Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity

Wideband frequency metrology using high temperature superconducting Josephson junctions

Jian Chen, Y. Kurigata, Huabing Wang, Koji Nakajima, Tsutomu Yamashita, Peiheng Wu

Published Jun 1, 2003• 21 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have studied the responses of high temperature superconducting (HTS) Josephson junctions to monochromatic and polychromatic electromagnetic irradiations from 50 GHz to 4.25 THz. The highest operating frequency and the maximum value of normalized response are shown to be proportional to the I/sub C/R/sub N/ product of the junction, where I/sub C/ and R/sub N/ are the critical current and normal resistance of the junction, respectively. Using a junction with I/sub C/R/sub N/ of 330 /spl mu/V, direct detections of monochromatic irradiations from 76 GHz to 3.1 THz have been obtained, indicating that fast detectors can be realized to cover around 50 : 1 frequency band by operating only one junction at one temperature. Also reported are the superposition of polychromatic signals, as well as some possible applications of the system.

DOI
10.1109/tasc.2003.814176

Related papers

Terahertz frequency metrology based on high-TcJosephson junctions

J Chen, Hirokazu Horiguchi, H B Wang +3 more

Using YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 /MgO bicrystal Josephson junctions operating between 6–77 K, we have studied their responses to monochromatic electromagnetic radiation from 50 GHz to 4.25 THz. We have obtained direct detections for radiation at 70 K from 50 GHz to 760 GHz and at 40 K from 300 GHz to 3.1 THz. This indicates that fast detectors can be realized to cover the 10:1 frequency band at one operation temperature, and about 100:1 can be covered by operating only one junction at two different temperatures. Both the highest response frequency and the maximum value of the normalized response are shown to be proportional to the I C R N product of the junction, where I C and R N are the critical current and the normal resistance of the junction, respectively.

Superconductor Science and Technology•Nov 21, 2002•15 citations

Sensitivity of high temperature superconducting Josephson detectors at millimetre-wave band

Jianfang Chen, Y. Kurigata, Huabing Wang +3 more

Sensitivity of high temperature superconducting (HTS) Josephson detectors at millimetre-wave band has been studied in detail. YBCO grain boundary Josephson junctions with the normal-state resistance ( R N ) around 1 Ω and I C R N product of less than 2 mV have been fabricated for this study, where I C is the critical current of the junction. A Gunn oscillator at the frequency of 98 GHz together with a set of calibrated attenuators with a total attenuation of 90 dB are used as a signal source. A quasi-optical system, which consists of a wideband planar log-periodic antenna encompassing the junction, parabolic mirrors and a hyperhemispherical silicon lens, has been used as an effective coupling system. Sensitivity increases with I C R N . Using a junction with I C R N of 300 µV, a sensitivity of about 9000 V W −1 has been obtained, which is higher than that of the Schottky diode detectors at the same frequency band and demonstrates that the HTS Josephson detectors are very sensitive at millimetre-wave band.

Superconductor Science and Technology•Nov 5, 2003•8 citations

Dynamic Range of High Temperature Superconducting Josephson Detecting Systems at Millimeter-Wave Band

J. Chen, P. Wu, Kiyotaka Nakajima +1 more

YBCO grain boundary Josephson junctions (GBJJ's), with the normal-state resistance (R/sub N/) around 1 /spl Omega/ and I/sub C/R/sub N/ product of less than 2 mV at 45 K, where I/sub C/ is the critical current of the junction, are used to study the dynamic range of high temperature superconducting (HTS) Josephson detecting systems at millimeter-wave band. A compact pulse tube cryocooler (PTC), or a liquid helium cryostat (LHC), or a liquid nitrogen cryostat (LNC) provides the necessary low temperature environment for the operation, while Gunn oscillators together with doubler generate signals at the frequencies of 50, 98, 196 GHz whose amplitude can be adjusted by a series of calibrated attenuators. By changing the junction parameters, operating frequencies, and the cryocooler or cryostat, we have carefully looked at the dynamic range of the system. For a measuring channel bandwidth of 1 Hz, the dynamic range is around 38 dB which is determined basically by the preamplifier. This indicates that the PTC does not introduce excess noise compared with other kinds of cryostats such as LHC's or LNC's. A measuring channel bandwidth up to 1 MHz can be helpful if fast measurements are needed.

IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity•Jun 1, 2005•6 citations

MIXING EXPERIMENTS AT W-BAND USING HIGH-TC JOSEPHSON JUNCTIONS

Oliver Harnack, Marian Darula, S. Beuven +1 more

We report on the mixing properties of high-T, superconductor (HTS) Josephson junctions. Direct radiation and heterodyne mixing experiments in the frequency range 78 GHz-119 GHz have been performed using YBa 2Cu30 7_ x (YBCO) step-edge junctions (SEJ) and bicrystal junctions (BO) on LaA10 3 and MgO substrates. Under external radiation our junctions showed harmonic phase synchronization (Shapiro steps) up to 1.88 THz. Junctions with current voltage characteristics (PVC) dose to predictions of the resistively shunted junction model (RSJ) were mounted into a heterodyne mixing setup. Under the radiation of two monochromatic signals we obtained conversion efficiencies around -14 dB in the 11 GHz intermediate frequency (IF) band. In the fundamental mixing regime we observed response at IF at working temperatures up to 72K. We demonstrated the operation of HTS Josephson junctions in the self-mixing mode. The experimental results are in good agreement with simulations using the RSJ model.

•Jan 1, 1997•0 citations

Wideband detection of electromagnetic signals by high-Tc Josephson junctions with comparable Josephson and thermal energies

Valery V. Pavlovskiy, I. Gundareva, O. Yu. Volkov +1 more

Detection mechanisms in Josephson junctions with energies Ej comparable to thermal energies kT have been studied. The responses ΔV of YBa2Cu3O7−x bicrystal junctions to monochromatic radiation with frequencies f ranging from 94 GHz to 3.1 THz can be described in terms of classical rectification on a static nonlinear V–I curve at low frequencies and frequency modulation of the ac Josephson current at high frequencies, with an interplay between these mechanisms at intermediate frequencies. An electrical noise-equivalent power of (9 ± 3) × 10−15 W/Hz1/2, a responsivity of (3.4 ± 0.5) × 105 V/W, and a dynamic power range of 5 × 104 have been demonstrated for the square-law classical detection of 94 GHz radiation with the junctions at 50 K. The effect of background radiation on the V–I curves of YBa2Cu3O7−x bicrystal junctions was found to have an optical noise-equivalent temperature of ≤30 mK/Hz1/2. The main contribution to the effect comes from the interplay between the classical and Josephson detection mechanisms. The spectral and power dependencies of the responses ΔV of Josephson junctions have been numerically simulated within the resistively shunted junction model at various values of kT/Ej, and the results are in acceptable agreement with the experimental data.

Applied Physics Letters•Feb 24, 2020•10 citations

30 THz mixing experiments on high temperature superconducting Josephson junctions

Erich N. Grossman, Leila R. Vale, David A. Rudman +2 more

We have investigated YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-/spl delta// superconductor-normal-superconductor Josephson junctions as mixers of 30 THz radiation. We have directly observed (2nd order) difference frequencies from 10 MHz to 12.8 GHz between two CO/sub 2/ laser lines. Applying a third microwave signal to the junction, we have observed CO/sub 2/ laser difference frequencies up to 27 GHz. The d.c. bias dependence of the difference frequency signal, as well as other evidence, suggests two distinct mixing mechanisms: hot-electron mixing in the junction banks at high d.c. biases, and bolometric Josephson mixing at low d.c. biases. The latter is the first observation of Josephson mixing at CO/sub 2/ laser frequencies in high-T/sub c/ junctions. The Josephson mixing has generated observable mixing products up to 6th order.>

IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity•Jun 1, 1995•12 citations
We have studied the responses of high temperature superconducting (HTS) Josephson junctions to monochromatic and polychromatic electromagnetic irradiations from 50 GHz to 4.25 THz. The highest operating frequency and the maximum value of normalized response are shown to be proportional to the I/sub C/R/sub N/ product of the junction, where I/sub C/ and R/sub N/ are the critical current and normal resistance of the junction, respectively. Using a junction with I/sub C/R/sub N/ of 330 /spl mu/V, direct detections of monochromatic irradiations from 76 GHz to 3.1 THz have been obtained, indicating that fast detectors can be realized to cover around 50 : 1 frequency band by operating only one junction at one temperature. Also reported are the superposition of polychromatic signals, as well as some possible applications of the system.
Using YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 /MgO bicrystal Josephson junctions operating between 6–77 K, we have studied their responses to monochromatic electromagnetic radiation from 50 GHz to 4.25 THz. We have obtained direct detections for radiation at 70 K from 50 GHz to 760 GHz and at 40 K from 300 GHz to 3.1 THz. This indicates that fast detectors can be realized to cover the 10:1 frequency band at one operation temperature, and about 100:1 can be covered by operating only one junction at two different temperatures. Both the highest response frequency and the maximum value of the normalized response are shown to be proportional to the I C R N product of the junction, where I C and R N are the critical current and the normal resistance of the junction, respectively.
Sensitivity of high temperature superconducting (HTS) Josephson detectors at millimetre-wave band has been studied in detail. YBCO grain boundary Josephson junctions with the normal-state resistance ( R N ) around 1 Ω and I C R N product of less than 2 mV have been fabricated for this study, where I C is the critical current of the junction. A Gunn oscillator at the frequency of 98 GHz together with a set of calibrated attenuators with a total attenuation of 90 dB are used as a signal source. A quasi-optical system, which consists of a wideband planar log-periodic antenna encompassing the junction, parabolic mirrors and a hyperhemispherical silicon lens, has been used as an effective coupling system. Sensitivity increases with I C R N . Using a junction with I C R N of 300 µV, a sensitivity of about 9000 V W −1 has been obtained, which is higher than that of the Schottky diode detectors at the same frequency band and demonstrates that the HTS Josephson detectors are very sensitive at millimetre-wave band.
YBCO grain boundary Josephson junctions (GBJJ's), with the normal-state resistance (R/sub N/) around 1 /spl Omega/ and I/sub C/R/sub N/ product of less than 2 mV at 45 K, where I/sub C/ is the critical current of the junction, are used to study the dynamic range of high temperature superconducting (HTS) Josephson detecting systems at millimeter-wave band. A compact pulse tube cryocooler (PTC), or a liquid helium cryostat (LHC), or a liquid nitrogen cryostat (LNC) provides the necessary low temperature environment for the operation, while Gunn oscillators together with doubler generate signals at the frequencies of 50, 98, 196 GHz whose amplitude can be adjusted by a series of calibrated attenuators. By changing the junction parameters, operating frequencies, and the cryocooler or cryostat, we have carefully looked at the dynamic range of the system. For a measuring channel bandwidth of 1 Hz, the dynamic range is around 38 dB which is determined basically by the preamplifier. This indicates that the PTC does not introduce excess noise compared with other kinds of cryostats such as LHC's or LNC's. A measuring channel bandwidth up to 1 MHz can be helpful if fast measurements are needed.
We report on the mixing properties of high-T, superconductor (HTS) Josephson junctions. Direct radiation and heterodyne mixing experiments in the frequency range 78 GHz-119 GHz have been performed using YBa 2Cu30 7_ x (YBCO) step-edge junctions (SEJ) and bicrystal junctions (BO) on LaA10 3 and MgO substrates. Under external radiation our junctions showed harmonic phase synchronization (Shapiro steps) up to 1.88 THz. Junctions with current voltage characteristics (PVC) dose to predictions of the resistively shunted junction model (RSJ) were mounted into a heterodyne mixing setup. Under the radiation of two monochromatic signals we obtained conversion efficiencies around -14 dB in the 11 GHz intermediate frequency (IF) band. In the fundamental mixing regime we observed response at IF at working temperatures up to 72K. We demonstrated the operation of HTS Josephson junctions in the self-mixing mode. The experimental results are in good agreement with simulations using the RSJ model.
Detection mechanisms in Josephson junctions with energies Ej comparable to thermal energies kT have been studied. The responses ΔV of YBa2Cu3O7−x bicrystal junctions to monochromatic radiation with frequencies f ranging from 94 GHz to 3.1 THz can be described in terms of classical rectification on a static nonlinear V–I curve at low frequencies and frequency modulation of the ac Josephson current at high frequencies, with an interplay between these mechanisms at intermediate frequencies. An electrical noise-equivalent power of (9 ± 3) × 10−15 W/Hz1/2, a responsivity of (3.4 ± 0.5) × 105 V/W, and a dynamic power range of 5 × 104 have been demonstrated for the square-law classical detection of 94 GHz radiation with the junctions at 50 K. The effect of background radiation on the V–I curves of YBa2Cu3O7−x bicrystal junctions was found to have an optical noise-equivalent temperature of ≤30 mK/Hz1/2. The main contribution to the effect comes from the interplay between the classical and Josephson detection mechanisms. The spectral and power dependencies of the responses ΔV of Josephson junctions have been numerically simulated within the resistively shunted junction model at various values of kT/Ej, and the results are in acceptable agreement with the experimental data.
We have investigated YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-/spl delta// superconductor-normal-superconductor Josephson junctions as mixers of 30 THz radiation. We have directly observed (2nd order) difference frequencies from 10 MHz to 12.8 GHz between two CO/sub 2/ laser lines. Applying a third microwave signal to the junction, we have observed CO/sub 2/ laser difference frequencies up to 27 GHz. The d.c. bias dependence of the difference frequency signal, as well as other evidence, suggests two distinct mixing mechanisms: hot-electron mixing in the junction banks at high d.c. biases, and bolometric Josephson mixing at low d.c. biases. The latter is the first observation of Josephson mixing at CO/sub 2/ laser frequencies in high-T/sub c/ junctions. The Josephson mixing has generated observable mixing products up to 6th order.>