I am going to post here all newly submitted articles on the arXiv related to superconducting circuits. If your article has been accidentally forgotten, feel free to contact me
01
Jul
2026
Vanadium superconducting microwave resonators on silicon wafers
Understanding the correlation between material properties and microwave losses in superconducting films is a crucial subject for developing low-loss materials for quantum circuits.
We focus on vanadium (V) as a novel material for superconducting quantum devices and discuss loss in V films in relation to their structural properties. Using a sputtering method, we grow four V-film structures on (001)-oriented Si wafers, employing Nb and Ta as the buffer and capping layer materials, respectively: Nb/V/Ta, Nb/V, V/Ta, and V. X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy reveal that the V films grown on the Nb buffer layers have higher uniformity of lattice orientation and smaller grain size than that directly grown on the Si wafer. Coplanar waveguide resonators are fabricated from the four V-film structures, and averaged photon number (⟨nph⟩) dependences of internal quality factor (Qint) are obtained by performing microwave measurements. By analyzing the obtained Qint vs ⟨nph⟩, it is found that loss at the V surface is dominated by ⟨nph⟩-independent non-two-level-system (non-TLS) losses, which can be mitigated by introducing the Ta capping layer. Furthermore, the V films on the Nb buffer layers exhibit lower Qint in the ⟨nph⟩ range from 100 to 106 and higher non-TLS loss than that directly grown on Si wafers, even though the former has higher lattice-orientation uniformity than the latter. Origins of these trends might be relevant to V oxides, of which presence at surfaces and grain boundaries in bulk regions in the V resonators is suggested by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and/or V hydrides.
Characterization of Hydroxyls in Surface Oxide of Superconducting Tantalum and Their Mitigation in Quantum Circuits
Recently, tantalum (Ta) has gained attention in superconducting quantum circuits due to the longer coherence times achieved when replacing niobium (Nb) in capacitor pads. Previous literature
shows that surface oxides that form upon ambient exposure on superconducting metals such as Ta, Al, and Nb host two-level system (TLS) defects, which are a leading source of microwave loss and decoherence. While the surface oxides of Nb and Al have been extensively studied, Ta oxides remain less well understood. Using secondary ion mass spectrometry of alpha-Ta films deposited at 300 mm wafer scale, we show for the first time that hydroxyls accumulate in the Ta suboxide region above the underlying Ta. Angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows that the surface region is dominated by Ta2O5, with sub-stoichiometric TaOx present in between the Ta2O5 and underlying Ta. The thickness of the tantalum oxide is confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. We demonstrate that [OH] incorporation can be suppressed by replacing the native oxide with an oxide formed during chemical mechanical planarization of alpha-Ta films. Our findings support the hypothesis that TLS defects are non-uniform within the oxide thickness and suggest hydroxyls as a probable molecular origin of these loss channels. Furthermore, we show the feasibility of plasma nitridization as a method to decrease hydroxyl loading on alpha-Ta surfaces. The modulation of hydroxyl content through surface engineering of alpha-Ta can enable the fabrication of more robust, high-coherence superconducting quantum circuits by addressing a potential TLS source.
