About cookies on this site Our websites require some cookies to function properly (required). In addition, other cookies may be used with your consent to analyze site usage, improve the user experience and for advertising. For more information, please review your options. By visiting our website, you agree to our processing of information as described in IBM’sprivacy statement. To provide a smooth navigation, your cookie preferences will be shared across the IBM web domains listed here.
Paper
Merged-Element Transmons: Design and Qubit Performance
Abstract
We demonstrate a superconducting transmon qubit in which a Josephson junction has been engineered to act as its own parallel shunt capacitor. This merged-element transmon potentially offers a smaller footprint than conventional transmons. Because it concentrates the electromagnetic energy inside the junction, it reduces the relative electric field participation from other interfaces. By combining micrometer-scale Al/AlOx/Al junctions with long oxidations, we produce functional devices with EJ/EC in the low-transmon regime (EJ/EC≲30). Cryogenic I-V measurements show a sharp dI/dV structure with low subgap conduction. Qubit spectroscopy of tunable versions shows a small number of avoided level crossings, suggesting the presence of two-level systems. We observe mean T1 times typically in the range of 10-90μs, with some annealed devices exhibiting T1>100μs over several hours. The results suggest that energy relaxation in conventional small-junction transmons is not limited by junction loss.