5 Search Results

Group-V materials such as niobium and tantalum have become popular choices for extending the performance of circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) platforms, allowing for quantum processors and memories with reduced error rates and more modes. The complex surface chemistry of niobium, however, makes identifying the main modes of decoherence difficult at millikelvin temperatures and single-photon powers. We use niobium coaxial quarter-wave cavities to study the impact of etch chemistry, prolonged atmospheric exposure, and the significance of cavity conditions prior to and during cooldown—in particular, niobium hydride evolution—on single-photon coherence. We demonstrate cavities with quality factors $Q_{\mathrm{int}}\gtrsim 1.4\times {10}^9$more » in the single-photon regime, a 15-fold improvement over aluminum cavities of the same geometry. We rigorously quantify the sensitivity of our fabrication process to various loss mechanisms and demonstrate a two- to fourfold reduction in the two-level system loss tangent and a three- to fivefold improvement in the residual resistance over traditional buffered chemical polishing etching techniques. Finally, we demonstrate transmon integration and coherent cavity control while maintaining a cavity coherence of 11.3 ms. The accessibility of our method, which can be easily replicated in academic laboratory settings, together with the demonstration of its performance, mark an advancement in three-dimensional cQED.« less

Developing a dark matter detector with wide mass tunability is an immensely desirable property, yet it is challenging due to maintaining strong sensitivity. Resonant cavities for dark matter detection have traditionally employed mechanical tuning, moving parts around to change electromagnetic boundary conditions. However, these cavities have proven challenging to operate in sub-Kelvin cryogenic environments due to differential thermal contraction, low heat capacities, and low thermal conductivities. Instead, we develop an electronically tunable cavity architecture by coupling a superconducting 3D microwave cavity with a DC flux tunable SQUID. With a flux delivery system engineered to maintain high coherence in the cavity,more » we perform a hidden-photon dark matter search below the quantum-limited threshold. A microwave photon counting technique is employed through repeated quantum non-demolition measurements using a transmon qubit. With this device, we perform a hidden-photon search and constrain the kinetic mixing angle to $${\varepsilon}< 8.2\times 10^{-15}$$ in a tunable band from 5.672 GHz to 5.694 GHz. By coupling multimode tunable cavities to the transmon, wider hidden-photon searching ranges are possible.« less

Niobium offers the benefit of increased operating temperatures and frequencies for Josephson junctions, which are the core component of superconducting devices. However existing niobium processes are limited by more complicated fabrication methods and higher losses than now-standard aluminum junctions. Combining recent trilayer fabrication advancements, methods to remove lossy dielectrics and modern superconducting qubit design, we revisit niobium trilayer junctions and fabricate all-niobium transmons using only optical lithography. We characterize devices in the microwave domain, measuring coherence times up to $$62~\mu$$s and an average qubit quality factor above $10^5$: much closer to state-of-the-art aluminum-junction devices. We find the higher superconducting gapmore » energy also results in reduced quasiparticle sensitivity above $0.16~$K, where aluminum junction performance deteriorates. Our junction process is readily applied to standard optical-based foundry processes, opening new avenues for direct integration and scalability, and paves the way for higher-temperature and higher-frequency quantum devices.« less

Synthesis and implementation of highly active, stable, and affordable electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a major challenge in developing energy efficient and economically viable energy conversion devices such as electrolyzers, rechargeable metal-air batteries, and regenerative fuel cells. The current benchmark electrocatalyst for OER is based on iridium oxide (IrO_x) due to its superior performance and excellent stability. However, large scale applications using IrO_x are impractical due to its low abundance and high cost. In this work, we report a highly active hafnium-modified iridium oxide (IrHf_xO_y) electrocatalyst for OER. The IrHf_xO_y electrocatalyst demonstrated ten times higher activity inmore » alkaline conditions (pH = 11) and four times higher activity in acid conditions (pH = 1) than a IrO_x electrocatalyst. The highest intrinsic mass activity of the IrHf_xO_y catalyst in acid conditions was calculated as 6950 A gIrO_x^-1 at an overpotential (η) of 0.3 V. Combined studies utilizing operando surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and DFT calculations revealed that the active sites for OER are the Ir-O species for both IrO_x and IrHf_xO_y catalysts. The presence of Hf sites leads to more negative charge states on nearby O sites, and shortening the bond lengths of Ir-O, and lowering free energies for OER intermediates to accelerate the OER process.« less

The chemical functionalization of two-dimensional materials is an effective method for tailoring their chemical and electronic properties with encouraging applications in energy, catalysis, and electronics. One exemplary 2D material with remarkable properties, graphene, can be exploited for hydrogen storage and large on/off ratio devices by hydrogen termination. In this work, we describe a promising plasma-based method to provide high hydrogen coverage on graphene. A low pressure (~10 mtorr) discharge generates a fine-tunable low-temperature hydrogen-rich plasma in the applied radial electric and axial magnetic fields. Post-run characterization of these samples using Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrates a higher hydrogenmore » coverage, 35.8%, than the previously reported results using plasmas. Plasma measurements indicate that with the applied magnetic field, the density of hydrogen atoms can be more than 10 times larger than the density without the magnetic field. With the applied electric field directed away from the graphene substrate, the flux of plasma ions towards this substrate and the ion energy are insufficient to cause measurable damage to the treated 2D material. As a result, the low damage allows a relatively long treatment time of the graphene samples that contributes to the high coverage obtained in these experiments.« less