Bottom-up superconducting and Josephson junction devices inside a group-IV semiconductor

Area of Science:

• Solid-state physics
• Quantum computing
• Materials science

Background:

• Superconducting circuits offer flexibility for devices like sensors and quantum computers.
• Epitaxial semiconductor devices, such as silicon spin qubits, provide excellent quantum properties in solid-state systems.
• Merging these approaches could enable single-crystal superconducting devices fabricated from semiconductors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and analyze the feasibility of creating superconducting devices from precision hole-doped regions within silicon or germanium single crystals.
• To explore the potential for 'bottom-up' superconductivity for advanced technological and physical applications.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical analysis of superconducting properties in precision hole-doped silicon or germanium.
• Modeling of essential superconducting components like wires, Josephson junctions, and superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs).

Main Results:

• Demonstrated the theoretical feasibility of superconducting wires and Josephson tunnel junctions within a silicon or germanium crystal.
• Showcased the potential for creating superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) and qubits.
• Analyzed the properties of this novel superconducting semiconductor material.

Conclusions:

• Superconducting devices fabricated from doped silicon or germanium are theoretically achievable.
• This 'bottom-up' superconductivity approach opens new avenues for improved or fundamentally different quantum technologies and physics.
• The proposed method motivates further research into semiconductor-based superconductivity.