International Business Machines Corporation

Leland Stanford Junior University

Harry Jonathon Mamin

Daniel Rugar

Bruce David Terris

Martin O Sandberg

Thomas R Albrecht

Russell Alan Budd

Elbert Emin Huang

Yves Corfield Martin

Jason Scott Orcutt

Bruce Alvin Gurney

Li-Wen Hung

Vivekananda P Adiga

Charles Thomas Rettner

Virgil S Speriosu

Timothy Phung

Benjamin W Chui

Thomas William Kenny, Jr

Tai-Hon P Chang

Tjerk Oosterkamp

Robert Paul Ried

Peter H Guthner

Joseph Finley

Antoine Hervier

One or more systems, devices, methods of use and/or methods of fabrication provided herein relate to a superconducting device that can be operated with minimal electric field energy coupling at surface layers of the superconducting device and/or that can have a small footprint. According to one embodiment, a device can comprise a Josephson junction located between a first capacitor portion and a second capacitor portion of a capacitor, wherein at least a trenched section of the first capacitor portion is located beneath a surface of a substrate, and wherein at least a trenched section of the second capacitor portion is located beneath the surface of the substrate. According to another embodiment, a device can comprise a capacitor disposed within a substrate layer and the capacitor comprising a pair of material-filled trenches in the substrate layer, and a Josephson junction coupled to the capacitor.

Quantum circuit with trench capacitor

Systems and techniques that facilitate trimmable inductors for qubit frequency tuning are provided. In various embodiments, a device can comprise a Josephson junction. In various aspects, the Josephson junction can be shunted by a capacitor, and a trimmable inductor can couple the Josephson junction to a pad of the capacitor. In various cases, the trimmable inductor can comprise a first conductive path that includes a severable and/or weldable superconducting bridge and a second conductive path that is in parallel with the first conductive path. In various aspects, severing and/or welding the severable and/or weldable superconducting bridge can controllably change an inductance of the trimmable inductor, which can commensurately change a resonant frequency of a qubit formed by the Josephson junction and the capacitor.

Trimmable inductors for qubit frequency tuning

Circuits and methods of operation that can facilitate reducing surface losses for quantum devices are provided. In one example, a quantum device can comprise a dielectric layer, a first electrode, and a second electrode. The dielectric layer can comprise a recess formed in a surface of the dielectric layer that reduces a thickness of the dielectric layer from a first thickness external to a footprint of the recess to a second thickness within the footprint of the recess. The second thickness can be less than the first thickness. The first electrode can be positioned within the footprint of the recess. The second electrode can be electrically isolated from the first electrode by the dielectric layer. The first and second electrodes can be positioned on opposing surfaces of the dielectric layer.

Quantum device with low surface losses

A magnetic resonance force detection apparatus, comprising a sample carrier for carrying a sample to be tested, a magnetic field source and a support for supporting either the sample carrier or the magnetic field source. The magnetic field source is configured to expose the sample to a magnetic field by simultaneously providing a plurality of volumes in which the magnetic field is configured to cause the spins of one or more nuclei or electrons in the sample to flip, and wherein the flipping of spins exerts a force on the support. The apparatus also comprises a support displacement measuring sensor configured to measure the displacement of the support and generate a signal representative of the displacement of the support, and a processor configured to process the signal representative of the displacement of the support in order to determine a component of the displacement of the support caused by one or more of the plurality of volumes.

Magnetic resonance force detection apparatus and associated methods

An optical disk drive uses an air-bearing slider that supports a solid immersion lens (SIL) with a patterned thin film formed at the focus of the SIL to act as a secondary radiation source. The thin film is patterned to define either an 'aperture' or a 'scatterer', both of which localize the interaction of the disk drive's incident light beam with the underlying optical disk to create an effectively smaller light spot. In one embodiment the patterned thin film is opaque with a small aperture having a diameter less than the wavelength of the incident light beam. The aperture localizes the transmission of the incident light beam to the area of the aperture and generates an evanescent field that interacts with the optical disk. In a second embodiment, the patterned thin film is metallic and formed as dot that serves as a scatterer. The scatterer acts as an antenna or secondary light source to locally reradiate a portion of the incident light beam to the optical disk. Both approaches result in disk drive that has a smaller effective light spot than would be obtained if the SIL were used alone, provided that the optical disk is placed within sub-wavelength proximity of the aperture or scatterer.

