Microwave losses in YBCO coplanar waveguide resonators at low power and millikelvin range

Journal article, 2015

We have investigated the temperature dependence of microwave losses in the low-power limit and millikelvin temperature range of a thin-film YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) λ/2 coplanar waveguide resonator patterned on a (La0.3Sr0.7) (Al0.65Ta0.35)O3 (LSAT) substrate covered by a CeO2 seed layer. The unloaded quality factor is mainly governed by the surface resistance of the YBCO film and the dielectric losses caused by resonant absorption due to a bath of two-level fluctuators in the dielectrics. The value of the unloaded quality factor at 20 mK and low power, i.e., Q0∼2000, allows for the realization of YBCO microwave quantum circuits implementing biepitaxial grain-boundary Josephson junctions.