Low-loss α-tantalum coplanar waveguide resonators on silicon wafers: fabrication, characterization and surface modification
Daniel Pérez Lozano, Massimo Mongillo, X Piao, Sébastien Couet, Derrick C. Wan, Yann Canvel, A. M. Vadiraj, T. Ivanov, Jeroen Verjauw, R. Acharya, Jo Van Damme, F A Mohiyaddin, Julien Jussot, P. Puttarame Gowda, Antoine Pacco, Bart Raes, Joris Van de Vondel, Iuliana Radu, B. Govoreanu, J. Swerts, Anton Potočnik, K. De Greve
Abstract
Abstract The performance of state-of-the-art superconducting quantum devices is currently limited by microwave dielectric loss at different interfaces. α -tantalum is a superconductor that has proven effective in reducing dielectric loss and improving device performance due to its thin low-loss oxide. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of high-quality factor α -tantalum coplanar-waveguide resonators directly on pristine 300 mm silicon wafers over a variety of metal deposition conditions and perform a comprehensive material and electrical characterization study. Additionally, we apply a surface treatment based on hydrofluoric acid that allows us to modify different resonators surfaces, leading to a reduction in two-level system loss in the devices by a factor of three. This loss reduction can be entirely attributed to the removal of surface oxides. Our study indicates that large scale manufacturing of low-loss superconducting circuits should indeed be feasible and suggests a viable avenue to materials-driven advancements in superconducting circuit performance.