Superconducting devices articles from across Nature Portfolio

Topological superconductivity may have important implications for fault-tolerant quantum computing, but its practical implementation remains challenging. Here, the authors report the fabrication of nanoscale heterojunctions based on superconducting β-Sn and topological Dirac semimetal α-Sn, showing superconducting diode rectification ratios up to 35%.

Microwave-based quantum key distribution would allow a secure exchange of information in superconducting local area networks and, potentially beyond, in open-air conditions. Here, the authors provide a proof-of-principle implementation within a cryogenic environment, based on propagating displaced squeezed microwave states.

An on-chip nano-bolometer integrated with a Josephson junction quantitatively measures the Josephson radiation up to about 100 GHz frequency. This wide-band, thermal detection scheme of microwave photons provides a sensitive detector of Josephson dynamics beyond the standard conductance measurements.

Further progress in quantum technologies will require the hybridization of superconducting and photonic platforms. Transparent superconducting oxides would be an ideal solution to avoid substantial losses caused by photon absorption of the superconducting components. Here we present design principles for such materials and discuss the foreseeable prospects of transparent superconductor electronics.

Electrons trapped above the surface of solid neon can be used to create qubits using spatial states with different charge distributions. These charge qubits combine direct electric field control with long coherence times.

Chains of coupled superconducting islands known as Josephson junction arrays were predicted to be insulating at high impedance, but superconducting behaviour has been observed. A study of the arrays’ transport suggests thermal effects are responsible.

High-T_c superconducting nanowire detectors can detect single photons of telecom wavelengths at a temperature of 25 K and may enable applications in quantum sensing and quantum information processing.

‘Squeezing’ of light can be used to alter the distribution of quantum noise to benefit quantum sensing and other applications. An improved design for a microwave photon squeezer provides high performance over a large bandwidth.

The magnetic flux in a superconducting loop can only change by discrete jumps called phase slips. The energy dissipated by an individual phase slip has now been detected thanks to advances in precision temperature measurements.