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IEEE Transactions on Magnetics

Josephson shift register design and layout

John X. Przybysz, Richard D. Blaugher, J. Buttyan

Published Mar 1, 1989• 14 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Integrated circuit chips were designed and fabricated, based on a Josephson shift register circuit that simulated operation at 25 GHz using the SPICE program. The 6.25-mm/sup 2/ chip featured a twelve-gate, four-stage shift register fabricated with Nb/AlO/sub x//Nb Josephson junctions with a design value of 2000 A/cm/sup 2/ critical current density. SUPERCOMPACT, a general program for the design of monolithic microwave integrated circuits, was used to model the effects of layout geometry on the uniformity and phase coherence of logic gate bias currents. A layout geometry for the superconductive transmission lines and thin-film bias resistors was developed. The original SPICE-designed circuit was modified as a result of these calculations. Modeling indicated that bias current variations could be limited to 3% for all possible logic states of the shift register, and phase coherence of the gates could be maintained to within 2 degrees at 10 GHz. The fundamental soundness of the circuit design was demonstrated by the proper operation of fabricated shift registers.>

DOI
10.1109/20.92416

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Integrated circuit chips were designed and fabricated, based on a Josephson shift register circuit that simulated operation at 25 GHz using the SPICE program. The 6.25-mm/sup 2/ chip featured a twelve-gate, four-stage shift register fabricated with Nb/AlO/sub x//Nb Josephson junctions with a design value of 2000 A/cm/sup 2/ critical current density. SUPERCOMPACT, a general program for the design of monolithic microwave integrated circuits, was used to model the effects of layout geometry on the uniformity and phase coherence of logic gate bias currents. A layout geometry for the superconductive transmission lines and thin-film bias resistors was developed. The original SPICE-designed circuit was modified as a result of these calculations. Modeling indicated that bias current variations could be limited to 3% for all possible logic states of the shift register, and phase coherence of the gates could be maintained to within 2 degrees at 10 GHz. The fundamental soundness of the circuit design was demonstrated by the proper operation of fabricated shift registers.>
A review of Josephson shift-register circuits that have been designed, fabricated, or tested is presented with emphasis on work in the 1980s. Operating speed is most important, since it often limits system performance. Older designs used square-wave clocks, but most modern designs use offset sine waves, with either two or three phases. Operating margins and gate bias uniformity are key concerns. The fastest measured Josephson shift register operated at 2.3 GHz, which compares well with a GaAs shift register that consumes 250 times more power. The difficulties of high-speed testing have prevented many Josephson shift registers from being operated at their highest speeds. Computer simulations suggest that 30-GHz operation is possible with current Nb/Al/sub 2/O/sub 3//Nb technology. Junctions with critical current densities near 10 kA/cm/sup 2/ would make 100-GHz shift registers feasible.>
Experimental superconducting shift registers consisting of on-chip clock generators, clock regeneration and distribution circuits, shift register elements, and readout circuits are designed using rapid single flux quantum logic/memory (RSFQ) gates. A 7-b shift register has been tested to 12 GHz and a 17-b to 21 GHz using external triggering clocks with relative delay measurements. Testing with internal clocks generated from Josephson oscillations shows a potential high-speed operation of 45 GHz for the 7-b and 30 GHz for the 17-b shift registers. Two types of magnetically coupled readout gates are discussed. The chips are fabricated using a Nb/AlO/sub /x/Nb Josephson-junction process at a critical-current density of 1000 A/cm/sup 2/. The power dissipation per bit is 3 mu W.>
A 1-GHz-clock Josephson microcomputer system was developed to demonstrate the possibility of a high-speed superconducting computer system. It consists of a 4-b data processor chip and a 1-kb RAM chip. For the fabrication of these Josephson integrated circuits, a cross-shaped Nb-AlO/sub x/-Nb Josephson junction process was developed in order to realize small junction size and improve critical current uniformity, and has made fabrication of LSIs with several thousand gates possible. A latchup-free DC flip-flop is an important element in the high-speed Josephson logic and memory circuits, having been applied to an all-DC-powered Josephson RAM with asynchronous access capability. A low-inductance chip-to-chip carrier is an architectural and design concept for the Josephson computer's 1-GHz-clock operation, suppressing the crosstalk between the AC power and the output signals. Each chip is 7 mm square and is fabricated using a 2.5- mu m-rule Nb-AlO/sub x/-Nb junction process. The chips are connected on a superconducting carrier by solder bumps in a die size of 15 mm by 25 mm. The system is constructed from 8123 Josephson interferometer devices and is operable in a 1-ns cycle with 50-mW power dissipation.
Experimental superconducting shift registers con- sisting of on-chip clock generators, clock regeneration and dis- tribution circuits, shift register elements, and readout circuits are designed using rapid single flux quantum logic / memory (RSFQ) gates. A 7-b shift register has been tested to 12 GHz and a 17-b to 21 GHz using external triggering clocks with relative delay measurements. Testing with internal clocks generated from Josephson oscillations shows a potential high-speed opera- tion of 45 GHz for the 7-b and 30 GHz for the 17-b shift registers. Two types of magnetically coupled readout gates are discussed. The chips are fabricated using a Nb/AIO,/Nb Josephson-junction process at a critical-current density of 1000 A / cm2. The power dissipation per bit is 3 p.W.
A Josephson SFQ (single flux quantum) shift register circuit operating under a two-phase power was designed and tested. The test cell was fabricated using the Nb/AlO/sub x//Nb junction SNEAP process. The main data latch is DC biased; the data storage is accomplished by the transfer of a single flux quantum in or out of a SQUID (superconducting quantum interference device) superconducting loop. A two-phase sinusoidal clock with offset is used to operate the circuit. Simulations verify that the operating frequency can go beyond 70 GHz, with operating margins exceeding 20%. Preliminary measurements indicate that the circuit operates as intended.>
Superconductive electronics can provide low power, GHz speed spread spectrum satellite communications. The key components to construct the spread spectrum modem are an analog filter and a digital pseudorandom bit sequence generator, Various SFQ logic circuits are required to construct a code generator. These circuits include a shift register, a reset switch, and an XOR or XNOR. To make a 4 bit 15 sequence code generator, a four stage shift register with a fan-out of two on each stage was designed. These circuits, fabricated with eight level Nb/AlO/sub x//Nb Josephson junction integrated circuit process, showed correct operation at low speed digital tests. The low speed digital test was done by using a "catcher", the combination of a read SQUID and a Josephson transmission line (JTL) which were magnetically coupled to each other. High speed testing of the shift register used a latch amplifier, which amplified an SFQ pulse to a latching output voltage of about 2 mV. This test showed correct operation of the shift register at speeds of up to 4.6 GHz.>