Magnetic flux distribution, quasiparticle spectroscopy, and quality factors in Nb films for superconducting qubits

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Datta, Amlan, Moirangthem, Bicky S., Joshi, Kamal R., Mcfadden, Anthony P., Lecocq, Florent, Simmonds, Raymond W., Tanatar, Makariy A., Kramer, Matthew J., Prozorov, Ruslan
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Datta, Amlan
Moirangthem, Bicky S.
Joshi, Kamal R.
Mcfadden, Anthony P.
Lecocq, Florent
Simmonds, Raymond W.
Tanatar, Makariy A.
Kramer, Matthew J.
Prozorov, Ruslan
author_facet Datta, Amlan
Moirangthem, Bicky S.
Joshi, Kamal R.
Mcfadden, Anthony P.
Lecocq, Florent
Simmonds, Raymond W.
Tanatar, Makariy A.
Kramer, Matthew J.
Prozorov, Ruslan
contents Niobium is a practical material platform for superconducting microwave circuits; however, device-level performance can vary significantly depending on film growth and processing conditions. We compare three epitaxial Nb films grown on $c-$plane sapphire substrates under nominally identical conditions, except for the deposition temperature. To correlate internal quality factors, $Q_{\mathrm {i}}$, with material properties, we combine magneto-optical imaging of magnetic flux distribution with quasiparticle spectroscopy via measurements of the London penetration depth, $λ(T)$. In the low-$Q_{\mathrm i}$ film, there is a lesser ability to screen the magnetic field and an irregular temperature variation of $λ(T)$, implying the existence of localized in-gap states. High $Q_{\mathrm i}$ films show the opposite trend. We conclude that our measurements provide an efficient method for characterizing and optimizing superconducting films for quantum informatics applications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_23402
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Magnetic flux distribution, quasiparticle spectroscopy, and quality factors in Nb films for superconducting qubits
Datta, Amlan
Moirangthem, Bicky S.
Joshi, Kamal R.
Mcfadden, Anthony P.
Lecocq, Florent
Simmonds, Raymond W.
Tanatar, Makariy A.
Kramer, Matthew J.
Prozorov, Ruslan
Superconductivity
Materials Science
Niobium is a practical material platform for superconducting microwave circuits; however, device-level performance can vary significantly depending on film growth and processing conditions. We compare three epitaxial Nb films grown on $c-$plane sapphire substrates under nominally identical conditions, except for the deposition temperature. To correlate internal quality factors, $Q_{\mathrm {i}}$, with material properties, we combine magneto-optical imaging of magnetic flux distribution with quasiparticle spectroscopy via measurements of the London penetration depth, $λ(T)$. In the low-$Q_{\mathrm i}$ film, there is a lesser ability to screen the magnetic field and an irregular temperature variation of $λ(T)$, implying the existence of localized in-gap states. High $Q_{\mathrm i}$ films show the opposite trend. We conclude that our measurements provide an efficient method for characterizing and optimizing superconducting films for quantum informatics applications.
title Magnetic flux distribution, quasiparticle spectroscopy, and quality factors in Nb films for superconducting qubits
topic Superconductivity
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.23402