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arXiv:1505.06333 · Journal of Applied Physics

Parasitic effects in superconducting quantum interference device-based radiation comb generators

Riccardo Bosisio, F. Giazotto, Paolo Solinas

Published Dec 4, 2015• 5 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We study several parasitic effects on the implementation of a Josephson radiation comb generator based on a dc superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) driven by an external magnetic field. This system can be used as a radiation generator similarly to what is done in optics and metrology, and allows one to generate up to several hundreds of harmonics of the driving frequency. First we take into account how the assumption of a finite loop geometrical inductance and junction capacitance in each SQUID may alter the operation of the devices. Then, we estimate the effect of imperfections in the fabrication of an array of SQUIDs, which is an unavoidable source of errors in practical situations. We show that the role of the junction capacitance is, in general, negligible, whereas the geometrical inductance has a beneficial effect on the performance of the device. The errors on the areas and junction resistance asymmetries may deteriorate the performance, but their effect can be limited to a large extent by a suitable choice of fabrication parameters.

DOI
10.1063/1.4936602

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We study several parasitic effects on the implementation of a Josephson radiation comb generator based on a dc superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) driven by an external magnetic field. This system can be used as a radiation generator similarly to what is done in optics and metrology, and allows one to generate up to several hundreds of harmonics of the driving frequency. First we take into account how the assumption of a finite loop geometrical inductance and junction capacitance in each SQUID may alter the operation of the devices. Then, we estimate the effect of imperfections in the fabrication of an array of SQUIDs, which is an unavoidable source of errors in practical situations. We show that the role of the junction capacitance is, in general, negligible, whereas the geometrical inductance has a beneficial effect on the performance of the device. The errors on the areas and junction resistance asymmetries may deteriorate the performance, but their effect can be limited to a large extent by a suitable choice of fabrication parameters.
We propose the implementation of a Josephson Radiation Comb Generator (JRCG) based on a dc superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) driven by an external magnetic field. When the magnetic flux crosses a diffraction node of the critical current interference pattern, the superconducting phase undergoes a jump of π and a voltage pulse is generated at the extremes of the SQUID. Under periodic drive this allows one to generate a sequence of sharp, evenly spaced voltage pulses. In the frequency domain, this corresponds to a comb-like structure similar to the one exploited in optics and metrology. With this device it is possible to generate up to several hundreds of harmonics of the driving frequency. For example, a chain of 50 identical high-critical-temperature SQUIDs driven at 1 GHz can deliver up to a 0.5 nW at 200 GHz. The availability of a fully solid-state radiation comb generator such as the JRCG, easily integrable on chip, may pave the way to a number of technological applications, from metrology to sub-millimeter wave generation.
Practical thin-film dc superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) are often built with an integrated input coil which leads to the formation of various parasitic elements. We have designed and fabricated several square washer-shaped dc SQUID test devices with various amounts of parasitic capacitance formed by covering the washer slits with superconducting coverplates of various widths. In the simplest approximation, the parasitic capacitance Cp appears entirely across the Josephson junctions; in a better approximation, Cp divides the total inductance into two parts, an effective SQUID loop inductance L and a small parasitic inductance Lp. For both models, noise-free and noise-rounded current-voltage and voltage-flux characteristics are calculated for various values of the ratios L/Lp and Cp/C, where C is the Josephson junction capacitance. The SQUID dynamics are significantly affected by Cp and Lp. The energy resolution ε at first deteriorates with increasing Cp for Cp/C ≲ 2, but as Cp/C becomes large, ε improves to less than twice the value for Cp/C ≊ 0. The optimal points of operation for large Cp, however, are found at voltages above the low-frequency resonance determined by L and Cp where the flux-to-voltage transfer function is low. Furthermore, for devices with Cp/C ≫ 1 and Lp≠0, the double-loop geometry leads to an additional resonance determined by Lp and C that appears at high frequencies. The energy resolution inside this high-frequency resonance is nearly independent of Cp and comparable to the energy resolution of a device having the same total inductance but with Cp/C ≪ 1. Extensive noise mappings on several different test devices have been carried out using a computer-controlled measurement system. The measured characteristics and noise performance are shown to be in good agreement with the simulations.
We have fabricated and characterized the noise performance of well-coupled Nb-Pb alloy edge junction dc superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) with a resistively shunted inductance. The extra damping resistor removes the resonances in the current-voltage characteristics resulting in a very low value of the extrinsic energy sensitivity in flux-locked-loop operation. Numerical simulations, with the junction capacitance included, indicate that the damping resistance does not degrade noise performance until it is significantly less than the junction-shunting resistance. We also tested different SQUID designs and demonstrated that a large SQUID inductance, proposed earlier to be desirable when resistively shunted, can seriously affect the low-frequency flux noise.
Effects of large dielectric constant of SrTiO3 substrate on the characteristics of high Tc dc superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) are studied theoretically. It is shown that parasitic capacitance, which is caused by the substrate and distributes along an inductance of the SQUID, cannot be neglected when we use SrTiO3 substrate. Due to the distributed parasitic capacitance, the inductance can no longer be described as lumped element, but behaves like a transmission line when the length of the inductance becomes long. Taking into account the resonant characteristics of the transmission line, we have modified the conventional equivalent circuit of the SQUID, and presented a circuit model for this case. Using numerical simulation, we have clarified quantitatively how the SQUID characteristics are affected by the resonance due to the parasitic capacitance. The obtained results indicate the importance of taking into account the resonance when we use the SrTiO3 substrate, especially for the case of large junction resistance. Numerical simulation of the model cases shows the possibility that the transfer function can be much increased without degrading the flux noise when the SQUID is properly designed. The present theoretical results explain well the experimental results reported recently.
We report on synchronous operation of series arrays of inductively coupled superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). Each array consisted of N=3 or 11 dc SQUIDs with common inductances providing a strong interaction between neighboring cells. Externally shunted (βc≊1) trilayer Nb—AlOx—Nb Josephson junctions were used. Coherent radiation was detected in the frequency range f=67–73 GHz while the array voltage was VN=NfΦ0 (Φ0=2.07×10−15 V s). The stability of the coherent state was influenced by the external dc magnetic field. The linewidth depended on the external loading. For small loading it was N times smaller than expected for a single cell. The influence of the inductive coupling mechanism on the operation of discrete Josephson junction circuits and the similarity to the coupling in layered structures of long Josephson junctions is discussed.
Arrays of dc-superconducting quantum interference devices (dc-SQUIDs) were investigated, in which each dc-SQUID element has a multiturn input coil. The dependence of flux noise on the number of turns of the input coil was studied for current amplifiers. SQUID arrays were fabricated by a Nb/AlO x /Nb Josephson tunnel junction fabrication process. Results show that the flux noise of the SQUID array amplifier does not depend on the turn number of the input coil. A SQUID array amplifier consisting of 128 dc-SQUID elements was fabricated, in which each element had a 7-turn input coil and a mutual inductance between the input coil and the SQUID loop of 460 pH. This amplifier showed an ultrahigh current resolution of 1 pA/Hz0.5 and a maximum input current of 11 µA for signals of 50 kHz, which is sufficient bandwidth for X-ray detection applications. These values correspond to a large dynamic range of 87 dB. The flux-voltage characteristics of this SQUID array, however, showed asymmetric behavior, which originated from electronic resonance in stray capacitance and the mutual inductance between the SQUID loop and the multiturn input coil.