Characterizing new materials for superconducting qubits

Superconducting qubits have emerged as a leading platform for realizing a quantum processor. Significant effort in qubit design, device integration, and processor architecture have led to programmable quantum computers with dozens of qubits. However, despite these successes, qubit coherence remains as a major limiting factor in building scalable processors. One of the major sources of loss has been attributed to two level systems that are present at the material interfaces and surfaces of superconducting qubits. Recently, our group demonstrated an improvement in the lifetime of superconducting qubits made from tantalum by a factor of more than three compared to the lifetimes of qubits made from niobium, aluminum, and other materials, showing the potential of a broad material search to substantially improve qubit coherence. In this talk, I will present further recent results on exploring new material systems for superconducting qubits and understanding microscopic sources of noise and loss.