5}. These results establish Nb3_3Al as a promising material platform for the development of superconducting quantum circuits operating at elevated temperatures, contingent on appropriate control of interfacial chemistry and surface morphology.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2512.05396,
  title  = {An evaluation of A15 Nb3Al superconducting thin films for application in quantum circuits},
  author = {Joseph Falvo and Brooke Henry and Bernardo Langa and Rohit Pant and Ashish Alexander and Jason Dong and Kasra Sardashti},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.05396},
  year   = {2025}
}