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Thue Christian Thann

Publications and source records attributed to Thue Christian Thann.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Identification of soft modes in amorphous Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ via first-principles

Amorphous Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ is a fundamental component of modern superconducting qubits. While amphorphous oxides offer distinct advantages, such as directional isotropy and a consistent bulk electronic gap, in realistic systems these compounds support two-level systems (TLSs) which couple to the qubit, expediting decoherence. In this work, we perform a first-principles study of amorphous Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ and identify low-energy modes in the electronic and phonon spectra as a possible origin for TLSs.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Many-body effects of two-level systems in superconducting qubits

Superconducting qubits are often adversely affected by two-level systems (TLSs) within the Josephson junction, which contribute to decoherence and subsequently limit the performance of the qubit. By treating the TLS as a soft (i.e., low-frequency) bosonic mode localized in real space, we find that a single TLS in either the amorphous oxide surface or the superconducting bulk may result in a localized "hot spot" of amplified Josephson energy. Such amplification is shown to have a non-negligible effect on the $T_1$ time of certain superconducting qubits, regardless of whether or not the TLS is on resonance with the qubit frequency. With this study, we identify sources of decoherence unique to the superconducting element of superconducting quantum devices.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

Collective formation of misfit dislocations at the critical thickness for equilibrium nanowire heterostructures

In this work we model the evolution of strain energy during different growth stages of heterostructure nanowires. We find that the minimum energy configuration changes abruptly from fully elastically strained to partially relaxed due to collective formation of a misfit dislocation network. The transition at the critical thickness is associated with a characteristic density of misfits. These insights are gained from a technique developed to simulate misfit dislocations in a finite element framework, incorporating both elastic and plastic relaxation in a stationary heterostructure. We argue that these results have general relevance for mismatched heterostructures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