Low-Loss THz Sommerfeld Mode on a Superconducting Niobium Wire for Millimeter-Wave Interconnects

Abstract

Ongoing progress in the development of superconducting microwave circuits has highlighted the additional vital challenge of transmitting quantum information robustly. As a practical solution to this problem, we propose to propagate a low loss (∼ −0.004 dB/m) TM Sommerfeld mode on the surface of a superconducting niobium wire held between transmitters and receivers or between different quantum systems. Here we present simulations performed in ANSYS-HFSS pertaining to this mode along with the theoretical results obtained for a niobium wire at THz frequencies and temperatures of a few Kelvin.