Nanofabrication Technology for Production of Quantum Nano-Electronic Devices Integrating Niobium Electrodes and Optically Transparent Gates

Devices created using this technology could be used for control and sending of qubit/quantum memory states to remote locations.

Naval Research Laboratory, Arlington, Virginia

Niobium metal is used in the implantation of a variety of superconducting quantum devices.

However, the technology is typically limited to use in conventional Josephson junctions based on Nb-AlOx-Nb produced entirely by sputtering. In addition, the devices are most commonly in a vertical stack covered by niobium metal, making it physically limited to access the embedded films that could comprise insulators, semiconductor, or hybrids with ions.