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Journal of Applied Physics

Long Josephson junction embedded into a planar resonator at microwave frequencies: Numerical simulation of fluxon dynamics

E. Goldobin, Alexander M. Klushin, M. Siegel, N. Klein

Published Aug 30, 2002• 7 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have investigated numerically a system consisting of a long Josephson junction embedded into a microstrip resonator. For such a configuration the Josephson vortex dynamics in the junction is driven by the oscillating currents in the resonator. We have calculated the complex impedance of the junction at the resonant frequency. The Q factor of the resonator and the change of the resonant frequency of the whole system can then be easily calculated knowing the parameters of the resonator without Josephson junction. The fluxon dynamics and the complex impedance of the junction are simulated for different values of the junction length, damping, dc bias current, and dc magnetic field. This allows us to explain the behavior of the impedance of the junction and different loss mechanisms. In particular, we predict a nonmonotonic dependence of the both real and imaginary parts of the impedance on the amplitude of the oscillating current in the resonator for some range of parameters. Our results show that such a combination of active and passive superconducting elements forms a rather interesting nonlinear physical system which might be useful for development of tunable/switchable superconducting resonators and suggests an experimental technique for detecting trapped vortices in long junctions.

DOI
10.1063/1.1497466

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We have investigated numerically a system consisting of a long Josephson junction embedded into a microstrip resonator. For such a configuration the Josephson vortex dynamics in the junction is driven by the oscillating currents in the resonator. We have calculated the complex impedance of the junction at the resonant frequency. The Q factor of the resonator and the change of the resonant frequency of the whole system can then be easily calculated knowing the parameters of the resonator without Josephson junction. The fluxon dynamics and the complex impedance of the junction are simulated for different values of the junction length, damping, dc bias current, and dc magnetic field. This allows us to explain the behavior of the impedance of the junction and different loss mechanisms. In particular, we predict a nonmonotonic dependence of the both real and imaginary parts of the impedance on the amplitude of the oscillating current in the resonator for some range of parameters. Our results show that such a combination of active and passive superconducting elements forms a rather interesting nonlinear physical system which might be useful for development of tunable/switchable superconducting resonators and suggests an experimental technique for detecting trapped vortices in long junctions.
The first object of this work is to theoretically study the effects of tunnel junction parameters on flux-flow Josephson oscillators (FFOs) by numerical simulation and to experimentally study the rf properties of FFOs by integrating them together with an SIS (superconductor-insulator-superconductor) mixer/detector on a chip. By using a CAD modeled integrated sub-mm wave receiver, the composite linewidth of two FFOs was measured to be less than 2.1 MHz in the band 280-330 GHz. The receiver consists of two identical FFOs and an SIS mixer. The linewidth was determined by mixing the two signals in the SIS mixer and analyzing the intermediate frequency. The output power coupled to a 10 .OMEGA. microstripline was about 0.5 µW, and could be adjusted by changing the current bias of the oscillator. The FFOs are connected to the SIS mixer via interdigital capacitors. The FFOs and the SIS element are made of Nb/NbOx/PbBi junctions by the "reactive ion beam oxidation" technique with the critical current density jc controlled by the oxidation time. Lift-off stencils for defining the junction sizes and the top-electrodes were made by using electron-beam writing on PMMA/Copolymer double layer resist. The jc of a long Josephson junction (LJJ) determines the fluxon motion. For LJJs which had jc > 1 kA/cm2, velocity-matching (VM, where the phase velocity of propagating fluxons equals that of the electromagnetic wave in the LJJ) steps could be tuned linearly from about 0.2 to 1.4 mV by an applied magnetic field. Coupled radiation at around 100 GHz (about 3 nW), 261 GHz (4.6 nW), and 330 GHz (0.43 µW), from flux-flow oscillations, was observed. From the step's steepness, the junction quality factor QJ is determined. QJ is between 4 to 7 in the voltage range of 0.4 to 1 mV. Coupled radiation (> 3 nW) at around 100 GHz corresponding to resonant soliton oscillation in low jc samples (250 to 1000 A/cm2) was detected. Simulations show that, for a uniform bias feed, the height of the VM step .gammam increases almost linearly with the external magnetic field .beta.e and the quasiparticle loss .alpha., but is less dependent on the surface loss .beta.. An approximate expression .gammam = a + .alpha(1+b).beta.e agrees with simulations. The maximum ac output voltage decreases with increasing dampings .alpha. and .beta.. It is important to include the .beta.-term in the mathematical model. The second part of this work is devoted to rf properties of long YBa2Cu3O7-.delta. (YBCO) grain boundary junctions made on 0- 32 °. [001]-tilt YSZ bicrystals. Josephson flux-flow resonances and Fiske resonances were observed. The first resonances could be tuned from about 0.5 to 2.0 mV in a 30 µm long junction at 16 K, and we determined the ratio between barrier thickness and relative dielectric constant td/.epsilon.r=2.9 Å and the loss .alpha.= 1.3 at 16 K. Simulations support the experimental observation that Josephson vortices can propagate unidirectionally in an overdamped, homogeneous junction up to .alpha.Ã? 2. From the Fiske resonances at 256-638 GHz, their Q-values, and the Steward-McCumber parameter, we find td/.epsilon.r=4 Å, the London penetration depth .gamma.L=145±5 nm and the surface resistance RS ~20 m.OMEGA. at 280 GHz. We conclude that the boundary is dielectric and the YBCO grains are well superconducting within 5-20 nm from the boundary. The dielectric between the grains could be part of a tunnel barrier and/or a matrix for filamentary conduction. Josephson flux-flow transitors based on long bicrystal junctions were made with an Au loop used as the control line. The line modulated the critical current Ic. Current gain larger than unity was obtained below 70 K. The gain increased with the junction length and varied roughly like the square root Ic when adjusting the temperature. A transresistance larger than 5 .OMEGA. was obtained at 15 K. Better performance is expected from junctions with high current densities.
