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USB-Flash-Ausg.:#R#<br/>Information technology and electrical engineering - devices and systems, materials and technologies for the future : 54. IWK, Internationales Wissenschaftliches Kolloquium ; proceedings ; 07 - 10 September 2009 / Faculty of Electrical and Information Technology, Technische Universität Ilmenau. - Ilmenau : Verl. ISLE, 2009. - ISBN 978-3-938843-45-1

Analyzing the switching errors of RSFQ-circuits

Olaf Mielke, Thomas Ortlepp

Published Jan 1, 2009• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

The Rapid Single Flux Quantum electronics is a superconducting, naturally digital circuit family which is currently close to getting commercially applied.RSFQ is outstanding by its very low switching energy resulting in a very low power consumption which is the reason for a significant influence on thermal noise.For industrial applications a certain noise immunity is required which is still a challenge especially for circuits of higher complexity.In superconducting electronics resistors are the only on-chip noise sources.We analyzed the influence of each individual resistor in a toggle Flip-Flop circuit to the overall bit-error rate.The shunt resistors of comparator structures are the dominant noise sources and bias resistors have almost no influence.We analyzed in detail the types of thermal introduced switching errors of an toggle Flip-Flop which was optimized with respect to the fabrication yield.Simulation studies were accomplished to investigate the influence of circuit parameters on quality and on quantity of switching errors.By identifying and manipulating the parameters with the most significant influence on the noise susceptibility an enhanced noise immunity of the device can be achieved.The goal is to improve the robustness of RSFQ circuits against the influence of thermal noise for an specific topology by changing the circuit parameters of the device.

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Reduced Probability of Noise Introduced Malfunction in RSFQ Circuits by Implementing Intrinsic $\pi$-Phaseshifter

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The rapid single flux quantum electronics is characterized by a low switching energy, which makes it susceptible to noise introduced bit-errors. For industrial applications a certain noise immunity is required which is still a challenge especially for circuits of higher complexity. We analysed the influence of each individual resistor in a toggle flip-flop circuit to the overall bit-error rate. The shunt resistors of comparator structures are the dominant noise sources and bias resistors have almost no influence.

IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity•Jun 1, 2009•8 citations

A general approach for determining the switching probability in rapid single flux quantum logic circuits

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A major restriction in the development of a working Rapid Single Flux Quantum (RSFQ) logic circuit with high-Tc superconductors is given by the influence of thermal noise. This gives reason to ask for a general determination of the digital bit error rate. As other approaches, our method of calculating the switching probability is based on the Fokker-Planck equation. In the past few years the bit error rates for a single Josephson junction, SQUIDs and the comparator were calculated by using this theory. We demonstrate numerical solution of the multidimensional Fokker-Planck equation to calculate bit error rates due to thermal noise for a Toggle Flip Flop circuit. In the present work, we combine thermal noise analysis with the effects of process variations in order to derive rules for designing high-Tc RSFQ logic circuits.

IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity•Mar 1, 2001•9 citations

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We address the problem of reducing the noise of an RSFQ circuit, which may significantly decohere a Josephson qubit in the case of integration of these circuits. The main sources of such noise in traditional RSFQ circuits are low-ohmic shunting resistors ensuring sufficiently high damping. We developed the toggle flip-flop (TFF) cells with weakly-damped individual junctions due to high-ohmic shunts. The dominant part of necessary damping in this circuit was realized by applying an additional, so-called 'perpendicular', low-ohmic resistor connecting the centre of the storing TFF inductance to ground. The TFF circuits with junctions shunted by 50 Ω resistors and perpendicular resistor of 1.5 Ω, ensuring suppression of noise by more than one order, have been fabricated and demonstrated an operation range of ±20%. In order to make the circuit compact and, therefore, less sensitive to external noise, the passive frozen-flux-based phase shifting elements, replacing large quantizing inductances, were also included. The circuits were fabricated using PTB Nb trilayer process with critical current density j c = 100 A/cm 2 .

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Thomas Ortlepp, Hermann F. Uhlmann

In the design of electronic applications (for example, rapid single flux quantum (RSFQ) circuits), the properties of Josephson junctions (JJs) provided by technology are the major requirement. The characteristic voltage IcRn an dt he dynamic parameter βc are non-negligibly important, bu tt he external shunted junctions are only completely described by including the parasitic inductance between the junction area and the shunt resistor. The first publications of the RSFQ circuit technique were closely followed by many studies on the dynamic influence of this inductance. It has been pointed out that no practical value of this parameter has to be taken into account in the circuit design and optimization process. The operation of RSFQ logic circuits made of high-temperature superconductors (HTS) are strongly influenced by thermal noise. Our paper contains the determination of the digital bit-error rate for all different types of JJs by using a Fokker–Planck equation for describing the influence of thermal fluctuations. Ou ra nalysis shows that the parasitic inductance cannot be neglected in terms of noise. The intrinsic shunted junctions like high current density-, SINIS- and all kinds of HTS-JJs provide the best noise immunity for a fixed temperature.

