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Journal of Applied Physics

Flux-flow type Josephson oscillator for millimeter and submillimeter wave region

Tadao Nagatsuma, Keiji Enpuku, F. Irie, Keiji Yoshida

Published Jun 1, 1983• 204 citations
Publisher

Abstract

An oscillator which utilizes the effect of the vortex motion in long Josephson tunnel junctions, i.e., flux flow, has been presented in millimeter and submillimeter wave region. An electromagnetic wave generated by the oscillator is detected with a small tunnel junction as a detector with a refined coupling configuration. Quantitative evaluation of the detected power showed that the detected power attained the value of 10−6 W in the frequency range between 100 and 400 GHz, which is far superior to previous results. Frequency and magnetic field dependences of the present system were also measured, which showed that the output power was able to be controlled by the dc magnetic field. The present oscillator will be promising as the local oscillator in the integrated Josephson receiver systems.

DOI
10.1063/1.332443

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Applied Physics Letters•Jul 29, 1996•32 citations
An oscillator which utilizes the effect of the vortex motion in long Josephson tunnel junctions, i.e., flux flow, has been presented in millimeter and submillimeter wave region. An electromagnetic wave generated by the oscillator is detected with a small tunnel junction as a detector with a refined coupling configuration. Quantitative evaluation of the detected power showed that the detected power attained the value of 10−6 W in the frequency range between 100 and 400 GHz, which is far superior to previous results. Frequency and magnetic field dependences of the present system were also measured, which showed that the output power was able to be controlled by the dc magnetic field. The present oscillator will be promising as the local oscillator in the integrated Josephson receiver systems.
A theoretical study is made of a travelling-wave-type oscillator, which utilizes a flux flow in a long Josephson junction for use as a local oscillator in the integrated superconducting receiver system. An internal electromagnetic field of the oscillator junction in the flux-flow state is investigated both numerically and analytically. It is shown that the voltage amplitude of the internal oscillation increases gradually in the direction of the flux flow and reaches a maximum value at the junction end. An equivalent circuit of the oscillator is also obtained, which gives dependences of the emitted radiation on frequency, magnetic field, and load. It is shown that the output power attains the value of the order of 10−6 W in the frequency range between 100 and 500 GHz, and that the output power and the radiation frequency can be controlled by both the bias voltage and the applied magnetic field. These theoretical results explain quantitatively the experimental ones with a Pb-alloy long junction of length 24 λJ.
Numerical as well as experimental studies have been made of the oscillation stability for the travelling-wave-type oscillator, which utilizes a vortex motion in a long Josephson junction, i.e., a flux flow. For the Josephson oscillator, a steep current step in a dc I-V characteristic improves the oscillation stability. Two kinds of effects which degrade the steepness of the current step have been investigated for the long junction of the overlap geometry. One is the self-field effect which makes the current step inclined, and the other is the resonant motion of the vortices which induces a staircaselike structure on the current step. We have discussed the method for the reduction of these effects and proposed a novel junction geometry without these effects, i.e., an overlap junction with a projection on one junction side. With the new geometry, we have obtained current steps whose slope is about one hundred times steeper than those obtained with the conventional overlap geometry and whose height attains about a half of the maximum critical current over the wide voltage region 0.1≤Vdc≤1.0 mV. The linewidth calculated from the current step is expected to be a few kHz.
The authors report on the coupling of millimeter and submillimeter waves from a long (3- mu m*350- mu m) Josephson junction to a small (2- mu m*2- mu m) superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) junction by using a center-fed interdigital capacitor. Coupled power at around 100 GHz and 261 GHz was observed. Experiments confirm that the critical current density j/sub c/ of a long junction determines the fluxon motion. Coupled irradiation (>3nW) at around 100 GHz, which corresponds to resonant soliton oscillations in low j/sub c/ samples (250 A/cm/sup 2/ to 1000 A/cm/sup 2/), is detected by the SIS junction. The incident power to the SIS detector junction could be tuned with only little frequency pulling by adjusting the current bias of the oscillator. For j/sub c/>1000 A/cm/sup 2/, coupled radiation at around 100 GHz (about 3 nW) and 261 GHz (4.6 nW), from flux-flow oscillations, is also clearly seen. Flux-flow radiation at 350 GHz is also observed. It is concluded that a large j/sub c/ value is preferable for high-frequency flux-flow oscillators.>
A system of two vertically stacked Nb/Al-AlOx/Nb long Josephson junctions is studied experimentally. The magnetic coupling between the junctions is provided by their common electrode of the thickness d∼λL. The current-voltage characteristics of the stack displays resonant steps which are understood to be the phase-locked flux-flow resonances of the two junctions. These modes can be tuned by the magnetic field in a broad voltage range which corresponds to the Josephson frequencies between 150 and 600 GHz. Our observations suggest a possibility of application of the stacked long Josephson junctions as local oscillators for millimeter and submillimeter wave circuits.
Power emission from a flux-flow-type Josephson oscillator with a thin-film coupling method is studied experimentally. The thickness of one electrode of the oscillator is made thin enough to allow electromagnetic fields generated by the oscillator to be emitted through the thin-film electrode. Radiation power from the oscillator is detected with superconductor-insulator-superconductor detectors, which are fabricated on top of the oscillator. Experimental results show that sufficient power can be obtained from the oscillator by using the thin-film coupling method when the thickness of the electrode is comparable to the London penetration depth. The results obtained are in reasonable agreement with theoretical predictions. The thin-film coupling method will be useful when the oscillator is connected to external circuits, such as an impedance matching circuit.
A reliable technique for wide band measurements of the spectral linewidth of superconducting oscillators integrated on-chip with superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) detectors has been developed. The spectral linewidth of flux-flow oscillators (FFO) based on the unidirectional and viscous flow of magnetic vortices in a long overdamped Josephson tunnel junction was measured in the frequency range 250–580 GHz, and a linewidth as low as 200 kHz was obtained at 450 GHz. Also stable frequency locking of a FFO to very high (≤60th) harmonics of an external microwave reference source has been demonstrated. The proposed technique may improve the sensitivity, frequency resolution, and stability of the fully superconducting integrated submillimeter wave receiver.