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Field, Mark

Publications and source records attributed to Field, Mark.

6 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Alternating-bias assisted annealing of amorphous oxide tunnel junctions

Superconducting quantum bits (qubits) rely on ultra-thin, amorphous oxide tunneling barriers that can have significant inhomogeneities and defects as grown. This can result in relatively large uncertainties and deleterious effects in the circuits, limiting the scalability. Finding a robust solution to the junction reproducibility problem has been a long-standing goal in the field. Here, we demonstrate a transformational technique for controllably tuning the electrical properties of aluminum-oxide tunnel junctions. This is accomplished using a low-voltage, alternating-bias applied individually to the tunnel junctions, with which resistance tuning by more than 70% can be achieved. The data indicates an improvement of coherence and reduction of two-level system defects. Transmission electron microscopy shows that the treated junctions are predominantly amorphous, albeit with a more uniform distribution of alumina coordination across the barrier. This technique is expected to be useful for other devices based on ionic amorphous materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Revealing Possible Coherence Limiting Sources in Superconducting Qubit with Advanced Electron Microscopy

Superconducting materials hold great potential for solid-state quantum computing. Their fabrication relies on established semiconductor fabrication techniques, such as thin film deposition and lithography, but the complex processing steps can result in defects at the qubits' interfaces and surfaces that can negatively impact coherence time. To improve superconducting qubit performance, it is essential to understand the structural features, at the atomic scale, that may act as sources of decoherence limiting factor in both the Josephson junction (JJ) and resonators, which are key components of superconducting qubit. This talk will present our recent studies on the microstructures in a 2D-transmon, with an emphasis on the JJ. For this research, a combination of advanced microscopy techniques, including high-resolution (S)TEM imaging, and spectroscopy (EDS and EELS) are used to identify possible coherence-limiting defects or structural features.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

In-situ transmission electron microscopy investigation on surface oxides thermal stability of niobium

Niobium is commonly used for superconducting quantum systems as readout resonators, capacitors, and interconnects. Structural defects at the Nb/Si and air/Nb interface may be a major source of two-level systems (TLS), which are detrimental to the device's coherence time. Thus, identifying and understanding the microscopic origin of possible TLS in Nb-based devices and their relationship to processing is key to superconducting qubit performance improvement. Here this work studied the structure and thermal stability of surface oxide on physical vapor deposited Nb films on Si wafers, using aberration-corrected (scanning) transmission electron microscopy and spectroscopy. Here, all Nb films exhibit columnar growth with strong [110] textures. After in-situ heating of the heterostructure at 360 °C inside the microscope, the initial amorphous niobium surface oxides decompose into face-centered cubic Nb nanograins in the amorphous Nb-O matrix, which may reduce microwave dissipation. Despite changes in the microstructure and chemistry of the niobium oxide surface layer due to heat treatment, the interface between the Nb and the surface oxide layer remains almost unchanged. Our comprehensive study of the Nb surface oxide decomposition mechanism may guide future superconducting qubit device optimization through interfacial scattering center and TLS minimization.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Characterization of Nb films for superconducting qubits using phase boundary measurements

Continued advances in superconducting qubit performance require more detailed understandings of the many sources of decoherence. Within these devices, two-level systems arise due to defects, interfaces, and grain boundaries and are thought to be a major source of qubit decoherence at millikelvin temperatures. In addition to Al, Nb is a commonly used metallization layer in superconducting qubits. Consequently, a significant effort is required to develop and qualify processes that mitigate defects in Nb films. As the fabrication of complete superconducting qubits and their characterization at millikelvin temperatures is a time and resource intensive process, it is desirable to have measurement tools that can rapidly characterize the properties of films and evaluate different treatments. Here, we show that measurements of the variation of the superconducting critical temperature T c with an applied external magnetic field H (of the phase boundary T c – H⁠) performed with very high-resolution show features that are directly correlated with the structure of the Nb films. In combination with x-ray diffraction measurements, we show that one can even distinguish variations in the size and crystal orientation of the grains in a Nb film by small but reproducible changes in the measured superconducting phase boundary.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Contactless excitation of acoustic resonance in insulating wafers

Contactless excitation and detection of high harmonic acoustic overtones in a thin insulator single crystal are described using radio frequency spectroscopy techniques. Single crystal [001] silicon wafer samples were investigated, one side covered with a Nb thin film, the common starting point for the fabrication of quantum devices. Additionally, the coupling between electromagnetic signals and mechanical oscillation is achieved from the Lorentz force generated by an external magnetic field. This method is suitable for any sample with a metallic surface or covered with a thin metal film. High resolution measurements of the temperature dependence of the sound velocity and elastic constants of silicon are reported and compared with known results.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