Dr Songyuan Zhao
- Research Associate (Electronic & Nanoscale Engineering)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5712-6937Biography
I am a postdoctoral research associate working on superconducting quantum circuits and low-noise superconducting electronics for quantum technologies. Since October 2025, I have been part of the Quantum Circuits Group at the University of Glasgow, working with Professor Martin Weides on superconducting transmon qubits, with a focus on scaling up quantum computing to millimetre wave frequencies.
I received my PhD in Physics from the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Professor Stafford Withington, where I studied the physics of superconducting travelling-wave parametric amplifiers. I subsequently held postdoctoral positions at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, working on near-quantum-limited superconducting resonator parametric amplifiers for the Quantum Technologies for Neutrino Mass collaboration, within the Quantum Technologies for Fundamental Physics programme.
Research interests
My research interests include quantum computing and quantum sensing, with an emphasis on nonlinear physics, parametric amplification, and quantum noise in microwave and millimetre-wave superconducting systems. My current work focuses on the scalability of superconducting qubit platforms, addressing scaling challenges across multiple fronts, including operating frequency, temperature, and qubit number.
Publications
Prior publications
Article
Zhenyuan Sun, S Withington, C N Thomas, Songyuan Zhao (2025) Superconducting ring resonators: modelling, simulation, and experimental characterisation Superconductor Science and Technology Crossref. (doi: 10.1088/1361-6668/ae06cb)
Alan A.S. Amad et al. (2025) Determining absolute neutrino mass using quantum technologies New Journal of Physics Songyuan Zhao. ISSN 1367-2630 (doi: 10.1088/1367-2630/adc624)
Songyuan Zhao, S Withington, C N Thomas (2025) Superconducting resonator parametric amplifiers with intrinsic separation of pump and signal tones Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics Crossref. (doi: 10.1088/1361-6463/ad875e)
Songyuan Zhao, S Withington, C N Thomas (2023) Nonlinear characteristics of Ti, Nb, and NbN superconducting resonators for parametric amplifiers Superconductor Science and Technology Crossref. (doi: 10.1088/1361-6668/acf0f1)
Songyuan Zhao, S Withington, C N Thomas (2022) Nonlinear mechanisms in Al and Ti superconducting travelling-wave parametric amplifiers Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics Crossref. (doi: 10.1088/1361-6463/ac782e)
Songyuan Zhao, Stafford Withington (2021) Quantum analysis of second-order effects in superconducting travelling-wave parametric amplifiers Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics Crossref. (doi: 10.1088/1361-6463/ac0b74)
Songyuan Zhao, S Withington, D J Goldie, C N Thomas (2020) Suppressed-gap millimetre wave kinetic inductance detectors using DC-bias current Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics Crossref. (doi: 10.1088/1361-6463/ab8d6d)
Songyuan Zhao, S. Withington, D. J. Goldie, C. N. Thomas (2020) Nonlinear Properties of Supercurrent-Carrying Single- and Multi-Layer Thin-Film Superconductors Journal of Low Temperature Physics Crossref. (doi: 10.1007/s10909-019-02306-3)
Songyuan Zhao, S Withington, D J Goldie, C N Thomas (2019) Loss and saturation in superconducting travelling-wave parametric amplifiers Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics Crossref. (doi: 10.1088/1361-6463/ab3236)
Songyuan Zhao, D J Goldie, C N Thomas, S Withington (2018) Calculation and measurement of critical temperature in thin superconducting multilayers Superconductor Science and Technology Crossref. (doi: 10.1088/1361-6668/aad788)
Songyuan Zhao, S Withington, D J Goldie, C N Thomas (2018) Electromagnetic models for multilayer superconducting transmission lines Superconductor Science and Technology Crossref. (doi: 10.1088/1361-6668/aacc53)
Songyuan Zhao, D J Goldie, S Withington, C N Thomas (2018) Exploring the performance of thin-film superconducting multilayers as kinetic inductance detectors for low-frequency detection Superconductor Science and Technology Crossref. (doi: 10.1088/1361-6668/aa94b7)
Thesis
Songyuan Zhao (2022) Physics of Superconducting Travelling-Wave Parametric Amplifiers Songyuan Zhao. (doi: 10.17863/CAM.87294)