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The rapid single-flux quantum electronics (RSFQ) is a superconducting, naturally digital circuit family which is currently close to being commercially applied. RSFQ is outstanding because of its very low switching energy resulting in very low power consumption. This advantage causes, however, a significant influence of thermal noise. For industrial applications, a certain noise immunity is required which is still a challenge, especially for circuits of higher complexity. Integrating phase-shifting elements is a new concept for further improvements concerning stability against the influence of thermal noise. We have already shown that the implementation of phase-shifting elements significantly reduces the influence of thermal noise on circuit behavior by experimentally analyzing the bit-error rate (Mielke et al 2009 IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. 19 621–5). Concepts which are easily implementable in standard niobium technology are especially promising. The π-phaseshifter consists of a superconducting loop which is able to store a single flux quantum. The loop current related to the stored flux creates a well-defined phase shift. To achieve the correct functionality of complex circuits it is essential to store exactly one flux quantum in each π-phaseshifter during the cooling down of the chip. Thus, for studying the feasibility of this new approach, the initialization reliability of the π-phaseshifter needs to be verified. We present an experimental investigation of this reliability to obtain a general assessment for the application of the π-phaseshifter in niobium technology. Furthermore, we compare the configuration shielded by a solid ground plane with a configuration with a ground-plane hole below the π-phaseshifter. Justified by the experimental results we suggest programmable RSFQ circuits based on π-phaseshifters. The characteristics of these devices can be influenced by a controlled initialization of the π-phaseshifter. The fabrication was performed by FLUXONICS Foundry.

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Methoden zur Verbesserung der Funktionsstabilität digitaler Elektronik mit niedriger Schaltenergie

Olaf Wetzstein

This thesis is a contribution to automate electronic circuit design for \ntechnologies dealing with low switching energy.The intention is to increase \nthe stability of Rapid Single Flux Quantum (RSFQ) circuits. In order to \nachieve this goal, new design tools are introduced and innovative circuit \ntopologies are implemented.The concepts that have been elaborated are \ndemonstrated using RSFQ circuits, but they are valid for any other digital \nelectronics.Future developments with main focus on power efficiency will \ntake advantage of these new concepts and design tools.The aim of this work \nis to analyze the influences of thermal noise on the reliability of \nsensitive electronics.By means of an analytic description, the influence of \nthermal noise is classified. Based on this estimation the stability of \ncircuits is evaluated. This approach of correlating the topology of a \ncircuit with its immunity to thermal noise is unique so far.The results of \nthe analysis demonstrate that using a symmetric circuit topology \nsignificantly improves the circuit's robustness against both the influence \nof thermal noise and parameter spread caused by the fabrication process. \nIn order to realize symmetric circuits, phase-shifting-elements such as \npi-junctions become important.The technology that permits the fabrication \nof phase-shifting-elements has been developed during the recent years.The \nessential work flow which is necessary to implement these elements into \nRSFQ electronics is presented in detail in this work. The predicted \nimprovements are experimentally proved.