Josephson soliton oscillators integrated in a resonator consisting of two closely spaced coplanar superconducting microstrips have been investigated experimentally. Pairs of long 1-D Josephson junctions with a current density of about 1000 A/cm/sup 2/ were made using the Nb-AlO/sub x/-Nb trilayer technique. Different modes of half-wave resonances in the thin-film structure impose different magnetic field configurations at the boundaries of the junctions. The DC I-V characteristic shows zero-field steps with a number of resonator-induced steps. These structures are compared to RF-induced steps generated by phase-locking of the soliton motion to an external microwave source. The two different resonant configurations identified may be interpreted as a coupling to the microwave field at the end boundary and as a more homogeneous coupling distributed over the junction length.>
Josephson Fluxonic Diode (JFD) provides a very nonlinear characteristic in comparison with a long Josephson junction at microwave frequencies. This nonlinearity is highly accentuated by creation and dynamics of vortex-antivortex pairs in two disparate modes of operation; forward and reverse-bias. Experimental detection of microwave frequencies through this device is not solely dependent on the geometry and seems to change drastically with the different operating condition. This paper attempts to understand the microwave characteristic of this device with respect to its bias and control current and rf-exposed boundary conditions defined in RCSJ model of JFD. Based on the simulation results, for a finite length of a JFD excited by a low-amplitude microwave signal below its plasma frequency, control current increases the rate of vortex-antivortex pair generation and fine-tunes the microwave resistance (Rω) up to an order of magnitude more than its zero magnetic field resistance (R0). Under this circumstance, adding the bias current which can move generated vortex-antivortex pairs causes a substantial increase up to three orders of magnitude compared to R0either in forward or reverse-bias, while damping coefficient 1/√βc(βcis Stewart-McCumber parameter of Josephson junction) can limit this increase. It has also been shown that the variation of polarity, frequency, or amplitude of incoming microwave signal can impact on the impedance due to its relation with pair generation rate and so causes variations in observed impedance both in linear and nonlinear form. According to the results, low-microwave impedance of a JFD can be multiplied externally using biasing sets to match with high-impedance sources, which justifies its detection mechanism at microwave frequency.
Experiments towards realizing a readout of superconducting qubits by using ballistic Josephson vortices are reported. We measured the microwave radiation induced by a fluxon moving in an annular Josephson junction. By coupling a flux qubit as a current dipole to the annular junction, we detect periodic variations of the fluxon's oscillation frequency versus magnetic flux through the qubit. We found that the scattering of a fluxon on a current dipole can lead to the acceleration of a fluxon regardless of a dipole polarity. We use the perturbation theory and numerical simulations of the perturbed sine-Gordon equation to analyze our results.
A Josephson tunnel junction which is rf driven near a dynamical bifurcation point can amplify quantum signals. However, the bifurcation point will exist robustly only if the electrodynamic environment of the junction meets certain criteria. We develop a general formalism for dealing with the nonlinear dynamics of a Josephson junction embedded in an arbitrary microwave circuit. We find sufficient conditions for the existence of the bifurcation regime: (a) the embedding impedance of the junction needs to present a resonance at a particular frequency ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{R}$, with the quality factor QQQ of the resonance and the participation ratio ppp of the junction satisfying Qp⪢1Qp⪢1Qp⪢1, and (b) the drive frequency should be low frequency detuned away from ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{R}$ by more than $\sqrt{3}{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{R}∕(2Q)$.
This thesis investigates fundamental properties of Josephson junctions embedded in microwave circuits, and an application arising from this hybrid approach. We used the versatility of superconducting coplanar DC bias cavities to extract previously inaccessible information on phase coherent and subgap mechanisms of graphene Josephson junctions. Chapter 1 gives an introduction to the technology of Josephson field effect transistors, among which graphene junctions show promise for future improvements in quantum computation. Together with an overview of the Josephson effect in superconducting-semiconducting systems, we introduce the concept of coplanar DC bias cavities for probing Josephson junctions at gigahertz frequencies. In chapter 2, we describe the experimental methods developed for carrying out the subsequent measurements. We include details on fabrication, material properties and measurement setup. Results of graphene Josephson junctions embedded in DC bias microwave resonators are presented in chapters 3 and 4. By following the resonance frequency and losses of the circuit, we are able to extract the junctions’ Josephson inductance and subgap resistance. Studying the nonlinear power and bias current response reveals further information on the underlying loss mechanisms and current phase relation. We turn to an application of our hybrid bias cavity – Josephson junction devices to detect small, low-frequency currents in chapter 5. Our device is competitive with state-of-the-art techniques for microwave radiation detection and, with minor modifications, should be able to outperform existing technologies by orders of magnitude. Finally, we conclude the presented work in chapter 6 and provide an outlook on potential future research.