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IEEE Microwave Magazine

Quantum Sensitivity: Superconducting Quantum Interference Filter-Based Microwave Receivers

Oleg A. Mukhanov, G.V. Prokopenko, Robert R. Romanofsky

Published Sep 1, 2014• 29 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Several critical applications of superconducting electronics that have been successfully commercialized are the Josephson voltage standard, superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometers, superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixers, and analog filters. More recently, digital and mixed-signal circuits based on rapid single flux quantum (RSFQ) logic have also made an impression on the high-speed/high-frequency electronics application markets.

DOI
10.1109/mmm.2014.2332421

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Several critical applications of superconducting electronics that have been successfully commercialized are the Josephson voltage standard, superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometers, superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixers, and analog filters. More recently, digital and mixed-signal circuits based on rapid single flux quantum (RSFQ) logic have also made an impression on the high-speed/high-frequency electronics application markets.
Superconductive electronics is an extensive field covering both low- and high-temperature superconductors (HTS), and their applications in quantum interference devices, power transmission, microwave filters and logic circuits. The microscopic origins of superconductivity are explained by Bardeen–Cooper–Schieffer (BCS) theory whereas a macroscopic treatment is provided by the Ginzburg–Landau theory. The London equations can explain the well-known Meissner effect of exclusion of magnetic induction by superconductors. A widely used device in superconductive electronics is the Josephson junction (JJ). The DC and AC Josephson effects as well as the inverse AC Josephson effects are described. The application of DC and AC superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) in magnetometry are discussed. Rapid single flux quantum (RSFQ) logic, touted as a competitive beyond-CMOS technology in nanoelectronics, is briefly surveyed.
Barrier tunnelling devices based on the Josephson effect include superconducting quantum interference detectors (SQUID) in conventional and scanning forms. The use of a scanning SQUID detector to detect a half-flux quantum in a ring of Josephson junctions identifies d-wave superconductivity. The shunted Josephson junction is the basis for the rapid single flux quantum RSFQ class of superconducting logic circuits. The use of RSFQ to form fast analogue to digital ADC converter devices is reported. Various types of radiation detectors are described including SIS detectors, Josephson-effect detectors, and optical point-contact antenna devices.
It has been nearly 110 years since the discovery of superconductors, and more than 30 years since the discovery of high temperature superconductors (HTS). Great progress has been made in the application of superconducting electronics in the last two decades. HTS microwave devices have shown much higher perfomance than the traditional ones and have found their ways to the industry applications in mobile communication, radar, and special communication applications. Owing to the ultrahigh sensitivity to magnetic fields and currents, superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) have been used as the irresplacible sensors in geological surveying, magnetic resonanc imaging, biomagnetic imaging, and other areas. The sensitivity of superconducting radiation detectors such as superconducting SIS mixer, superconducting hot electron bolometer, superconducting transition edge sensor, superconducting nanowire single photon detector, and superconducting microwave kinetic inductance detector are near the quantum limitation. They are now key technology in geophysics, astrophysics, quantum information science, biomedicine, and so on. Superconducting Josephson parametric amplifier has become a key element for superconducting quantum computing. Superconducting integrated circuit has been included in the international roadmap for devices and systems, and shows that having the potential to become one of the mainstreams for post-Moore information processing technology. In metrology, superconducting Josephson effect and Josephson junction array devices have been widely used in the redefinition of quantum voltage reference and basic units of the International system of Units. Superconducting electronics plays an important role in the current quantum information technology boom, which in turn promotes the development of superconducting electronics. This review will brief introduce the research and application of superconducting electronics in China in recent years.
Digital superconductor electronics has been experiencing rapid maturation with the emergence of smaller-scale, lower-cost communications applications which became the major technology drivers. These applications are primarily in the area of wireless communications, radar, and surveillance as well as in imaging and sensor systems. In these areas, the fundamental advantages of superconductivity translate into system benefits through novel Digital-RF architectures with direct digitization of wide band, high frequency radio frequency (RF) signals. At the same time the availability of relatively small 4K cryocoolers has lowered the foremost market barrier for cryogenically-cooled digital electronic systems. Recently, we have achieved a major breakthrough in the development, demonstration, and successful delivery of the cryocooled superconductor digital-RF receivers directly digitizing signals in a broad range from kilohertz to gigahertz. These essentially hybrid-technology systems combine a variety of superconductor and semiconductor technologies packaged with two-stage commercial cryocoolers: cryogenic Nb mixed-signal and digital circuits based on Rapid Single Flux Quantum (RSFQ) technology, room-temperature amplifiers, FPGA processing and control circuitry. The demonstrated cryocooled digital-RF systems are the world's first and fastest directly digitizing receivers operating with live satellite signals in X-band and performing signal acquisition in HF to L-band at ∼30GHz clock frequencies.
Superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) that incorporate two superconductor/insulator/superconductor (SIS) Josephson junctions in a closed loop form the core of some of the most sensitive detectors of magnetic and electric fields currently available. SQUIDs in these applications are typically operated with a finite voltage which generates microwave radiation through the ac Josephson effect. This radiation may impact the system being measured. We describe here a SQUID in which the Josephson junctions are formed from strips of normal metal (N) in good electrical contact with the superconductor (S). Such SNS SQUIDs can be operated under a finite voltage bias with performance comparable or potentially better than conventional SIS SQUIDs. However, they also permit a mode of operation that is based on the unusual interplay of quasiparticle currents and supercurrents in the normal metal of the Josephson junction. The method allows measurements of the flux dependence of the critical current of the SNS SQUID without applying a finite voltage bias across the SNS junction, enabling sensitive flux detection without generating microwave radiation.
Superconductive technology offers unparalleled digital and mixed-signal circuit performance, advancing digital processing from baseband to RF stages. This allows elimination of analog filters and mixers with generally poorly controlled phase performance, causing intersymbol interference limiting an overall communication system performance. HYPRES has been developing superconducting circuit components for application to digital RF communication transceivers. The components include low-pass and band-pass analog-to-digital converters, digital decimation and correlation-based filters, digital up/down-converters, and low-time-jitter clock sources. All of these are based on ultra-fast Rapid Single Flux Quantum (RSFQ) digital circuits, with clock rates up to 20 GHz demonstrated with 3-micron technology, and being scaled to 40 GHz and above. In this paper, we will discuss design and performance of some of these components. 1.