•Sep 8, 2011•0 citations
The Rapid Single Flux Quantum electronics is a superconducting, naturally digital circuit family which is currently close to getting commercially applied.RSFQ is outstanding by its very low switching energy resulting in a very low power consumption which is the reason for a significant influence on thermal noise.For industrial applications a certain noise immunity is required which is still a challenge especially for circuits of higher complexity.In superconducting electronics resistors are the only on-chip noise sources.We analyzed the influence of each individual resistor in a toggle Flip-Flop circuit to the overall bit-error rate.The shunt resistors of comparator structures are the dominant noise sources and bias resistors have almost no influence.We analyzed in detail the types of thermal introduced switching errors of an toggle Flip-Flop which was optimized with respect to the fabrication yield.Simulation studies were accomplished to investigate the influence of circuit parameters on quality and on quantity of switching errors.By identifying and manipulating the parameters with the most significant influence on the noise susceptibility an enhanced noise immunity of the device can be achieved.The goal is to improve the robustness of RSFQ circuits against the influence of thermal noise for an specific topology by changing the circuit parameters of the device.
Reduced Probability of Noise Introduced Malfunction in RSFQ Circuits by Implementing Intrinsic π\piπ-Phaseshifter
The rapid single flux quantum electronics is characterized by a low switching energy, which makes it susceptible to noise introduced bit-errors. For industrial applications a certain noise immunity is required which is still a challenge especially for circuits of higher complexity. We analysed the influence of each individual resistor in a toggle flip-flop circuit to the overall bit-error rate. The shunt resistors of comparator structures are the dominant noise sources and bias resistors have almost no influence.
A major restriction in the development of a working Rapid Single Flux Quantum (RSFQ) logic circuit with high-Tc superconductors is given by the influence of thermal noise. This gives reason to ask for a general determination of the digital bit error rate. As other approaches, our method of calculating the switching probability is based on the Fokker-Planck equation. In the past few years the bit error rates for a single Josephson junction, SQUIDs and the comparator were calculated by using this theory. We demonstrate numerical solution of the multidimensional Fokker-Planck equation to calculate bit error rates due to thermal noise for a Toggle Flip Flop circuit. In the present work, we combine thermal noise analysis with the effects of process variations in order to derive rules for designing high-Tc RSFQ logic circuits.
We address the problem of reducing the noise of an RSFQ circuit, which may significantly decohere a Josephson qubit in the case of integration of these circuits. The main sources of such noise in traditional RSFQ circuits are low-ohmic shunting resistors ensuring sufficiently high damping. We developed the toggle flip-flop (TFF) cells with weakly-damped individual junctions due to high-ohmic shunts. The dominant part of necessary damping in this circuit was realized by applying an additional, so-called 'perpendicular', low-ohmic resistor connecting the centre of the storing TFF inductance to ground. The TFF circuits with junctions shunted by 50 Ω resistors and perpendicular resistor of 1.5 Ω, ensuring suppression of noise by more than one order, have been fabricated and demonstrated an operation range of ±20%. In order to make the circuit compact and, therefore, less sensitive to external noise, the passive frozen-flux-based phase shifting elements, replacing large quantizing inductances, were also included. The circuits were fabricated using PTB Nb trilayer process with critical current density j c = 100 A/cm 2 .
In the design of electronic applications (for example, rapid single flux quantum (RSFQ) circuits), the properties of Josephson junctions (JJs) provided by technology are the major requirement. The characteristic voltage IcRn an dt he dynamic parameter βc are non-negligibly important, bu tt he external shunted junctions are only completely described by including the parasitic inductance between the junction area and the shunt resistor. The first publications of the RSFQ circuit technique were closely followed by many studies on the dynamic influence of this inductance. It has been pointed out that no practical value of this parameter has to be taken into account in the circuit design and optimization process. The operation of RSFQ logic circuits made of high-temperature superconductors (HTS) are strongly influenced by thermal noise. Our paper contains the determination of the digital bit-error rate for all different types of JJs by using a Fokker–Planck equation for describing the influence of thermal fluctuations. Ou ra nalysis shows that the parasitic inductance cannot be neglected in terms of noise. The intrinsic shunted junctions like high current density-, SINIS- and all kinds of HTS-JJs provide the best noise immunity for a fixed temperature.
The rapid single-flux quantum electronics (RSFQ) is a superconducting, naturally digital circuit family which is currently close to being commercially applied. RSFQ is outstanding because of its very low switching energy resulting in very low power consumption. This advantage causes, however, a significant influence of thermal noise. For industrial applications, a certain noise immunity is required which is still a challenge, especially for circuits of higher complexity. Integrating phase-shifting elements is a new concept for further improvements concerning stability against the influence of thermal noise. We have already shown that the implementation of phase-shifting elements significantly reduces the influence of thermal noise on circuit behavior by experimentally analyzing the bit-error rate (Mielke et al 2009 IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. 19 621–5). Concepts which are easily implementable in standard niobium technology are especially promising. The π-phaseshifter consists of a superconducting loop which is able to store a single flux quantum. The loop current related to the stored flux creates a well-defined phase shift. To achieve the correct functionality of complex circuits it is essential to store exactly one flux quantum in each π-phaseshifter during the cooling down of the chip. Thus, for studying the feasibility of this new approach, the initialization reliability of the π-phaseshifter needs to be verified. We present an experimental investigation of this reliability to obtain a general assessment for the application of the π-phaseshifter in niobium technology. Furthermore, we compare the configuration shielded by a solid ground plane with a configuration with a ground-plane hole below the π-phaseshifter. Justified by the experimental results we suggest programmable RSFQ circuits based on π-phaseshifters. The characteristics of these devices can be influenced by a controlled initialization of the π-phaseshifter. The fabrication was performed by FLUXONICS Foundry.
This thesis is a contribution to automate electronic circuit design for \ntechnologies dealing with low switching energy.The intention is to increase \nthe stability of Rapid Single Flux Quantum (RSFQ) circuits. In order to \nachieve this goal, new design tools are introduced and innovative circuit \ntopologies are implemented.The concepts that have been elaborated are \ndemonstrated using RSFQ circuits, but they are valid for any other digital \nelectronics.Future developments with main focus on power efficiency will \ntake advantage of these new concepts and design tools.The aim of this work \nis to analyze the influences of thermal noise on the reliability of \nsensitive electronics.By means of an analytic description, the influence of \nthermal noise is classified. Based on this estimation the stability of \ncircuits is evaluated. This approach of correlating the topology of a \ncircuit with its immunity to thermal noise is unique so far.The results of \nthe analysis demonstrate that using a symmetric circuit topology \nsignificantly improves the circuit's robustness against both the influence \nof thermal noise and parameter spread caused by the fabrication process. \nIn order to realize symmetric circuits, phase-shifting-elements such as \npi-junctions become important.The technology that permits the fabrication \nof phase-shifting-elements has been developed during the recent years.The \nessential work flow which is necessary to implement these elements into \nRSFQ electronics is presented in detail in this work. The predicted \nimprovements are experimentally proved.