Experimental evidence for a surface distribution of two-level systems in superconducting lithographed microwave resonators
arXiv:0802.4457 · doi:10.1063/1.2906373
Abstract
We present measurements of the temperature-dependent frequency shift of five niobium superconducting coplanar waveguide microresonators with center strip widths ranging from 3 $μ$m to 50 $μ$m, taken at temperatures in the range 100-800 mK, far below the 9.2 K transition temperature of niobium. These data agree well with the two-level system (TLS) theory. Fits to this theory provide information on the number of TLS that interact with each resonator geometry. The geometrical scaling indicates a surface distribution of TLS, and the data are consistent with a TLS surface layer thickness of order a few nm, as might be expected for a native oxide layer.
3 figures, submitted to APL