Nowadays, superconducting qubits are one of the most promising approaches to achieve the construction and operation of a quantum processor. However, the time during which these devices are able to maintain quantum states is still too short to perform calculations and achieve quantum supremacy. One of the mechanisms that jeopardizes the lifetime of superconducting qubits is ionizing radiation, either from cosmic rays, natural radioactivity or other sources, which destroys the superconducting state of the circuits. At the QCT group, we are aiming to perform experiments to quantify the detrimental effects of ionizing radiation on superconducting qubits and to develop shielding techniques to enhance the functionality of superconducting quantum circuits.
Giada Caneva, Elia Bertoldo, Francesco Sciotti