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arXiv:2512.02264

Microwave Circulation in an Extended Josephson Junction Ring

Dat Thanh Le, Arkady Fedorov, Thomas M. Stace

quant-phSubmitted Dec 1, 2025• Announced Dec 3, 2025
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Circulators are nonreciprocal devices that enable directional signal routing. Nonreciprocity, which requires time-reversal symmetry breaking, can be produced in waveguides in which the propagation medium moves relative to the waveguide at a moderate fraction of the wave speed. Motivated by this effect, here we propose a design for nonreciprocal microwave transmission based on an extended, annular Josephson junction, in which the propagation medium consists of a train of moving fluxons. We show how to harness this to build a high-quality resonant microwave circulator, and we theoretically evaluate the anticipated performance of such a device.

Journal reference
Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 230801 (2025)
DOI
10.1103/sbtv-plf7
Comments
Close to the published version

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Circulators are nonreciprocal devices that enable directional signal routing. Nonreciprocity, which requires time-reversal symmetry breaking, can be produced in waveguides in which the propagation medium moves relative to the waveguide at a moderate fraction of the wave speed. Motivated by this effect, here we propose a design for nonreciprocal microwave transmission based on an extended, annular Josephson junction, in which the propagation medium consists of a train of moving fluxons. We show how to harness this to build a high-quality resonant microwave circulator, and we theoretically evaluate the anticipated performance of such a device.
We present the design of a passive, on-chip microwave circulator based on a ring of superconducting tunnel junctions. We investigate two distinct physical realizations, based on Josephson junctions (JJs) or quantum phase slip elements (QPS), with microwave ports coupled either capacitively (JJ) or inductively (QPS) to the ring structure. A constant bias applied to the center of the ring provides an effective symmetry breaking field, and no microwave or rf bias is required. We show that this design offers high isolation, robustness against fabrication imperfections and bias fluctuations, and a bandwidth in excess of 500 MHz for realistic device parameters.
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An on-chip microwave circulator that is compatible with superconducting devices is a key element for scale up of superconducting circuits. Previous approaches to integrating circulators on chip involve either external driving that requires extra microwave lines or a strong magnetic field that would compromise superconductivity. Here we report the first proof-of-principle realization of a passive on-chip circulator that is made from a superconducting loop interrupted by three notionally identical Josephson junctions and is tuned with only dc control fields. Our experimental results show evidence for nonreciprocal scattering, and excellent agreement with theoretical simulations. We also present a detailed analysis of quasiparticle tunneling in our device using a hidden Markov model. By reducing the junction asymmetry and utilizing the known methods of protection from quasiparticles, we anticipate that Josephson-loop circulator will become ubiquitous in superconducting circuits.