Investigating microwave loss of SiGe using superconducting transmon qubits

Silicon-germanium (SiGe) is a material that possesses a multitude of applications ranging from transistors to electro-optical modulators and quantum dots. The diverse properties of SiGe also make it attractive to implementations involving superconducting quantum computing. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of transmon quantum bits on SiGe layers and investigate the microwave loss properties of SiGe at cryogenic temperatures and single photon microwave powers. We find relaxation times of up to 100 mu s, corresponding to a quality factor Q above 4 M for large pad transmons. The high Q values obtained indicate that the SiGe/Si heterostructure is compatible with state-of-the-art performance of superconducting quantum circuits.

Automated summary

Silicon-germanium (SiGe) is a versatile material with applications in superconducting quantum computing. By fabricating transmon quantum bits on SiGe layers and studying microwave loss properties at cryogenic temperatures, we achieved high quality factor Q values, confirming compatibility with state-of-the-art superconducting quantum circuits.