A new superinductor created within a silicon integrated circuit

A groundbreaking superinductor has been developed within a silicon integrated circuit using a commercial CMOS manufacturing process, according to a study published in Nature Electronics. Researchers from nanoGUNE's Quantum Hardware group and several other institutions created this superinductor, which boasts a significantly larger inductance than traditional coils.

This unique property is crucial for superconducting qubits and quantum circuits, as it can alter the quantum behavior of the circuit and enable the creation of devices with large impedance and small inductive energy scales.

The key to this achievement lies in the use of titanium nitride (TiN) in the fabrication process. TiN exhibits high kinetic inductance, making it possible to create compact, high-inductance circuit elements while preserving the superconducting properties. The resulting nonlinear superinductor can be utilized in creating radiofrequency single-electron transistors, which are essential sensors for semiconductor spin qubits.

These transistors possess a compact size and high sensitivity, making them ideal for various quantum technology applications.

The team's next objective is to integrate the resonator with multi-gate transistors, aiming to demonstrate high-speed, high-fidelity spin readout well below the microsecond timescale. While the primary focus of this research is on quantum sensing and computing for spin qubits, the developers believe that the applications of TiN-based CMOS inductors could extend beyond these fields. Potential areas of impact include radio astronomy, low-power cryoelectronics, and quantum sensing and simulations.

The research, led by Thomas H. Swift and colleagues, was conducted by nanoGUNE's Quantum Hardware research group, Quantum Motion, London Center for Nanotechnology, Imperial College London, and the University of Cambridge. The study was published in Nature Electronics, with the DOI assigned as 10.1038/s41928-026-01728-8.