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Quantum-ready microwave detection with scalable graphene bolometers in the strong-localization regime

Yu-Cheng Chang1,*, Federico Chianese2, Naveen Shetty2, Johanna Uden2, Aditya Jayaraman2, Joonas T. Peltonen1, Samuel Lara-Avila2, Bayan Karimi1,3, Andrey Danilov2 et al.

Jukka P. Pekola1 and Sergey Kubatkin2,4,†

  • 1Pico Group, QTF Centre of Excellence, Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University, P.O. Box 15100, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland
  • 2Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden
  • 3Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
  • 4InstituteQ—The Finnish Quantum Institute, Aalto University, P.O. Box 15100, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland

  • *Contact author: yu-cheng.chang@aalto.fi
  • †Contact author: sergey.kubatkin@chalmers.se
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Phys. Rev. Applied 25, 064007 – Published 2 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/pyd2-stcl

Abstract

Exploiting quantum interference of charge carriers, epitaxial graphene grown on silicon carbide emerges as a game-changing platform for ultrasensitive bolometric sensing, featuring an intrinsic resistive thermometer response unmatched by any other graphene variant. By achieving low and uniform carrier densities, we have accessed a regime of strong charge localization that dramatically reduces thermal conductance, significantly enhancing bolometer performance. Here we present scalable graphene-based bolometers engineered for detecting gigahertz-range photons, a frequency domain essential for superconducting quantum processors. Our devices deliver a state-of-the-art noise equivalent power of 40 zW/Hz at T=40 mK, enabled by the steep temperature dependence of thermal conductance, Gth∼T4 for T<100mK. These results establish epitaxial graphene bolometers as versatile and low-backaction detectors, unlocking new possibilities for next-generation quantum processors and pioneering investigations into the thermodynamics and thermalization pathways of strongly entangled quantum systems.

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Phys. Rev. Applied 25, 064007– Published 2 June, 2026
  • Received 7 July 2025
  • Revised 30 March 2026
  • Accepted 28 April 2026
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