Annealing reduces silicon nitride microwave-frequency two-level systems loss

ORAL

Abstract

Silicon nitride Si3N4 is used in a wide variety of quantum applications at microwave-frequencies for its dielectric, thermal, and mechanical properties. We report measurements of the dielectric loss of stoichiometric Si3N4 with superconducting circuits, and explain the material’s behavior with the resonant and relaxation components of the two-level systems (TLS) model. Post-deposition annealing of the Si3N4 film drastically reduces the loss compared to as-deposited films. Infrared spectroscopy points to the presence of hydrogen impurities in the as-deposited film as the origin of the TLS loss.

*Supported by: JILA PFC under NSF award PHY 2317149; Army Research Office grant W911NF2310376; and the Office of the Secretary of Defense via the Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship award N00014-20-1-2833.

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Publication: Annealing reduces Si3N4 microwave-frequency dielectric loss in superconducting resonators (in prep.)

Presenters

  • Kazemi Adachi

    • JILA, CU Boulder
    • JILA

Authors

  • Kazemi Adachi

    • JILA, CU Boulder
    • JILA

  • Sarang Mittal

    • JILA
    • JILA/ CU Boulder

  • Alec L Emser

    • JILA / CU Boulder

  • Cyril Metzger

    • CEA-Saclay

  • Nicholas E Frattini

    • JILA and NIST

  • Maxwell D Urmey

    • JILA

  • Sheng-Xiang Lin

    • JILA

  • Luca G Talamo

    • University of Colorado, Boulder
    • JILA

  • Sarah Dickson

    • JILA

  • David Carlson

    • NIST, Octave Photonics

  • Scott Papp

    • NIST

  • Cindy A Regal

    • University of Colorado, Boulder

  • Konrad W Lehnert

    • University of Colorado, Boulder