Optical disk data storage system with improved solid immersion lens

An atomic force microscope (AFM) uses a spin valve magnetoresistive strain gauge formed on the AFM cantilever to detect deflection of the cantilever. The spin valve strain gauge operates in the absence of an applied magnetic field. The spin valve strain gauge is formed on the AFM cantilever as a plurality of films, one of which is a free ferromagnetic layer that has nonzero magnetostriction and whose magnetic moment is free to rotate in the presence of an applied magnetic field. In the presence of an applied stress to the free ferromagnetic layer due to deflection of the cantilever, an angular displacement of the magnetic moment of the free ferromagnetic layer occurs, which results in a change in the electrical resistance of the spin valve strain gauge. Electrical resistance detection circuitry coupled to the spin valve strain gauge is used to determine cantilever deflection.

Atomic force microscope system with cantilever having unbiased spin

An atomic force microscope (AFM) based data storage disk drive uses a cantilever structure that provides independent detection of vertical and lateral motion of the AFM tip as a track with data marks moves past the tip. The vertical detection of the tip deflection toward and away from the disk surface is used for data detection of the data marks that form the tracks. The lateral detection of the tip deflection in a direction generally parallel to the plane of the disk surface is used as the input signal to a tracking servo control system to maintain the tip on a data track. The cantilever structure includes a base connected to the disk drive actuator, a beam made up of a plurality of ribs that have their fixed ends connected to the base, and a probe connected to the free ends of the ribs. The beam ribs have piezoresistors connected to electrical circuitry that detects a resistance change as the ribs are bent laterally. The probe includes the AFM tip located at its free end and piezoresistors connected to electrical circuitry that detects a resistance change as the probe is bent vertically. The data tracks are a series of data marks in the form of pits or bumps separated by portions of the disk surface that serve as lands. Alternatively, the data tracks are formed as continuous grooves in the disk surface with the data pits or bumps located at the bottoms of the grooves.

Atomic force microscopy data storage system with tracking servo from

An atomic force microscope (AFM) system has a bidirectional actuator to move the AFM tip or stylus in a plane parallel to the surface of the sample to be scanned as well as perpendicularly to the surface of the sample. The actuator is a modified voice coil motor actuator of the type used in compact disc (CD) drives. The stylus is mounted at the end of a support arm that is held in the actuator by a flexure, the flexure permitting movement in the two directions. A set of permanent magnets and two sets of independently controllable electric coils allow the support arm to be moved in the two directions. In a data storage application, a data disk has a series of surface features that represent machine-readable data and the bidirectional actuator is supported by a secondary actuator that moves the primary actuator along a radius of the disk. This allows the bidirectional actuator with the attached stylus to be located to a coarse position within a desired band of data tracks. Tracking control circuitry connected to one set of coils allows the stylus to be maintained on a specific data track within a band and moved to other tracks Within the band. Load control circuitry connected to the other set of coils allows the perpendicular load on the stylus to be maintained generally constant so that deflections of the cantilever due to the disk surface features can be decoded as data.

Atomic force microscope system with multi-directional voice coil

An atomic force microscope system incorporates a single-crystal silicon cantilever with an integral tip. The cantilever is supported in the AFM system so that it makes an acute angle with the surface of the sample to be scanned. The tip is formed by the convergence of three planes, one of which is one of the two generally parallel planes which define the thickness of the cantilever. The tip lies between the cantilever's two thickness-defining planar surfaces and is thus an in-plane integral tip. The AFM system may have the cantilever surface that converges to the tip oriented to either face the sample or face away from the sample.

