Parametric amplifiers have become a workhorse in superconducting quantum computing; however, research and development of these devices has been hampered by inconsistent and, sometimes, misleading noise performance characterization methodologies. The concepts behind noise characterization are deceptively simple, and there are many places where one can make mistakes, either in measurement or in interpretation and analysis. In this article, we cover the basics of noise performance characterization and the special problems it presents in parametric amplifiers with limited power handling capability. We illustrate the issues with three specific examples: a high-electron mobility transistor amplifier, a Josephson traveling-wave parametric amplifier, and a Josephson parametric amplifier. We emphasize the use of a 50-Ω shot noise tunnel junction (SNTJ) as a broadband noise source, demonstrating its utility for cryogenic amplifier amplifications. These practical examples highlight the role of loss as well as the additional parametric amplifier "idler" input mode.
Parametric amplifiers have become a workhorse in superconducting quantum computing; however, research and development of these devices has been hampered by inconsistent and, sometimes, misleading noise performance characterization methodologies. The concepts behind noise characterization are deceptively simple, and there are many places where one can make mistakes, either in measurement or in interpretation and analysis. In this article, we cover the basics of noise performance characterization and the special problems it presents in parametric amplifiers with limited power handling capability. We illustrate the issues with three specific examples: a high-electron mobility transistor amplifier, a Josephson traveling-wave parametric amplifier, and a Josephson parametric amplifier. We emphasize the use of a 50-Ω shot noise tunnel junction (SNTJ) as a broadband noise source, demonstrating its utility for cryogenic amplifier amplifications. These practical examples highlight the role of loss as well as the additional parametric amplifier "idler" input mode.
Ultralow-noise microwave amplification and detection play a central role in different applications, going from fundamental physics experiments to the deployment of quantum technologies. In many applications the necessity of reading multiple detectors, or cavities or qubits, calls for large bandwidth amplifiers with the lowest possible noise. Current technologies are based on High Electron Mobility Transistors and Josephson Parametric Amplifiers. Both have limitations, the former in terms of the minimum noise, the latter in terms of bandwidth. Superconducting Traveling Wave Parametric Amplifiers (TWPAs) have the potential of offering quantum limited noise and large bandwidth. These amplifiers are based on the parametric amplification of microwaves traveling along a transmission line with embedded nonlinear elements. We are developing superconducting TWPAs based both on Josephson junction arrays (Traveling Wave Josephson Parametric Amplifiers) and on nonlinear kinetic inductance (Dispersion Engineered Traveling Wave Kinetic Inductance Amplifiers). Our goal is to achieve large bandwidth (in the 5 to 10 GHz range), large gain (more than 20 dB), large saturation power (more than −50 dBm), and near quantum limited noise (noise temperature less than 600 mK). Current achievements in the design and development of the high performance TWPAs are here reported and discussed, together with current limitations and possible future developments.
We present a cryogenic microwave noise source with a characteristic impedance of 50 Ω, which can be installed in a coaxial line of a cryostat. The bath temperature of the noise source is continuously variable between 0.1 K and 5 K without causing significant back-action heating on the sample space. As a proof-of-concept experiment, we perform Y-factor measurements of an amplifier cascade that includes a traveling wave parametric amplifier and a commercial high electron mobility transistor amplifier. We observe system noise temperatures as low as 680−200+20 mK at 5.7 GHz corresponding to 1.5−0.7+0.1 excess photons. The system we present has immediate applications in the validation of solid-state qubit readout lines.
Crossover between thermal and quantum noise in the externally-pumped Josephson-junction parametric amplifiers is theoretically followed. Two different approaches are used for the analysis : i. Josephson junction is replaced with its RSJ model with the equilibrium source of fluctuations; ii. microscopic theory of the tunnel junctions is used, which takes into account not only thermal and quantum but also shot noise. Because of inconvenience of the noise temperature TNfor the amplifier sensitivity characterization in the quantum limit, we express our results in terms of the figure ΘNwhich is essentially the amplifier output noise energy, reduced to its input (in the classical limit,\Theta_{N}=k_{B}T_{N}). For the nondegenerate amplifier, the minimum value of ΘN. equals hω/2 and is due to quantum noise (zero-point oscillations) in the idle-frequency resonator of the amplifier. For the degenerate amplifier, sensitive to only one quadrature component of the input signal, ΘNcan be made much less than the above "quantum limit" even at operation temperatures much higher thanh\omega/k_{B}, if the Josephson junction characteristic frequency ωcis high enough,h\omega_{c}\gsimk_{B}T. Our analysis of the experimental situatlon shows that the values\Theta_{N}<h\omega/2can be achieved using two-dimensional arrays of a large number (N\simeq100) single-tunnel-junction interferometers with low inductances, inductively coupled to a microwave cavity.
