Ultra-Low Dynamic Current Measurements with an RF SQUID

A. V. Sermyagin

Young Ho Lee, KK Yu, J-M Kim +4 more

Radio-frequency (RF) amplifiers based on direct current (DC) superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) have low-noise performance for precision physics experiments. Gain curves of SQUID RF amplifiers depend on several parameters of the SQUID and operation conditions. We are developing SQUID RF amplifiers for application to measure very weak RF signals from ultra-low-temperature high-magnetic-field microwave cavity in axion search experiments. In this study, we designed, fabricated and characterized SQUID RF amplifiers with different SQUID parameters, such as number of input coil turn, shunt resistance value of the junction and coupling capacitance in the input coil, and compared the results.

Oleg V. Snigirev

Gang Li, Suman Dhamala, Hao Li +2 more

We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of a barrier-tunable superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) qubit for the study of Maxwell’s demon experiment. In this work, a compound Josephson junction (CJJ) radio-frequency (RF)-SQUID qubit with an overdamped resistively shunted direct-current (DC)-SQUID magnetometer is used to continuously monitor the state of the qubit. The circuit is successfully fabricated with the standard Nb/Al-AlO x /Nb trilayer process of our laboratory and characterized in a low noise measurement system, which is capable of measuring coherent dynamics of superconducting qubits, in an Oxford dilution refrigerator. All circuit parameters are determined accurately by fitting experimental data to theoretical analysis and simulation, which allows us to make a quantitative comparison between the results of the experiment and theory.

Pasquale Carelli, Maria Gabriella Castellano

Wentao Wu, Zhirong Lin, Zhi Ni +10 more

A cold preamplifier based on superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) is currently the preferred readout technology for the low-noise transition edge sensor (TES). In this work, we have designed and fabricated a series SQUID array (SSA) amplifier for the TES detector readout circuit. In this SSA amplifier, each SQUID cell is composed of a first-order gradiometer formed using two equally large square washers, and an on-chip low pass filter (LPF) as a radio-frequency (RF) choke has been developed to reduce the Josephson oscillation interference between individual SQUID cells. In addition, a highly symmetric layout has been designed carefully to provide a fully consistent embedded electromagnetic environment and achieve coherent flux operation. The measured results show smooth V–Φ characteristics and a swing voltage that increases linearly with increasing SQUID cell number N. A white flux noise level as low as 0.28 μ Φ 0/Hz1/2 is achieved at 0.1 K, corresponding to a low current noise level of 7 pA/Hz1/2. We analyze the measured noise contribution at mK-scale temperatures and find that the dominant noise derives from a combination of the SSA intrinsic noise and the equivalent current noise of the room temperature electronics.