Related papers: Developing a Chemical and Structural Understanding…
Qubits made from superconducting materials are a mature platform for quantum information science application such as quantum computing. However, materials-based losses are now a limiting factor in reaching the coherence times needed for…
Niobium thin films on silicon substrate used in the fabrication of superconducting qubits have been characterized using scanning and transmission electron microscopy, electrical transport, magnetization, quasiparticle spectroscopy, and…
Among the recognized sources of decoherence in superconducting qubits, the spatial inhomogeneity of the superconducting state and the possible presence of magnetic-flux vortices remain comparatively underexplored. Niobium is commonly used…
Niobium is commonly used for superconducting quantum systems as readout resonators, capacitors, and interconnects. The coherence time of the superconducting qubits is mainly limited by microwave dissipation attributed to two-level system…
Despite mounting evidence that materials imperfections are a major obstacle to practical applications of superconducting qubits, connections between microscopic material properties and qubit coherence are poorly understood. Here, we perform…
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and diffraction (XPS, XPD) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) have been used for study of NbOx-structures on the Nb(110) surface. It is shown that niobium atoms are ordered to form a two-dimensional…
Superconducting qubits have emerged as a potentially foundational platform technology for addressing complex computational problems deemed intractable with classical computing. Despite recent advances enabling multiqubit designs that…
We present a novel transmon qubit fabrication technique that yields systematic improvements in T$_1$ relaxation times. We fabricate devices using an encapsulation strategy that involves passivating the surface of niobium and thereby…
The Niobium surface is almost always covered by a native oxide layer which greatly influences the performance of superconducting devices. Here we investigate the highly stable Niobium oxide overlayer of Nb(110), which is characterised by…
Reduced transmon qubit $T_1$ coherence times have been linked to the amorphous oxide layers formed by thin film capacitors during processing. Because Ta or Ta capped Nb capacitors exhibit overall superior qubit performance to those…
Surface structures on radio-frequency (RF) superconductors are crucially important in determining their interaction with the RF field. Here we investigate the surface compositions, structural profiles, and valence distributions of oxides,…
Structural and superconducting properties of high quality Niobium nanofilms with different thicknesses are investigated on silicon oxide and sapphire substrates. The role played by the different substrates and the superconducting properties…
Niobium is a practical material platform for superconducting microwave circuits; however, device-level performance can vary significantly depending on film growth and processing conditions. We compare three epitaxial Nb films grown on…
The integration of superconducting niobium and tantalum into superconducting quantum devices has been increasingly explored over the past few years. Recent developments have shown that two-level-systems (TLS) in the surface oxides of these…
Here we report a novel nitridation technique for transforming niobium into hexagonal Nb2N which appears to be superconducting below 1K. The nitridation is achieved by high temperature annealing of Nb films grown on Si3N4/Si (100) substrate…
We report the evidence of the formation of niobium hydride phase within niobium films on silicon substrates in superconducting qubits fabricated at Rigetti Computing. For this study, we combined complementary techniques, including…
The accelerating gradient of Nb3Sn superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities is currently limited, and the underlying cause remains an open question in the field. One leading hypothesis attributes this limitation to the presence of…
Decoherence in superconducting qubits has long been attributed to two level systems arising from the surfaces and interfaces present in real devices. A recent significant step in reducing decoherence was the replacement of superconducting…
A major roadblock to scalable quantum computing is phase decoherence and energy relaxation caused by qubits interacting with defect-related two-level systems (TLS). Native oxides present on the surfaces of superconducting metals used in…
Niobium offers the benefit of increased operating temperatures and frequencies for Josephson junctions, which are the core component of superconducting devices. However existing niobium processes are limited by more complicated fabrication…