@article{22619, abstract = {Planar germanium is currently the only semiconducting platform where high-coherence spin qubits and proximity-induced superconductivity have each been demonstrated. Recent research into spin qubits in Ge/SiGe heterostructures has focused on increasing the thickness of the SiGe capping layer, reporting improvements in the electrostatic noise levels. Meanwhile, heterostructures with thinner capping layers remain rather unexplored, despite the potential advantages for proximity-induced superconductivity. Here, we study a Ge/SiGe heterostructure with a thin SiGe cap d - 4nm and investigate its viability to host low-noise quantum dots. To keep the thermal budget compatible with superconducting layers, low-temperature oxide deposition processes were developed and implemented for the gate dielectrics. The charge noise level of the fabricated devices is estimated to be 1.8  +- 1.0 μeV/ square HZ⁠, comparable to devices fabricated on shallow heterostructures (⁠ d - 20nm⁠) with high-temperature deposited oxides. Low charge noise levels, together with the straightforward integration of superconductors, make this heterostructure an attractive platform for prototyping hybrid semiconducting–superconducting devices.}, author = {Borovkov, Maksim and Schell, Yona A and Sokolova, Dina and Roux, Kevin Etienne Robert and Falthansl-Scheinecker, Paul and Fabris, Giorgio and Shah, Devashish C and Saez Mollejo, Jaime and Previdi, Rodolfo and Taha, Inas and Genç, Aziz and Arbiol, Jordi and Calcaterra, Stefano and Oliveira, Afonso De Cerdeira and Chrastina, Daniel and Isella, Giovanni and Bubis, Anton and Katsaros, Georgios}, issn = {1077-3118}, journal = {Applied Physics Letters}, number = {3}, publisher = {AIP Publishing}, title = {{Low-noise quantum dots in ultra-shallow Ge/SiGe heterostructures for prototyping hybrid semiconducting–superconducting devices}}, doi = {10.1063/5.0333142}, volume = {129}, year = {2026}, } @misc{19409, abstract = {This .zip file contains the data to reproduce the figures and supplementary figures of "Exchange anisotropies in microwave-driven singlet-triplet qubits" by Jaime Saez-Mollejo et al. }, author = {Saez Mollejo, Jaime}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Exchange anisotropies in microwave-driven singlet-triplet qubits}}, doi = {10.15479/AT:ISTA:19409}, year = {2025}, } @misc{19885, abstract = {This .zip file contains the data to reproduce the figures and supplementary figures of "Automated All-RF Tuning for Spin Qubit Readout and Control" by Cornelius Carlsson and Jaime Saez-Mollejo et al.}, author = {Saez Mollejo, Jaime}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Automated All-RF Tuning for Spin Qubit Readout and Control}}, doi = {10.15479/AT:ISTA:19885}, year = {2025}, } @article{20706, abstract = {We experimentally realize a quantum clock by using a charge sensor to count charges tunneling through a double quantum dot (DQD). Individual tunneling events are used as the clock’s ticks. We quantify the clock’s precision while measuring the power dissipated by the DQD and, separately, the charge sensor in both direct-current and radio-frequency readout modes. This allows us to probe the thermodynamic cost of creating ticks microscopically and recording them macroscopically. Our experiment is the first to explore the interplay between the entropy produced by a microscopic clockwork and its macroscopic measurement apparatus. We show that the latter contribution not only dwarfs the former but also unlocks greatly increased precision, because the measurement record can be exploited to optimally estimate time even when the DQD is at equilibrium. Our results suggest that the entropy produced by the amplification and measurement of a clock’s ticks, which has often been ignored in the literature, is the most important and fundamental thermodynamic cost of timekeeping at the quantum scale.}, author = {Wadhia, Vivek and Meier, Florian and Fedele, Federico and Silva, Ralph and Nurgalieva, Nuriya and Craig, David L. and Jirovec, Daniel and Saez Mollejo, Jaime and Ballabio, Andrea and Chrastina, Daniel and Isella, Giovanni and Huber, Marcus and Mitchison, Mark T. and Erker, Paul and Ares, Natalia}, issn = {1079-7114}, journal = {Physical Review Letters}, number = {20}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{Entropic costs of extracting classical ticks from a quantum clock}}, doi = {10.1103/5rtj-djfk}, volume = {135}, year = {2025}, } @article{19424, abstract = {Hole spin qubits are rapidly emerging as the workhorse of semiconducting quantum processors because of their large spin-orbit interaction, enabling fast all-electric operations at low power. However, spin-orbit interaction also causes non-uniformities in devices, resulting in locally varying qubit energies and site-dependent anisotropies. While these anisotropies can be used to drive single-spins, if not properly harnessed, they can hinder the path toward large-scale quantum processors. Here, we report on microwave-driven singlet-triplet qubits in planar germanium and use them to investigate the anisotropy of two spins in a double quantum dot. We show two distinct operating regimes depending on the magnetic field direction. For in-plane fields, the two spins are largely anisotropic, and electrically tunable, which enables to measure all the available transitions; coherence times exceeding 3 $\mu$s are extracted. For out-of-plane fields, they have an isotropic response but preserve the substantial energy difference required to address the singlet-triplet qubit. Even in this field direction, where the qubit lifetime is strongly affected by nuclear spins, we find 400 ns coherence times. Our work adds a valuable tool to investigate and harness the anisotropy of spin qubits and can be implemented in any large-scale NxN device, facilitating the path towards scalable quantum processors.