Revealing the loss mechanisms of a 3D superconducting microwave cavity for use in a dark matter search

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Esmenda, J. C., Laird, E. A., Bailey, I., Du, N., Durham, S., Carosi, G., Gamble, T., Smith, P., Daw, E., Pashkin, Y. A.
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
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author Esmenda, J. C.
Laird, E. A.
Bailey, I.
Du, N.
Durham, S.
Carosi, G.
Gamble, T.
Smith, P.
Daw, E.
Pashkin, Y. A.
author_facet Esmenda, J. C.
Laird, E. A.
Bailey, I.
Du, N.
Durham, S.
Carosi, G.
Gamble, T.
Smith, P.
Daw, E.
Pashkin, Y. A.
contents Superconducting microwave cavities have found applications in many areas including quantum computing, particle accelerators, and dark matter searches. Their extremely high quality factors translate to very narrow bandwidth, which makes them key components of sensitive detectors. In this study, we aim to understand the loss mechanisms of an aluminium cavity and how they change as the cavity material transitions from the superconducting to normal state. We found that at temperatures not much lower than the transition temperature $T_c$, losses are dominated by quasiparticle excitations and are well described by the BCS theory. The exponential decrease of the quasiparticle density below $T_c$ results in a 1000-fold increase of the quality factor, as well as a shift of the resonance frequency due to the change of the kinetic inductance of the superconductor. At very low temperatures, losses due to two-level systems begin to dominate giving a peak in the quality factor of about 27.6 million at 130 mK. Understanding the loss mechanisms is invaluable, as the working temperature of the cavity may vary during operation regardless of its application.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_22637
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Revealing the loss mechanisms of a 3D superconducting microwave cavity for use in a dark matter search
Esmenda, J. C.
Laird, E. A.
Bailey, I.
Du, N.
Durham, S.
Carosi, G.
Gamble, T.
Smith, P.
Daw, E.
Pashkin, Y. A.
Superconductivity
Superconducting microwave cavities have found applications in many areas including quantum computing, particle accelerators, and dark matter searches. Their extremely high quality factors translate to very narrow bandwidth, which makes them key components of sensitive detectors. In this study, we aim to understand the loss mechanisms of an aluminium cavity and how they change as the cavity material transitions from the superconducting to normal state. We found that at temperatures not much lower than the transition temperature $T_c$, losses are dominated by quasiparticle excitations and are well described by the BCS theory. The exponential decrease of the quasiparticle density below $T_c$ results in a 1000-fold increase of the quality factor, as well as a shift of the resonance frequency due to the change of the kinetic inductance of the superconductor. At very low temperatures, losses due to two-level systems begin to dominate giving a peak in the quality factor of about 27.6 million at 130 mK. Understanding the loss mechanisms is invaluable, as the working temperature of the cavity may vary during operation regardless of its application.
title Revealing the loss mechanisms of a 3D superconducting microwave cavity for use in a dark matter search
topic Superconductivity
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.22637