Surface Platinum Alloying for Passivation of Oxide Interfaces on Superconducting Niobium Films
Dielectric loss arising from two-level systems (TLS) at surfaces and interfaces remains a primary limitation to coherence in superconducting transmon qubits. Niobium (Nb), a widely
used material in superconducting quantum circuits, readily forms native oxides under ambient conditions, leading to lossy dielectric interfaces that degrade device performance. Here, a robust and scalable fabrication strategy is demonstrated for chemically stabilizing Nb surfaces and mitigating further oxidation, including protection of both surface and sidewall regions. High-purity Nb films were fabricated with bulk-like superconducting transition temperatures (Tc=9.30±0.10) K. We demonstrate that a thin Pt encapsulation layer, deposited after native oxide formation, can be transformed via thermal annealing into a Nb-Pt alloy at the surface. Spectroscopic and microscopic analyses confirm the formation of a chemically stable metallic alloy layer and its ability to suppress further oxide growth. Ab initio simulations elucidate the atomic-scale rearrangement and electronic structure evolution associated with Pt incorporation on native niobium oxide, providing insight into the stabilization mechanism of the alloyed surface. This approach offers a materials pathway for engineering chemically robust Nb interfaces, including sidewalls, toward higher-coherence superconducting qubit architectures.“
A Versatile Analytical Model for Fast and Accurate Determination of Feedline-Coupled Resonators for Superconducting Qubit Readout
Superconducting quantum chips commonly utilize quarter-wavelength ({lambda}/4) transmission line resonators as readout circuits. An analytical model for the accurate determination
of resonance frequencies and coupling Q-factors of feedline-coupled superconducting resonators is introduced. The model leverages four-port microwave network analysis, integrating boundary conditions and conformal mapping techniques to compute even- and odd-mode impedances in edge-coupled coplanar waveguide (CPW) structures. Its versatility allows application to both planar and 3-D heterogeneous architectures, making it a powerful tool for resonator design. To validate the model, a test chip with {\lambda}/4 resonators of varying geometries is fabricated and measured in a cryogenic environment. Comparisons with finite element method (FEM) simulations and experimental measurements confirm the model’s accuracy, with resonance frequencies and coupling Q-factors aligning closely across configurations. This proposed model facilitates the design of superconducting resonators in readout circuits for more effective, scalable, and adaptable quantum computing architectures.
Overcoming the Speed-Fidelity Trade-off in Fast CZ Gates via Cyclic Control
High-fidelity quantum gates are essential for scalable quantum computation. However, at short durations, short-timescale waveform distortions break the time-reflection symmetry of control
pulses, preventing the precise closure of cyclic evolution. This mechanism renders conventional symmetric protocols intrinsically over-constrained. Conventional strategies typically rely on smoothing the pulse envelopes or embedding the interaction pulse within a longer qubit pulse to bypass short-timescale distortions, which inevitably leads to a persistent speed-fidelity trade-off. To overcome this limitation, we introduce a cyclic control strategy based on parameter-space expansion, which restores controllability by incorporating an additional degree of freedom. We experimentally demonstrate this approach in a superconducting controlled-Z gate, achieving robust suppression of coherent errors without increasing gate duration, reducing the average coherent error from 0.27% to 0.12% across multiple two-qubit gates, as validated by cross-entropy benchmarking. Our results establish a general route to fast, high-fidelity cyclic quantum gates beyond the conventional speed-fidelity trade-off.
Leakage Mobility and Passive Leakage Removal in Transmons with Tunable Couplers
Qubit leakage is a noticeable source of errors for quantum computing. In quantum processors, leakage excitations traveling between qubits generate correlated errors and perturb gate
implementations. Leakage mobility can also be utilized for creating dedicated leakage removal pathways and removal units. To quantitatively characterize leakage mobility and to guide better design of processor architectures, we study here leakage dynamics in transmons with tunable couplers through numerical and analytical methods. Even if the couplers are tuned to cancel the single-excitation exchange or the ZZ interaction, the leakage hopping rates still persists in the range of 0.8-10 MHz due to transmon nonlinearity. In typical operation regimes, however, transmon frequency detuning localizes leakage excitations. The next-nearest-neighbor transmons can be still be near-resonant opening leakage tunneling channels. To suppress longer-range hopping, we find that the frequency spread of the next-nearest-neighbor transmons needs to be in the range of 1-4 MHz. Utilizing leakage mobility, we propose two passive leakage removal units. One is based on a tunable coupler and a pumped transmon, and another on a junction readout scheme. Based on realistic experimental parameters, our results on selectively mobilizing or localizing leakage excitations are readily applicable in superconducting quantum devices.
30
Jun
2026
Ferroelectric transmon
Superconducting qubits are a leading platform for quantum computing. However, simultaneously achieving low noise sensitivity to suppress decoherence and sufficient anharmonicity to
enable fast gate operations remains a central challenge. Here, we introduce the concept of the ferroelectric transmon (FEmon), in which the Josephson junction is shunted by a ferroelectric, or incipient ferroelectric, capacitor. We show, in particular, that the nonlinear ferroelectric response of the capacitor provides an additional degree of freedom for optimizing qubit anharmonicity while preserving operation in the charge-noise-insensitive regime.
