Quantum sensing using heavy-fermion CeCoIn5 thin films

ORAL

Abstract

The development of superconducting single-photon detectors has been driven by the search for materials combining large kinetic inductance with scalable device architectures. Here, we demonstrate a new platform for Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) based on molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)-grown heavy-fermion thin films of CeCoIn5. The large effective mass and high atomic number of this material naturally enhance both kinetic inductance and photon absorption, enabling broadband single-photon detection from sub-THz to γ-ray energies. We further explore how the nodal superconductivity and heavy quasiparticle dynamics in CeCoIn5 influence microwave response and non-equilibrium behavior, offering new insight into their impact on superconducting device performance and detection. Our results establish heavy-fermion thin films as a natural materials platform for high-sensitivity superconducting quantum sensors.

*Work at Cornell made use of the synthesis  facility of the Platform for the Accelerated Realization, Analysis, and Discovery of Interface Materials (PARADIM), which is supported by the National Science Foundation under Cooperative Agreement No. DMR-2039380. Work at Los Alamos was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences.

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Presenters

  • Pedro Vianez

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory

Authors

  • Pedro Vianez

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory

  • Sanu Mishra

    • Rice University

  • Caleb Wade Fink

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)

  • Jinkyoung Yoo

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)

  • Yi Wu

    • Cornell University

  • Kyle M Shen

    • Cornell University

  • Sean M Thomas

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
    • Los Alamos National Laboratory

  • Filip Ronning

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)