Quantum research institute boosts qubit coherence by 52% with materials science expert training

The institute set out to improve quantum processor performance through advanced materials engineering and fabrication optimization—reducing decoherence sources, lifting gate fidelities, and scaling yields so larger systems become economically viable and certification-ready.

• Reduce decoherence via materials and surface engineering
• Raise single-/two-qubit fidelities to enable error correction
• Improve fabrication yield and device-to-device reproducibility
• Shorten iteration cycles with predictive, in-situ process control

Variability across materials and processes capped coherence, limited algorithm depth, and made scaling uneconomical. Reproducibility gaps also stalled certification and slowed research velocity.

• Coherence times at 100 μs capped depth to 43 gates
• Fabrication yield at 31% blocked scaling beyond 127 qubits
• Materials optimization showed 58% device-to-device variability
• Two-qubit fidelity at 94% hindered error-correction thresholds
• 64% of devices failed spec due to poor reproducibility
• Competitors demonstrated 3× better coherence

CleverX mobilized a cross-disciplinary bench—materials, nanofab, and quantum engineers—to harden the stack from junction metallurgy to surface chemistry and metrology, pairing DOE-driven process tuning with ML prediction and in-situ control.

Expert recruitment:

• 16 specialists: 7 condensed matter physicists, 5 nanofab experts, 4 quantum engineers
• Avg 9 years in superconducting devices; Nature/Science track records
• Depth in Josephson junctions, cryogenics, and surface chemistry
• Cleanroom proficiency (e-beam lithography, etch, deposition)

Technical framework:

• Materials characterization via TEM, XPS, SQUID
• Design of experiments for process optimization
• ML models predicting performance from fab parameters
• In-situ monitoring for real-time process control

Quality protocols:

• Metrology standards across 50 device parameters
• Statistical process control with automated anomaly detection
• Contamination tracking across 200 process steps
• Reproducibility metrics with cross-fab validation

A sprinted program moved from baseline diagnosis to materials/process upgrades and scale-up, then to device benchmarking—closing the loop between fab, materials, and quantum performance.

Week 1: Baseline & root cause analysis

• Characterized 100 devices to isolate coherence limiters
• Surfaced 23 critical process parameters
• Quantified $4.5M/yr waste from low yields

Weeks 2–4: Materials development & optimization

• Synthesized 15 material variants with improved properties
• Annealing protocols cut defect density 72%
• Surface treatments eliminated 85% of two-level systems

Weeks 5–6: Process integration & scale-up

• Integrated changes into production flow; 3 fab runs
• Achieved 91% device-to-device reproducibility

Weeks 7–8: Device testing & benchmarking

• Full characterization on 50 devices
• Benchmarked against industry standards
• Demonstrated quantum advantage on an optimization task

A tight feedback loop (materials → fab → qubit metrics) enabled rapid DOE updates and ML-guided parameter selection, compressing iteration time.

Efficiency gains:

The process changes accelerated development cycles and cut costs across fabrication.

• Reduced fabrication cycle time from 6 to 3.5 weeks
• Decreased material costs by 38% through improved yield
• Accelerated R&D iterations by 44% with predictive models
• Improved cleanroom utilization by 29%

Quality improvements:

The material innovations directly boosted device performance and reliability.

• Achieved 52% improvement in qubit coherence times to 152 microseconds
• Increased fabrication yield from 31% to 67%
• Improved two-qubit gate fidelity from 94% to 98.3%
• Reduced device variability by 61%

Business impact:

The advances translated into measurable financial and partnership outcomes.

• Enabled quantum advantage demonstration attracting $15M in funding
• Reduced cost per qubit by 45% improving commercialization prospects
• Secured $6.2M in government contracts for quantum networking
• Generated $2.8M in IP licensing from process innovations

Strategic advantages:

The institute built lasting capabilities and positioned itself as a market leader.

• Built fabrication process supporting 1000+ qubit processors
• Established materials library with 200 characterized compounds
• Created quantum benchmarking suite adopted by 5 research groups
• Developed surface treatment technology with 2 patents granted

The institute's quantum advances received recognition from a national quantum computing initiative.