Temporal fluctuations in the superconducting qubit lifetime, T1, bring up additional challenges in building a fault-tolerant quantum computer. While the exact mechanisms remain unclear,T1 fluctuations are generally attributed to the strong coupling between the qubit and a few near-resonant two-level systems (TLSs) that can exchange energy with an assemble of thermally fluctuating two-level fluctuators (TLFs) at low frequencies. Here, we report T1 measurements on the qubits with different geometrical footprints and surface dielectrics as a function of the temperature. By analyzing the noise spectrum of the qubit depolarization rate, Γ1=1/T1, we can disentangle the impact of TLSs, non-equilibrium quasiparticles (QPs), and equilibrium (thermally excited) QPs on the variance in Γ1. We find that Γ1 variances in the qubit with a small footprint are more susceptible to the QP and TLS fluctuations than those in the large-footprint qubits. Furthermore, the QP-induced variances in all qubits are consistent with the theoretical framework of QP diffusion and fluctuation. We suggest these findings can offer valuable insights for future qubit design and engineering optimization.
We present a novel transmon qubit fabrication technique that yields systematic improvements in T1 coherence times. We fabricate devices using an encapsulation strategy that involvespassivating the surface of niobium and thereby preventing the formation of its lossy surface oxide. By maintaining the same superconducting metal and only varying the surface structure, this comparative investigation examining different capping materials and film substrates across different qubit foundries definitively demonstrates the detrimental impact that niobium oxides have on the coherence times of superconducting qubits, compared to native oxides of tantalum, aluminum or titanium nitride. Our surface-encapsulated niobium qubit devices exhibit T1 coherence times 2 to 5 times longer than baseline niobium qubit devices with native niobium oxides. When capping niobium with tantalum, we obtain median qubit lifetimes above 200 microseconds. Our comparative structural and chemical analysis suggests that amorphous niobium suboxides may induce higher losses. These results are in line with high-accuracy measurements of the niobium oxide loss tangent obtained with ultra-high Q superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities. This new surface encapsulation strategy enables further reduction of dielectric losses via passivation with ambient-stable materials, while preserving fabrication and scalable manufacturability thanks to the compatibility with silicon processes.
Due to their unique properties as lossless, nonlinear circuit elements, Josephson junctions lie at the heart of superconducting quantum information processing. Previously, we demonstrateda two-layer, submicrometer-scale overlap junction fabrication process suitable for qubits with long coherence times. Here, we extend the overlap junction fabrication process to micrometer-scale junctions. This allows us to fabricate other superconducting quantum devices. For example, we demonstrate an overlap-junction-based Josephson parametric amplifier that uses only 2 layers. This efficient fabrication process yields frequency-tunable devices with negligible insertion loss and a gain of ~ 30 dB. Compared to other processes, the overlap junction allows for fabrication with minimal infrastructure, high yield, and state-of-the-art device performance.