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Journal of Applied Physics

Quantum digital ac waveform synthesizer based on pulse-width modulation method

Олег Викторович Карпов, Victor Matveevich Buchstaber, С. В. Шерстобитов, S. I. Tertychniy, M. A. Tertychnaya, J. Niemeyer

Published Nov 1, 2008• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The paper describes the theory and the experimental results for the synthesis of precision waveforms by using the pulse-width modulation of the power of the microwave, which drives the superconductor–insulator–normal metal–insulator–superconductor Josephson array. The synthesized sine waveform has a high precision. Its harmonic content was determined to be less than 0.003%. This degree of harmonic content is in agreement with the theory.

DOI
10.1063/1.2960455

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The paper describes the theory and the experimental results for the synthesis of precision waveforms by using the pulse-width modulation of the power of the microwave, which drives the superconductor–insulator–normal metal–insulator–superconductor Josephson array. The synthesized sine waveform has a high precision. Its harmonic content was determined to be less than 0.003%. This degree of harmonic content is in agreement with the theory.
A synthesizer of precision ac waveforms based on a binary superconductor insulator-normal metal-insulator-superconductor (SINIS) Josephson junction array has been developed. The array segments are individually biased using a high-speed bias source which gives a switching time of approximately 250 ns between voltage steps. The accuracy limitations of the system due to limited risetime and bandwidth are discussed. Comparisons between the synthesizer and a planar multijunction thermal converter (PMJTC) indicate that it is possible to synthesize sine waves with known rms value having an accuracy in the range of 1 part in 10/sup 7/.
We have developed a Josephson digital-to-analog converter, otherwise know as a Josephson arbitrary waveform synthesizer, with 300 mV peak output voltage. This is the first system of its kind with demonstrated quantum accuracy. We show precision synthesized waveforms from dc to 100 kHz with measured distortion and harmonic content below 115 dBc (dB below the carrier or fundamental). The heart of the system is a superconducting microwave integrated circuit with two Josephson junction arrays biased in parallel for the microwave drive and connected in series to double the voltage for the audio frequency output waveforms. New superconducting integrated circuits with twice as many stacked junctions and improved microwave circuits have allowed us to more than double the output voltage of our recent system. We also demonstrate that quantum-based synthesized arbitrary waveforms (not just sine waves) can be used for precision measurements of a high-performance commercial analog-to-digital converter.
A waveform synthesizer adopting a superconductor–normal metal–superconductor junction array has been developed, which can generate arbitrary stepwise waveforms with a number of quantum-voltage steps up to 1 V level amplitude. As an application of the synthesizer, we have built a sampling voltmeter that measures the differential voltages between a sinusoidal waveform produced by a semiconductor-based ac source and the Josephson waveforms. We carried out extensive sampling measurements for a 50 Hz sine wave with 1 V amplitude, applying sampling apertures in the range of 55 µs ⩽ t a ⩽ 130 µs and using Josephson waveforms with 32, 60, 80 and 100 quantum steps. From the measurements, the amplitude of the ac waveform was determined with a type A uncertainty ( k = 2) of 0.15 µV. Also, we elucidated how the phase jitter in the ac waveform is reflected in the overall uncertainty for the measurements. The type B uncertainty due to the jitter is at least one order of magnitude smaller than the type A uncertainty.
We present the combination of two Josephson waveform synthesizers to generate waveforms with low harmonic distortion [below$-$110 dBc (carrier)] and amplitudes above the 1-V level. Fast and flexible code programming enables pulse-driven Josephson arrays to synthesize arbitrary waveforms. We have used the pulse-driven system to cancel the harmonic content from the binary array that can reach 1-V amplitudes. The quantum nature of the Josephson synthesizer ensures very stable amplitudes (better than6×10−86 \times 10^{-8}6×10−8) and no frequency drift. This performance, together with the ability to synthesize arbitrary waveforms, can make this synthesizer a relevant tool for characterizing precision electronics and ac voltage metrology.