Power attenuation in millimeter-wave and terahertz superconducting rectangular waveguides: linear response, TLS loss, and Higgs-mode nonlinearity

TL;DR

This paper develops a comprehensive theoretical framework to evaluate power attenuation in superconducting waveguides across a broad frequency range, accounting for microscopic material properties, TLS losses, and nonlinear Higgs-mode effects, with implications for low-loss quantum and astronomical applications.

Contribution

It introduces a unified microscopic model for power attenuation in superconducting waveguides, including TLS loss and Higgs-mode nonlinearity, applicable from dirty to clean limits and high to low frequencies.

Findings

Low attenuation achievable with high-purity materials below gap frequency.

TLS loss becomes significant at low temperatures, especially in native Nb oxides.

Higgs-mode nonlinear response produces a distinct peak in attenuation near the gap frequency.

Abstract

Superconducting waveguides are a promising platform for ultralow-loss transmission in the millimeter-wave to terahertz band under cryogenic conditions, with potential applications in astronomical instrumentation and emerging quantum technologies. We develop a framework, based on microscopic superconductivity theory, to evaluate the power-flow attenuation constant $\alpha$ of superconducting rectangular waveguides in the $100~\mathrm{GHz}$--THz range, applicable to arbitrary electronic mean free paths $\ell$ from the dirty limit $\ell\ll\xi_0$ to the clean limit $\ell\gg\xi_0$. We also derive an analytical expression for two-level-system (TLS)-induced attenuation $\alpha_{\rm TLS}$ in thin native oxide layers within the standard TLS model. Using this framework, we perform numerical evaluations of $\alpha$ for representative materials over standard waveguide sizes from WR15 to WR1. In the high-frequency regime $f \gtrsim 0.5 \Delta/h$, low attenuation favors the clean regime $\ell\gtrsim\xi_0$, indicating that high-purity materials can achieve very low attenuation below their gap frequency. For the TLS contribution, using parameter values representative of native Nb oxides, we find that $\alpha_{\rm TLS}$ can become relevant at sufficiently low temperatures $T/T_c\lesssim 0.1$-0.2, where quasiparticle dissipation is exponentially suppressed. Finally, we extend the discussion to the strong-excitation regime using a recently developed nonlinear-response theory within the Keldysh--Usadel framework of nonequilibrium superconductivity and show that nonlinear dissipation produces a Higgs-mode peak in $\alpha$ near $f\simeq \Delta/h$ via a Kerr-type nonlinearity of the dissipative conductivity. This peak provides a distinct hallmark of the Higgs mode that has been largely overlooked so far.