IP Library Granted Patent US 12,201,036
Granted Patent B2
US 12,201,036 · App. 17/124,771 · Granted Jan 14, 2025

Laser annealing of qubits using a diffractive beam splitter

Inventor: Jason S. Orcutt (Katonah, NY)
Assignee: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
H10N60/0884B23K26/0648B23K26/067B23K26/351G02B19/0009G02B19/0047G02B27/1086H10N60/0912B23K2101/40
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,201,036
App. No.
17/124,771
Granted
Jan 14, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

Apparatuses and methods are described for laser annealing of a qubit device using a plurality of optical beams. According to an embodiment, a method of tuning a qubit device can comprise generating an optical beam, splitting the optical beam in a plurality of optical beams, and annealing a Josephson junction of the qubit device by projecting the plurality of optical beams onto a region of the qubit device adjacent to the Josephson junction. The disclosed techniques can also be applied for annealing other types of electrical components of various microscale integrated circuit devices.

Claims (31)

1. A method for forming a qubit, comprising:

providing a substrate having a Josephson junction positioned between two capacitive plates; and

annealing the Josephson junction, wherein the annealing comprises:

transmitting a laser beam through a path comprising a diffractive beam splitter that splits the laser beam into a plurality of optical beams that pass through an aspheric lens in the path to produce an illumination pattern comprising a plurality of spatially separated optical spots that are projected onto a region of the substrate located between the Josephson junction and the two capacitive plates, wherein the aspheric lens comprises a plurality of focusing areas associated with the plurality of spatially separated optical spots.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of optical beams comprise Gaussian beams.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the path comprises a steering mirror directly before the diffractive beam splitter.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of spatially separated optical spots are respectively separated by a distance less than 20.0 micrometers.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of spatially separated optical spots comprise at least four spatially separated optical spots.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the Josephson junction comprises an aluminum/aluminum-oxide/aluminum trilayer Josephson junction.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of optical beams indirectly heat the Josephson junction, resulting in the annealing of the Josephson junction.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

altering a resistance of the Josephson junction as a result of the annealing.

9. A method for forming a qubit comprising:

providing a substrate having a Josephson junction positioned between two superconductor leads; and

annealing the Josephson junction, wherein the annealing comprises:

transmitting a laser beam through a path comprising a diffractive beam splitter that splits the laser beam into a plurality of optical beams that pass through an aspheric lens in the path to produce an illumination pattern comprising a plurality of spatially separated optical spots that are projected onto a region of the substrate adjacent to the Josephson junction and the two superconductor leads, wherein the aspheric lens comprises a plurality of focusing areas associated with the plurality of spatially separated optical spots.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of optical beams comprise Gaussian beams.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the path comprises a steering mirror directly before the diffractive beam splitter.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of spatially separated optical spots are respectively separated by a distance less than 20.0 micrometers.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of spatially separated optical spots comprise at least four spatially separated optical spots.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of optical beams indirectly heat the Josephson junction, resulting in the annealing of the Josephson junction.

15. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

altering a resistance of the Josephson junction as a result of the annealing.

16. A method of tuning a qubit device, comprising:

generating an optical beam;

annealing a Josephson junction of the qubit device using the optical beam, wherein the annealing comprises:

transmitting a laser beam through a path comprising a diffractive beam splitter that splits the laser beam into a plurality of optical beams that pass through an aspheric lens in the path to produce an illumination pattern comprising a plurality of spatially separated optical spots that are projected onto a region of the qubit device adjacent to the Josephson junction, wherein the aspheric lens comprises a plurality of focusing areas associated with the plurality of spatially separated optical spots.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of optical beams comprise Gaussian beams.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of spatially separated optical spots comprise at least spatially separated optical spots.

19. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

altering a resistance of the Josephson junction as a result of the annealing.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 17, 2020
From: ORCUTT, JASON S.
To: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 054679/0554 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20220199890A1 · Jun 23, 2022
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