Making high-quality quantum microwave devices with van der Waals superconductors

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the fabrication of high-quality superconducting microwave resonators using van der Waals layered NbSe₂, achieving a quality factor over 10^5, indicating low microwave loss and compatibility with quantum devices.

Contribution

It introduces a novel fabrication approach for microwave resonators with vdW superconductors, showing their potential for quantum applications.

Findings

Achieved a quality factor Q > 10^5 in NbSe₂ resonators

Set an upper bound resistance of ≤ 192 μΩ for low-loss operation

Confirmed compatibility of 2D vdW materials with quantum microwave devices

Abstract

Ultra low-loss microwave materials are crucial for enhancing quantum coherence and scalability of superconducting qubits. Van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure is an attractive platform for quantum devices due to the single-crystal structure of the constituent two-dimensional (2D) layered materials and the lack of dangling bonds at their atomically sharp interfaces. However, new fabrication and characterization techniques are required to determine whether these structures can achieve low loss in the microwave regime. Here we report the fabrication of superconducting microwave resonators using NbSe$_2$ that achieve a quality factor $Q > 10^5$. This value sets an upper bound that corresponds to a resistance of $\leq 192 \mu\Omega$ when considering the additional loss introduced by integrating NbSe$_2$ into a standard transmon circuit. This work demonstrates the compatibility of 2D layered materials with high-quality microwave quantum devices.