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IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity

Oscillation of SFQ pulse in oxide JTL

Y. Tarutani, H. Sugiyama, K. Tanabe

Published Jun 1, 2003• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Characteristics of SFQ signal propagation in oxide circuits were investigated by numerical simulation. The numerical simulation for the SFQ signal propagating in the Josephson transmission line (JTL) was performed by assuming the inductor to be a passive transmission line and by taking into account the high I/sub c/R/sub n/ value of oxide junctions. The SFQ signal was found to oscillate when the inductor length was more than 20 /spl mu/m. The origin of the oscillation and the oscillation conditions were investigated with respect to the Josephson plasma frequency. A shunt resistor connected between an inductor and the groundplane was found to be effective for suppressing the oscillation. The JTL in which shunt resistors are connected may also be used as a delay line.

DOI
10.1109/tasc.2003.813884

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Characteristics of SFQ signal propagation in oxide circuits were investigated by numerical simulation. The numerical simulation for the SFQ signal propagating in the Josephson transmission line (JTL) was performed by assuming the inductor to be a passive transmission line and by taking into account the high I/sub c/R/sub n/ value of oxide junctions. The SFQ signal was found to oscillate when the inductor length was more than 20 /spl mu/m. The origin of the oscillation and the oscillation conditions were investigated with respect to the Josephson plasma frequency. A shunt resistor connected between an inductor and the groundplane was found to be effective for suppressing the oscillation. The JTL in which shunt resistors are connected may also be used as a delay line.
We have designed ring oscillators to test rapid single flux quantum (RSFQ) circuits with passive transmission lines at high frequencies. To reduce the width of the transmission line, design methods for increasing the characteristic impedance of the transmission line have been investigated and then we designed a 5-stage of Josephson transmission line (JTL) receiver which can transform the impedance from 1 to 4 /spl Omega/ by changing the critical current and the inductance. The receiver, driver, and micro-strip line were inserted in a ring oscillator. The ring oscillator fabricated with the Nb/AlOx/Nb junction process was successfully operated at frequencies ranging from 6 to 10 GHz for line lengths of 0.6, 3, 6, and 9 mm. The usefulness of the impedance transformation was then confirmed experimentally. A propagation delay per unit length of 8.4 ps/mm was also obtained.
Josephson transmission lines (JTLs) are commonly used as signal interconnects in single-flux quantum (SFQ) circuits. They are also used, however, to transform arbitrary waveforms into SFQ pulses. Here we use a low-temperature electro-optic sampling system with subpicosecond resolution to observe the response of a JTL to a picosecond input pulse. Previously, this system has been used to directly observe SFQ pulses on niobium transmission lines. In our experiment, niobium metal semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodiodes were connected to 3, 4, 19, and 20-stage JTLs. The MSM photodiodes provided picosecond pulses to excite the JTL. The JTL bias and input pulse amplitude were varied to observe fluxon interaction and time delay of the JTL stages. Observed JTL behavior is dominated by dipolar oscillations radiated from the first stages of the JTL. By varying the values of line inductance and junction capacitance, thus changing the oscillation periods, these oscillations were traced to the coupling of the junction capacitance and line inductance. This is a new feature of the JTL that has thus far not been observed or incorporated into simulations. Our results could have significant implications on the limit of SFQ circuits.
Dynamics of fluxons propagating in a Josephson transmission line (JTL) have been studied in real time using Josephson sampling techniques. A JTL is an NbN-oxide-NbN Josephson junction with dimensions of 2.5 × 150 μm2, while Josephson samplers and pulse generators for generating and driving fluxons are fabricated by a Pb-alloy technology. Among the various behaviors, especially, it is found that a propagating fluxon can be made to pause without reflections at any desired position which is created by placing a resistor on the surface of a portion of a JTL. The surface resistor has a length larger than the Josephson penetration depth. A pausing fluxon can be re-driven by supplying a small current to the portion of the surface resistor after more than 100 μs, The experimental results are compared with computer simulations. Reflections of fluxons observed by samplers have also been discussed.
By combining a long Josephson junction (LJJ) with single-flux-quantum (SFQ) circuits, new digital applications for long junctions can be explored. To fully investigate the dynamics of the hybrid LJJ/SFQ circuits, a numerical model was developed for an unshunted long junction coupled to shunted SFQ Josephson transmission line (JTL) through superconducting strips. The model is based on a one-dimensional array of Josephson junctions that is described by a set of discrete sine-Gordon equations. Simulations support our experimental observation that the first zero-field step can exist when the LJJ is terminated by SFQ elements. The influences on the first zero-field step by the self-inductance, the critical current, and the shunt resistance of JTL cells are studied in detail. Simulation also confirms that each 4/spl pi/ phase leap at the end of the long junction creates two separated SFQ pulses after several overdamped JTL cells.
The increasing complexity of modern rapid single flux quantum (RSFQ) circuits has made on-chip signal routing, an issue of growing importance. In this paper, several methods for routing large-scale RSFQ circuits are described, and a process is presented for determining when to use passive microstrip transmission lines (PTL) and active Josephson transmission lines (JTL). The effect of the size of the JTL inductor and Josephson junctions on the length of a JTL chain for a target delay is also discussed. The dependence of the JTL inductance on the physical layout is evaluated, and the effects of the primary PTL parameters on delay are characterized. A novel PTL driver and receiver configuration is also proposed. Tradeoffs among the number of JJs, inductance, and length of a PTL stripline in the receiver and driver circuits are reported. The energy dissipation is evaluated for two different interconnects. A tradeoff between the proposed PTL circuits and an optimized JTL in terms of energy dissipation and delay is discussed. Guidelines for choosing the optimal element values are determined, and a simulated bias margin of ±29% for the bias current of the proposed receiver operating at 20 GHz in a 10 kA/cm2technology for a 1-mm transmission line is achieved. Summarizing, guidelines and design tradeoffs appropriate for automated layout and synthesis are provided for driving long interconnect in SFQ VLSI circuits.
We have developed a novel multilayer process for HTS-SFQ circuits adopting a NBCO groundplane and tin-oxide isolation layers, and fabricated an HTS-SFQ ring oscillator circuit including 21 Josephson junctions. The junctions on the buried groundplane exhibited excellent Josephson characteristics with a magnetic modulation of I/sub c/ exceeding 90%, and an I/sub c/R/sub n/ product of 0.75 mV at 30 K. The sheet inductance of the wiring layer at 30 K was evaluated to be 1.1 pH for the counter-electrode layer, and 1.3 pH for the base-electrode layer. We confirmed the correct operation of the 10-stage ring oscillator at 20-30 K. The maximum dc output voltage of the ring oscillator was 0.06 mV at 30 K and 0.12 mV at 20 K, indicating the signal delay per stage of 3.4 ps and 1.8 ps, respectively.