29
Jun
2026
Thermometry with multilevel transmon probes
Superconducting transmon systems are promising platforms for nanoscale thermometry due to their high sensitivity to environmental fluctuations. Their intrinsic anharmonicity, which
is essential for qubit operations, gives rise to a non-equidistant energy spectrum that significantly affects the thermal populations and, consequently, the thermometric sensitivity. In this work, we investigate the ultimate quantum limits of temperature estimation with a transmon beyond the two-level approximation. We compare the thermometric performance of three complementary models: the qubit, a harmonic oscillator and a weakly anharmonic Duffing oscillator, evaluating their corresponding quantum Fisher information (QFI) as a function of the temperature. We show that the multilevel anharmonic structure of the transmon affects its thermometric precision. Indeed, including higher excited states enhances the maximum amount of information that can be extracted about the system temperature, compared to a qubit probe. Furthermore, we address a fundamental limitation of the standard quartic truncation, which yields a potential that is unbounded from below and supports only spurious metastable states. By introducing bounded anharmonic models, namely a confined quartic potential and a sextic correction term, we assess the robustness of the thermometric precision beyond the Duffing regime. Our results provide practical guidelines for transmon-based nanoscale thermometry and clarify the role of the anharmonic multilevel spectrum in quantum temperature estimation.
Preparation-Space Diagnostics and Logical Information Loss in a Driven Kerr-Cat Qubit
A Kerr-cat qubit encodes a logical bit in the two wells of a parametrically driven nonlinear oscillator, and a logic gate is a transient change of the drive. In the phase plane the
gate deforms the double well and can split its separatrix into a turnstile that carries trajectories across the dividing surface between the wells; the same pulse, acting on the quantum oscillator, can corrupt the encoded bit. We study this process over a disk of coherent-state preparations, comparing classical phase-space transport diagnostics with the open-system quantum outcome on a common domain so that the two can be compared point by point. The central finding is that the corruption depends on the full temporal protocol, not on pulse strength alone: a sudden quench erases the bit, whereas a smooth ramp of the same peak amplitude largely preserves it. A finite-time sensitivity field locates the classical transport boundary, and a Loschmidt echo evaluated near the end of the gate predicts the much later quantum outcome. Sweeps of pulse amplitude and width, of cat size, and of engineered two-photon dissipation map where the classical transport picture predicts the quantum loss of the bit and where it does not.
28
Jun
2026
A superconducting qutrit link beyond the qubit limit
Superconducting microwave links have enabled deterministic state transfer and remote entanglement between qubits, but deterministic links have so far operated with an effectively two-dimensional
transmitted Hilbert space. Here we demonstrate a superconducting qutrit link between two independently packaged nodes connected by a microwave channel. Each node combines a transmon qutrit, a transmission resonator, and a tunable Purcell-filter interface, allowing the two remote microwave-photon interfaces to be matched in both frequency and bandwidth. We implement two transition-selective photon-mediated operations that transfer the |e⟩ and |f⟩ qutrit components in distinct temporal modes of the same channel. We tomographically characterize arbitrary qutrit-state transfer, obtaining a mean transferred-state fidelity of 83.68% and a qutrit process fidelity of 77.12%, exceeding both the classical qutrit-transfer benchmark and the best possible average fidelity of an effective qubit channel used to transmit an arbitrary qutrit. Using partial-transfer operations, we reconstruct a remote two-qutrit state with negativity 0.730, a tomography-inferred dense-coding capacity of 2.273 bits, and a tomography-inferred Collins-Gisin-Linden-Massar-Popescu (CGLMP) parameter I3=2.332, all beyond the corresponding qubit or local bounds. These results demonstrate a superconducting microwave link that uses the native three-level structure of transmons as a genuine high-dimensional communication resource.