A method of depositing a metal-containing material is disclosed. The method can include use of cyclic deposition techniques, such as cyclic chemical vapor deposition and atomic layer deposition. The metal-containing material can include intermetallic compounds. A structure including the metal-containing material and a system tor forming the material are also disclosed.

A method for fabricating a bridge structure in a quantum mechanical device includes providing a substructure including a substrate having deposited thereon a layer of a first superconducting material divided into a first portion, a second portion and a third portion that are electrically insulated from each other; depositing a sacrificial layer on the substructure; electrically connecting the first portion and the second portion with a strip of a second superconducting material, the second superconducting material being different from the first superconducting material; and removing a portion of the sacrificial layer so as to form a bridge structure over the third portion between the first portion and the second portion, the bridge structure electrically connecting the first portion to the second portion while not electrically connecting the third portion to the first portion and not electrically connecting the third portion to the second portion.

In various embodiments, superconducting wires incorporate diffusion barriers composed of Ta alloys that resist internal diffusion and provide superior mechanical strength to the wires.

A pressure-quench techniques at chosen pressures and temperatures to lock in the high-pressure-induced superconducting phase and/or non-superconducting phase in high-temperature superconductors (HTS) and room-temperature superconductors (RTS) at ambient pressure are disclosed. The techniques remove the formidable obstacle to the ubiquitous practical application of HTS and RTS. The technique successfully retain the high-pressure-induced/-enhanced high Tc and/or non-superconducting properties of HTS or RTS.

Test structures and methods for superconducting bump bond electrical characterization are used to verify the superconductivity of bump bonds that electrically connect two superconducting integrated circuit chips fabricated using a flip-chip process, and can also ascertain the self-inductance of bump bond(s) between chips. The structures and methods leverage a behavioral property of superconducting DC SQUIDs to modulate a critical current upon injection of magnetic flux in the SQUID loop, which behavior is not present when the SQUID is not superconducting, by including bump bond(s) within the loop, which loop is split among chips. The sensitivity of the bump bond superconductivity verification is therefore effectively perfect, independent of any multi-milliohm noise floor that may exist in measurement equipment.

A connection structure of conductive layers according to an embodiment includes: a first conductive member including a first conductive layer and a first substrate, the first conductive member extending in a first direction, the first conductive member curved in the first direction such that the first conductive layer side is convex; a second conductive member including a second conductive layer and a second substrate, the second conductive member extending in the first direction, the second conductive member curved in the first direction such that the second conductive layer side is convex; a third conductive member including a third conductive layer and a third substrate, the third conductive member extending in the first direction; a first connection layer between a the first conductive layer and the third conductive layer, the first connection layer having varying thickness; and a second connection layer between the second conductive layer and the third conductive layer, the second connection layer having varying thickness.

Josephson junction (JJ) structures are disclosed. In some embodiments, a JJ structure may include a first superconducting structure and a second superconducting structure disposed on a plane parallel to a silicon wafer surface. A non-superconducting structure may be disposed between the first superconducting structure and the second superconducting structure. A direction of current flow through the non-superconducting structure may be parallel to the silicon wafer surface.

A semiconductor-superconductor hybrid device comprises a semiconductor component and a superconductor component arranged over the semiconductor component. The superconductor component comprises a continuous portion of a superconductor material and a discontinuous portion of a non-ferromagnetic metal. The discontinuous portion is configured to increase the critical field of the superconductor component. It has been found that providing a superconductor component with a discontinuous portion of non-ferromagnetic metal may increase the critical field of the superconductor component, allowing the device to be operated in a stronger magnetic field. Further aspects provide a method of fabricating the device, and the use of a non-ferromagnetic metal to increase the critical field of a superconductor component of a semiconductor-superconductor hybrid device.

A semiconductor-superconductor hybrid device comprises a semiconductor component and a superconductor component arranged over the semiconductor component. The superconductor component comprises a continuous portion of a superconductor material and a discontinuous portion of a non-ferromagnetic metal. The discontinuous portion is configured to increase the critical field of the superconductor component. It has been found that providing a superconductor component with a discontinuous portion of non-ferromagnetic metal may increase the critical field of the superconductor component, allowing the device to be operated in a stronger magnetic field. Further aspects provide a method of fabricating the device, and the use of a non-ferromagnetic metal to increase the critical field of a superconductor component of a semiconductor-superconductor hybrid device.

A superconducting device includes a substrate, a metal oxide or metal oxynitride seed layer on the substrate, and a metal nitride superconductive layer disposed directly on the seed layer. The seed layer is an oxide or oxynitride of a first metal, and the superconductive layer is a nitride of a different second metal.