}, author = {Saez Mollejo, Jaime and Jirovec, Daniel and Schell, Yona A and Kukucka, Josip and Calcaterra, Stefano and Chrastina, Daniel and Isella, Giovanni and Rimbach-Russ, Maximilian and Bosco, Stefano and Katsaros, Georgios}, issn = {2041-1723}, journal = {Nature Communications}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Exchange anisotropies in microwave-driven singlet-triplet qubits}}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-025-58969-y}, volume = {16}, year = {2025}, } @phdthesis{19836, abstract = {Over the past century, researchers have been fascinated by the quantum nature of the physical world, initially striving to understand its fundamental principles and consequences, and eventually progressing toward engineering systems that can control and manipulate quantum properties. Today, we stand at the dawn of the quantum technology era. While some quantum technologies follow well-defined roadmaps, others are still in the exciting and uncertain early stages of development. In the fields of quantum computing and quantum simulation, research is being conducted across a wide variety of platforms. Each of these demonstrates control over quantum properties but also faces challenges in scaling up to the level of a mature technology. This thesis explores some of the fundamental properties of hole spin qubits in planar germanium. Semiconductor spin qubits are considered strong candidates for the realization of quantum processors, owing to their long relaxation and coherence times, as well as their compatibility with existing semiconductor industry infrastructure. Among these, hole spin qubits in planar germanium are particularly promising. Their advantages include a large effective mass, which eases fabrication constraints; inherent protection from hyperfine noise; and strong spin-orbit interaction, which enables fast and purely electrical control. However, spin-orbit coupling also introduces site-dependent variability across qubits, particularly in the g-tensors and spin-flip tunneling, which might cause that the quantization axes are not aligned. In this thesis, we investigate the tilt between the quantization axes of two hole spins hosted in a double quantum dot as a function of both the magnetic field direction and various electrostatic configurations, demonstrating that both parameters influence this tilt. We conclude by introducing a machine-learning-assisted routine to automatically tune baseband spin qubits. This approach may prove to be a powerful tool for characterizing spin-orbit effects and gaining deeper insight into the physics governing spin qubit behavior. }, author = {Saez Mollejo, Jaime}, issn = {2663-337X}, pages = {175}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Singlet-triplet qubits in planar Germanium: From exchange anisotropies to autonomous tuning }}, doi = {10.15479/AT-ISTA-19836}, year = {2025}, } @article{14032, abstract = {Arrays of Josephson junctions are governed by a competition between superconductivity and repulsive Coulomb interactions, and are expected to exhibit diverging low-temperature resistance when interactions exceed a critical level. Here we report a study of the transport and microwave response of Josephson arrays with interactions exceeding this level. Contrary to expectations, we observe that the array resistance drops dramatically as the temperature is decreased—reminiscent of superconducting behaviour—and then saturates at low temperature. Applying a magnetic field, we eventually observe a transition to a highly resistive regime. These observations can be understood within a theoretical picture that accounts for the effect of thermal fluctuations on the insulating phase. On the basis of the agreement between experiment and theory, we suggest that apparent superconductivity in our Josephson arrays arises from melting the zero-temperature insulator.}, author = {Mukhopadhyay, Soham and Senior, Jorden L and Saez Mollejo, Jaime and Puglia, Denise and Zemlicka, Martin and Fink, Johannes M and Higginbotham, Andrew P}, issn = {1745-2481}, journal = {Nature Physics}, keywords = {General Physics and Astronomy}, pages = {1630--1635}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Superconductivity from a melted insulator in Josephson junction arrays}}, doi = {10.1038/s41567-023-02161-w}, volume = {19}, year = {2023}, } @article{8909, abstract = {Spin qubits are considered to be among the most promising candidates for building a quantum processor. Group IV hole spin qubits have moved into the focus of interest due to the ease of operation and compatibility with Si technology. In addition, Ge offers the option for monolithic superconductor-semiconductor integration. Here we demonstrate a hole spin qubit operating at fields below 10 mT, the critical field of Al, by exploiting the large out-of-plane hole g-factors in planar Ge and by encoding the qubit into the singlet-triplet states of a double quantum dot. We observe electrically controlled X and Z-rotations with tunable frequencies exceeding 100 MHz and dephasing times of 1μs which we extend beyond 15μs with echo techniques. These results show that Ge hole singlet triplet qubits outperform their electronic Si and GaAs based counterparts in speed and coherence, respectively. In addition, they are on par with Ge single spin qubits, but can be operated at much lower fields underlining their potential for on chip integration with superconducting technologies.}, author = {Jirovec, Daniel and Hofmann, Andrea C and Ballabio, Andrea and Mutter, Philipp M. and Tavani, Giulio and Botifoll, Marc and Crippa, Alessandro and Kukucka, Josip and Sagi, Oliver and Martins, Frederico and Saez Mollejo, Jaime and Prieto Gonzalez, Ivan and Borovkov, Maksim and Arbiol, Jordi and Chrastina, Daniel and Isella, Giovanni and Katsaros, Georgios}, issn = {1476-4660}, journal = {Nature Materials}, number = {8}, pages = {1106–1112}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{A singlet triplet hole spin qubit in planar Ge}}, doi = {10.1038/s41563-021-01022-2}, volume = {20}, year = {2021}, }