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Three-dimensional niobium coaxial cavity with 0.1-second lifetime

Takaaki Takenaka1,*,†, Takayuki Kubo2,3,†, Imran Mahboob1, Kosuke Mizuno1,‡, Hitoshi Inoue2, Takayuki Saeki2,3, and Shiro Saito1

  • *Contact author: takaaki.takenaka@ntt.com
  • †These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • ‡Present address: Global Research and Development Center for Business by Quantum-AI Technology (G-QuAT), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568, Japan.
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Phys. Rev. Applied 25, 034076 – Published 24 March, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/5nf2-tjb9

Abstract

We report on the internal quality factor of a three-dimensional niobium quarter-wave coaxial cavity that has undergone mid-temperature annealing, exhibiting Qint≳3×109 at the single-photon level below 20 mK, which corresponds to an internal photon lifetime of τint∼90ms. Moreover, Qint of the mid-temperature-annealed cavities remains almost unchanged even after several cooldown cycles and air exposure. These results suggest that stable low-loss niobium oxides are formed by mid-temperature annealing on the surface of a three-dimensional niobium cavity. This surface treatment could be applicable to the fabrication of two-dimensional superconducting circuits and help improve the lifetime of Nb-based superconducting qubits.

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Phys. Rev. Applied 25, 034076– Published 24 March, 2026
  • Received 20 October 2025
  • Revised 19 January 2026
  • Accepted 4 February 2026
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