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IEEE Transactions on Magnetics

Perturbation treatment of mixing in Josephson junctions

Mogens T. Levinsen, B. T. Ulrich

Published Mar 1, 1975• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We consider a current biased, resistively shunted josephson junction irradiated at two frequencies. The perturbation technique introduced by Aslamasov and Larkin is used in the calculations. Both signals are treated as perturbations. The second order calculation yields the size of the mixing steps atV_{\pm}=h(\omega_{1}\pm\omega_{2})/2e. As in the case of a single frequency we show that subharmonic mixing steps are absent. The amplitude of the voltage oscillation at the difference and sum frequencies is shown to be non-zero at all voltages. We calculate the microwave resistance for one frequency ω2to third order in the perturbation. There are negative resistance regions nearV\pm(as well as nearV_{2}= h\omega_{2}/2e). Near V, the negative resistance region appears for bias voltage V just aboveV_{-}, while near V the region appears for V just belowV_{+}. This means that when an incident frequency mixes with a cavity mode the mixing step atV_{-}will be inverted compared to the cavity step itself.

DOI
10.1109/tmag.1975.1058612

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We consider a current biased, resistively shunted josephson junction irradiated at two frequencies. The perturbation technique introduced by Aslamasov and Larkin is used in the calculations. Both signals are treated as perturbations. The second order calculation yields the size of the mixing steps atV_{\pm}=h(\omega_{1}\pm\omega_{2})/2e. As in the case of a single frequency we show that subharmonic mixing steps are absent. The amplitude of the voltage oscillation at the difference and sum frequencies is shown to be non-zero at all voltages. We calculate the microwave resistance for one frequency ω2to third order in the perturbation. There are negative resistance regions nearV\pm(as well as nearV_{2}= h\omega_{2}/2e). Near V, the negative resistance region appears for bias voltage V just aboveV_{-}, while near V the region appears for V just belowV_{+}. This means that when an incident frequency mixes with a cavity mode the mixing step atV_{-}will be inverted compared to the cavity step itself.
For a current-driven Josephson junction shunted by an Ohmic resistance, the dc voltage response and impedance to external high-frequency currents is calculated with a second-order perturbation method based on the unperturbed solution for the time evolution of the voltage as given by Aslamazov and Larkin. The response is proportional to signal power and has three characteristic-frequency regions depending on whether the internal self-generated Josephson frequency, ω0, is larger than, equal to, or smaller than the signal frequency, ω. For ω0< or >ω the response could be expressed by easily observable parameters of the dc voltage-current characteristics. This permits comparison of the predictions with experimental results obtained on point-contact junctions whose dc characteristics were only approximately represented by the simple model chosen for analysis. For ω0≪ω the response is found to be proportional to (i) the slope of the dc characteristic, (ii) the inverse square of the applied frequency, (iii) the inverse battery current in terms of the critical current, and (iv) the voltage amplitude of the inherent Josephson oscillations. For ω0≫ω ``classical'' detection proportional to curvature is obtained. For ω0∼ω resonance detection occurs, which depends to a considerable degree on fluctuations of the average contact voltage. These predictions are in reasonable agreement with experiments in which point-contact junctions were illuminated with klystron radiation at 10 and 90 GHz. Evidence is presented that the voltage fluctuations limiting the resonance response are the result of noise generated in the junction. Comparison of the noise-equivalent power expected from the simple model with measured results suggests that parasitic elements, such as shunt capacity, are not negligible at 90 GHz.
Experiments are reported in which two millimeter-wave signals incident on point-contact Josephson junctions produced changes in the junction dc voltage versus current characteristic and an intermediate frequency output whose amplitude depended sensitively on both junction bias and applied power. Equations are derived, based on Josephson's phenomenological equations, for the Josephson current in a junction exposed to two applied rf signals. When the applied signals differ appreciably in frequency, additional constant-voltage steps in the $V\ensuremath{-}I$ curve are predicted which are spaced at the difference frequency. These steps have been observed in experiments employing sources at 64 and 72 Gc/sec. Results of mixing experiments utilizing two sources nearly equal in frequency are reported at 23 and at 72 Gc/sec. In this case the two waves beat together and are equivalent in their effect to a single signal amplitude modulated at the difference frequency. Also explained on the same basis are experiments in which the third harmonic of a signal at 24 Gc/sec mixed with a signal at 72 Gc/sec. These results demonstrate the existence of the Josephson mixing mechanism as opposed to classical nonlinear mixing, and they show that it is operative at microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies over a wide range of power.
A Josephson junction 1.6 mm wavelength microwave source has been used to demonstrate the parametric amplification by reflection necessary to maintain parametric oscillations at 1.6 mm wavelength. A perturbation calculation based on the resistively and capacitively shunted Josephson junction model gives a negative effective microwave resistance for a junction biased at voltages higher than the voltage for a cavity induced step. The parametric oscillation was observed at voltages consistent with the region in which negative resistance was calculated.
Relaxation oscillations at subharmonics of the Josephson frequency may occur in a resistively shunted superconducting tunnel junction, where the shunt loop has a large inductance. We have studied the variation in the relaxation period with the shunt inductance and resistance, the Josephson critical current, and the bias current. Steps in the current-voltage curve were noted at bias points where the subharmonic number changed. Radiation powers of the order of a nW were coupled out of small, single, tunnel junctions at 10 GHz. Linewidths scaled with the frequency square as compared with those of the Josephson mode oscillations. Wide signals centered around harmonics of the relaxation frequency were due to amplified noise. Injection locking to a fraction of the frequency of a relatively strong signal occurred, while weaker signals were amplified. Gains up to 15 dB were achieved within a fairly large bandwidth, but the noise temperature was high. The importance of parametrically up-converted noise from low idler frequencies is emphasized.
Experimental I-V curves of microwave-driven Josephson tunnel junctions with resistive shunts are reported. The results are in very good agreement with numerical calculations using the resistively shunted junction model. In the low-frequency regime there are three distinct regions in the I-V curves and two different types of Shapiro steps. It is demonstrated that the overall shape of the I-V curves can be explained by using an adiabatic interpretation of the junction response. The two different types of Shapiro steps are related to a compensation effect between dc and rf bias currents.