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arXiv:1602.06895 · Journal of Applied Physics

Microwave dynamics of high aspect ratio superconducting nanowires studied using self-resonance

Daniel F. Santavicca, Jesse K. Adams, Lierd E. Grant, Adam N. McCaughan, Karl K. Berggren

Published Jun 15, 2016• 46 citations
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Abstract

We study the microwave impedance of extremely high aspect ratio (length/width ≈ 5000) superconducting niobium nitride nanowires. The nanowires are fabricated in a compact meander geometry that is in series with the center conductor of a 50 Ω coplanar waveguide transmission line. The transmission coefficient of the sample is measured up to 20 GHz. At high frequency, a peak in the transmission coefficient is seen. Numerical simulations show that this is a half-wave resonance along the length of the nanowire, where the nanowire acts as a high impedance, slow wave transmission line. This resonance sets the upper frequency limit for these nanowires as inductive elements. Fitting simulations to the measured resonance enables a precise determination of the nanowire's complex sheet impedance at the resonance frequency. The real part is a measure of dissipation, while the imaginary part is dominated by kinetic inductance. We characterize the dependence of the sheet resistance and sheet inductance on both temperature and current and compare the results to recent theoretical predictions for disordered superconductors. These results can aid in the understanding of high frequency devices based on superconducting nanowires. They may also lead to the development of novel superconducting devices such as ultra-compact resonators and slow-wave structures.

DOI
10.1063/1.4954068

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We study the microwave impedance of extremely high aspect ratio (length/width ≈ 5000) superconducting niobium nitride nanowires. The nanowires are fabricated in a compact meander geometry that is in series with the center conductor of a 50 Ω coplanar waveguide transmission line. The transmission coefficient of the sample is measured up to 20 GHz. At high frequency, a peak in the transmission coefficient is seen. Numerical simulations show that this is a half-wave resonance along the length of the nanowire, where the nanowire acts as a high impedance, slow wave transmission line. This resonance sets the upper frequency limit for these nanowires as inductive elements. Fitting simulations to the measured resonance enables a precise determination of the nanowire's complex sheet impedance at the resonance frequency. The real part is a measure of dissipation, while the imaginary part is dominated by kinetic inductance. We characterize the dependence of the sheet resistance and sheet inductance on both temperature and current and compare the results to recent theoretical predictions for disordered superconductors. These results can aid in the understanding of high frequency devices based on superconducting nanowires. They may also lead to the development of novel superconducting devices such as ultra-compact resonators and slow-wave structures.
We study the microwave impedance of extremely high aspect ratio (length/width ≈ 5000) superconducting niobium nitride nanowires. The nanowires are fabricated in a compact meander geometry that is in series with the center conductor of a 50 Ω coplanar waveguide transmission line. The transmission coefficient of the sample is measured up to 20 GHz. At high frequency, a peak in the transmission coefficient is seen. Numerical simulations show that this is a half-wave resonance along the length of the nanowire, where the nanowire acts as a high impedance, slow wave transmission line. This resonance sets the upper frequency limit for these nanowires as inductive elements. Fitting simulations to the measured resonance enables a precise determination of the nanowire's complex sheet impedance at the resonance frequency. The real part is a measure of dissipation, while the imaginary part is dominated by kinetic inductance. We characterize the dependence of the sheet resistance and sheet inductance on both temperature and current and compare the results to recent theoretical predictions for disordered superconductors. These results can aid in the understanding of high frequency devices based on superconducting nanowires. They may also lead to the development of novel superconducting devices such as ultra-compact resonators and slow-wave structures.
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The sensitivity of a kinetic inductance detector is determined by the performance of the cavity circuit and therefore a high quality factor and low phase noise are required. We developed superconducting niobium coplanar waveguide resonators for kinetic inductance detectors at a resonance frequency of 6 GHz. The length of the resonators is adjusted to a quarter of a wavelength which corresponds to ≈ 5.3 mm in our geometry. Different layouts with coplanar waveguide transmission line topology for the resonator were designed and simulated. Some parameters of the device fabrication process were varied. The niobium thin films were deposited by magnetron sputtering on sapphire substrates kept at ambient temperature. The resonators were patterned by photolithography and reactive ion etching and measured at helium temperatures. Because of the quarter wave geometry with one shorted end the reflection parameter was measured. We have studied the influence of the coupling capacitances on quality factor. The optimization includes microwave simulations and implementation in different resonator structures. The measurements of optimized devices showed a very high quality factor above one million (10 6 ). The obtained results and perspective on further development of resonators will be discussed.
Long superconducting niobium coplanar waveguides (CPW) on silicon wafers have been implemented with inner conductor width, thickness and length of about 50 nm/spl times/250 nm/spl times/3.2 mm, respectively. CPW tapers yield the transition from small to large cross sections for 50 /spl Omega/ coaxial SMA connectors. Microwave properties are measured at 4.2 K via /spl lambda//2-resonators where the inner conductor width w/sub i/ is about half the London penetration depth. Due to the dominant kinetic inductance the measured quality factor is close to an evaluated minimum value for w/sub i/<50 nm. The quality factors of such nanolines with niobium are approximately 150 at 10 GHz, i.e., more than two orders of magnitude larger than with aluminum at the same temperature. An unexpected power dependence of the intermodulation amplitudes and the corresponding dc properties are described.
Developing compact, low-dissipation, cryogenic-compatible microwave electronics is essential for scaling up low-temperature quantum computing systems. In this paper, we demonstrate an ultracompact microwave directional forward coupler based on high-impedance slow-wave superconducting-nanowire transmission lines. The coupling section of the fabricated device has a footprint of $416\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}{\mathrm{m}}^{2}$. At 4.753 GHz, the input signal couples equally to the through port and forward-coupling port (50:50) at $\ensuremath{-}6.7\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\mathrm{dB}$ with $\ensuremath{-}13.5\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}\mathrm{dB}$ isolation. The coupling ratio can be controlled with dc bias current or temperature by exploiting the dependence of the kinetic inductance on these quantities. The material and fabrication processes are suitable for direct integration with superconducting circuits, providing a practical solution to the signal distribution bottlenecks in developing large-scale quantum computers.
To analyze the switching dynamics and output performance of a superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD), the nanowire is usually modelled as an inductor in series with a time-varying resistor induced by the absorption of a photon. Our recent experimental results show that, due to the effect of kinetic inductance, for a SNSPD made of a nanowire of sufficient length, its geometrical length can be comparable to or even longer than the effective wavelength of frequencies contained in the output pulse. In other words, a superconducting nanowire can behave as a distributed transmission line so that the readout pulse depends on the photon detection location and the transmission line properties of the nanowire. Here, we develop a distributed model for a superconducting nanowire and apply it to simulate the output performance of a long nanowire designed into a coplanar waveguide. We compare this coplanar waveguide geometry to a conventional meander nanowire geometry. The simulation results agree well with our experimental observations. With this distributed model, we discuss the importance of microwave design of a nanowire and how impedance matching can affect the output pulse shape. We also discuss how the distributed model affects the growth and decay of the photon-triggered resistive hotspot.