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Conference on Precision Electromagnetic Measurements

Combining Josephson systems for pure AC waveforms with large amplitudes

Ralf Behr, Oliver Kieler, Detlef Schleußner, M. Florian Beug, L. Palafox

Published Jul 1, 2012• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

In this paper the combination of a programmable Josephson voltage standard and a Josephson arbitrary waveform synthesizer is discussed with the aim of generating spectrally pure, quantum based waveforms with amplitudes larger than 1 V. A first proof-of-principle experiment has achieved 100 dBc suppression of higher harmonics for a sinewave with 50-mV amplitude.

DOI
10.1109/cpem.2012.6250657

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In this paper the combination of a programmable Josephson voltage standard and a Josephson arbitrary waveform synthesizer is discussed with the aim of generating spectrally pure, quantum based waveforms with amplitudes larger than 1 V. A first proof-of-principle experiment has achieved 100 dBc suppression of higher harmonics for a sinewave with 50-mV amplitude.
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.
The paper is about development of the lumped Josephson junction arrays (JJAs) for the generation of accurate quantum-based ac voltages. By using semiconductor pattern generators, it was possible to synthesize unipolar and bipolar waveforms with amplitudes of almost 10 mV and frequencies of up to 122 kHz. Higher harmonics and other unwanted noise signals were suppressed by -90 dBc. Because of the unique layout of our JJA, it was possible to connect the circuit directly to the ground, thereby eliminating common-mode signals
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.
We have performed direct ac comparisons between two types of quantum voltage standards, a pulse-driven Josephson arbitrary waveform synthesizer and a programmable Josephson voltage standard, at 1 V rms amplitude and a frequency of 100 Hz. The system architectures for these two Josephson technologies are quite different. However, in the range where their capabilities overlap, they should produce identical results. This comparison under various test conditions is a powerful method for verifying ideal performance of the systems, and exploring a number of potential systematic errors in both measurement methods and system operations.
Differential measurements relative to a Josephson waveform provide very accurate measurements of ac waveforms. Pulse driven arrays, used in Josephson Arbitrary Waveform Synthesizers, can generate sine waves with very high spectral purity. These two Josephson based measurement tools can be combined to study undesired distortion components present in the frequency spectrum of high quality waveform generators. For a proof of principle experiment, we cancelled the fundamental tone of a waveform and measured the third harmonic that was generated.
We have synthesized and measured ac and dc voltages using a Josephson arbitrary waveform synthesizer. On-chip filtering has enabled the first practical operating margins for ac and arbitrary waveforms. Using a digital voltmeter, we demonstrate the operating margins and linearity of 101 synthesized dc voltages and confirm the flatness of a single voltage step. We present the first ac-dc and ac-ac voltage measurements of the synthesizer at 3.65 mV using an ac-dc thermal transfer standard. This quantum-based standard source can be used to measure the ac-dc difference of thermal transfer standards at small voltages.