Amplifiers are ubiquitous in electronics and play a fundamental role in a wide range of scientific measurements. From a user's perspective, an ideal amplifier has very low noise, operates over a broad frequency range, and has a high dynamic range - it is capable of handling strong signals with little distortion. Unfortunately, it is difficult to obtain all of these characteristics simultaneously. For example, modern transistor amplifiers offer multi-octave bandwidths and excellent dynamic range. However, their noise remains far above the fundamental limit set by the uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics. Parametric amplifiers, which predate transistor amplifiers and are widely used in optics, exploit a nonlinear response to transfer power from a strong pump tone to a weak signal. If the nonlinearity is purely reactive, ie. nondissipative, in theory the amplifier noise can reach the quantum-mechanical limit. Indeed, microwave frequency superconducting Josephson parametric amplifiers do approach the quantum limit, but generally are narrow band and have very limited dynamic range. In this paper, we describe a superconducting parametric amplifier that overcomes these limitations. The amplifier is very simple, consisting only of a patterned metal film on a dielectric substrate, and relies on the nonlinear kinetic inductance of a superconducting transmission line. We measure gain extending over 2 GHz on either side of an 11.56 GHz pump tone, and we place an upper limit on the added noise of the amplifier of 3.4 photons at 9.4 GHz. Furthermore, the dynamic range is very large, comparable to microwave transistor amplifiers, and the concept can be applied throughout the microwave, millimeter-wave and submillimeter-wave bands.
The growing interest in quantum technologies, from fundamental physics experiments to quantum computing, demands for extremely performing electronics only adding the minimum amount of noise admitted by quantum mechanics to the input signal (i.e., quantum-limited electronics). Superconducting microwave amplifiers, due to their dissipationless nature, exhibit outstanding performances in terms of noise (quantum limited), and gain. However, bandwidth and saturation power still show space for substantial improvement. Within the DARTWARS11DARTWARS (Detector Array Readout with Traveling Wave AmplifieRS), funded by Italian National Nuclear Institute (INFN), is a quantum technologies project targeted at the development of wideband superconducting amplifiers with noise at the quantum limit and the implementation of a quantum-limited readout in different types of superconducting detectors and qubit.collaboration, we are developing state-of-the-art microwave superconducting amplifiers based on Josephson junction arrays and on distributed kinetic inductance transmission lines. Here we report the realization of a setup for the characterization of the performances of Josephson traveling-wave parametric amplifiers at a temperature of 300 mK. Although in the final experimental setup, these amplifiers will operate at a base temperature of about 20 mK, their characterization at 300 mK allows to evidence the main aspects of their performances, but the ultimate noise level. This represents a quick and relatively inexpensive way to test these superconductive devices that can be of help to improve their design and fabrication.
Microwave devices capable of near-quantum-limited signal processing are essential components in the toolbox of solid-state quantum technologies. The manipulation and readout of single-photon microwave signals through amplifiers, mixers, isolators, etc. must fulfill strict requirements in terms of signal integrity to ensure reliable operation.
These active microwave quantum devices operate in complex cryo-electronic setups. This poses challenges to their characterization, since all relevant figures of merit must be expressed at the reference planes of their ports. Even though cryogenic S-parameter calibration is non-trivial, metrological approaches are converging toward rigorous methods. Furthermore, preserving signal integrity must be quantified via absolute noise levels at the ports of the Device Under Test (DUT), requiring an absolute power reference.
In this work, we present an in situ noise metrology protocol based on substituting a controllable noise source for the DUT. We motivate this choice by showing that placing the noise source at the DUT input impacts the separability of the calibration from the DUT characteristics.
Our proposed architecture combines Planck spectroscopy using a Variable Temperature Stage with Short-Open-Load-Reciprocal scattering-parameter calibration, so that noise and scattering quantities are referred to the same cryogenic reference planes. In this configuration, the readout-chain calibration is separated from the internal dynamics of the DUT. As a demanding use case, we apply the protocol to a Josephson Traveling Wave Parametric Amplifier and extract its gain and input-referred added noise under pump conditions activating multimode nonlinear behavior. This illustrates how our device-agnostic protocol supports portable noise characterization of nonlinear cryogenic microwave devices.