Atomic force microscope system with angled cantilever having integral

A high density data storage system includes a rotatable storage medium mounted to rotate about a drive axis, the storage medium having formed thereon a surface topography defining machine readable information. The storage system further includes a high resolution contact sensor having a cantilever arm and a stylus mounted at one end of the cantilever arm. The stylus is positionable to engage the storage medium and follow the surface topography when the storage medium is rotated. A detector system provides an output signal representing cantilever deflection caused by changes in the surface topography of the storage medium.

High density data storage system with topographic contact sensor

An optical disk drive has an air-beating slider formed of transparent material and located adjacent the surface of the optical disk. In the manner of conventional magnetic disk drives, the slider is maintained in close relationship with the disk surface by an air-bearing generated by the rotating disk and the shape of the slider's air-bearing surface (ABS). The slider has a lens section located on its back side opposite the side with the ABS. In the preferred embodiment the lens section is at least a hemisphere and the lens section and slider are formed of the same material and thus have the same index of refraction, n. The lens section and slider are transparent to light from the disk drive's light source and together form a super-hemispherical solid immersion lens (SIL). The slider's ABS is maintained within one wavelength of the surface of the optical disk. The light from the disk drive's light source is focused by the super-hemispherical SIL to a point on the slider ABS. The light is coupled through the air-bearing gap via the evanescent field to the data layer on the optical disk. The focused spot size on the disk data layer is thus reduced by a factor of n.sup.2 from what it would otherwise be without the super-hemispherical SIL provided by the lens section and transparent slider.

Optical disk data storage system with radiation-transparent air-bearing

An electron beam imaging system is described wherein a sharp-tip electron source is biased to produce an electron flow and a conductive target is placed in the path of the electron flow. A planar, electrostatic lens is positioned in the electron flow path and between the electron source and target. The lens includes an aperture; at least a first conductive plane that is biased less negative than the electron source; and one or more conductive planes separated by dielectric layers. A secondary electron detector is formed on the surface of the electrostatic lens that is closest to the conductive target, whereby the lens may be positioned close to the target and still not obstruct secondary electrons emitted from the target from impinging on the secondary electron detector.

Compact, integrated electron beam imaging system

Submicron structures are written on a surface by positioning in nanometer range proximity, preferably within current tunneling range, of the surface a scanning tip of a material that emits atoms upon application of an applied voltage of low magnitude. While the tip is maintained within said range, it is moved relative to the surface, and a series of short voltage pulses are concurrently applied between the tip and surface. These pulses cause atoms of tip material to directly transfer to the surface and concurrently cause remaining atoms of tip material to migrate to the tip and continuously reform the tip and maintain its sharp configuration, thereby insuring uninterrupted writing ability. Various tip materials exhibiting low field evaporation potentials may be used; however, gold is preferred if deposition is to be under ambient conditions. Heating the tip enhances the ability of the material to emit atoms. The deposited structures may be selectively sensed or erased by application of appropriate voltages.

Writing atomic scale features with fine tip as source of deposited atoms

A highly sensitive apparatus for sensing the position of a movable member comprises an optical directional coupler providing four external ports. Light from a short coherence length diode laser is injected into the first port. The coupler serves as a beam splitter to direct one portion of the injected light to the member via the second port and a single mode optical fiber. Part of this one portion is reflected concurrently from the member and from the adjacent polished coating at the end face of said fiber back into said fiber and optically coupled via the third port to a photodetector to provide a signal whose amplitude is indicative of the position of the member, based upon the relative phase of said concurrent reflections. The other portion of the injected light is optically coupled to and via the fourth port to another photodetector for providing, as a reference, a signal proportional to the intensity of the injected light. These two signals are supplied to a subtractive circuit for providing an output in which power fluctuations of the laser are minimized.

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Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Harry Jonathon Mamin