Direct Identification of Dilute Surface Spins on Al2O3 : Origin of Flux Noise in Quantum Circuits

An on-chip electron spin resonance technique is applied to reveal the nature and origin of surface spins on Al2O3. We measure a spin density of 2.2×1017 spins/m2, attributed to physisorbed atomic hydrogen and S=1/2 electron spin states on the surface. This is direct evidence for the nature of spins responsible for flux noise in quantum circuits, which has been an issue of interest for several decades. Our findings open up a new approach to the identification and controlled reduction of paramagnetic sources of noise and decoherence in superconducting quantum devices.