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Improving the Time Stability of Superconducting Planar Resonators

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 June 2019

M.S. Moeed
Affiliation:
Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
C.T. Earnest
Affiliation:
Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
J.H. Béjanin
Affiliation:
Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
A.S. Sharafeldin
Affiliation:
Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
M. Mariantoni*
Affiliation:
Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
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Abstract

Quantum computers are close to become a practical technology. Solid-state implementations based, for example, on superconducting devices strongly rely on the quality of the constituent materials. In this work, we fabricate and characterize superconducting planar resonators in the microwave range, made from aluminum films on silicon substrates. We study two samples, one of which is unprocessed and the other cleaned with a hydrofluoric acid bath and by heating at 880 °C in high vacuum. We verify the efficacy of the cleaning treatment by means of scanning transmission electron microscope imaging of samples’ cross sections. From 3 h-long resonator measurements at ≈ 10 mK and with ≈ 10 photonic excitations, we estimate the frequency flicker noise level using the Allan deviation and find an approximately tenfold noise reduction between the two samples; the cleaned sample shows a flicker noise power coefficient for the fractional frequency of ≈ 0.23 × 10−15. Our preliminary results follow the generalized tunneling model for two-level state defects in amorphous dielectric materials and show that suitable cleaning treatments can help the operation of superconducting quantum computers.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2019 

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