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Superconductor Science and Technology

Lumped-element Josephson parametric amplifier at 650 MHz for nano-calorimeter readout

Visa Vesterinen, O.-P. Saira, Ilmo Räisänen, Mikko Möttönen, Leif Grönberg, Jukka P Pekola, Juha Hassel

Published Jun 27, 2017• 13 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract We design a sub-gigahertz Josephson parametric amplifier for the readout of nanoscale calorimeters which consist of normal-metal–superconductor heterostructures. We characterize the amplifier performance at two operating points, 605 and 655 MHz, corresponding to reproducible local frequency maxima with respect to the applied magnetic flux. At the 655 MHz operating point, the device displays its maximum small-signal gain of 32 dB and gain-bandwidth product of 2 π × 3.3 MHz . The gain remains above 20 dB for incident powers up to −119 dBm. The added noise of the amplifier, determined by the hot/cold source method, assumes a minimum value of 0.2 K.

DOI
10.1088/1361-6668/aa73ed

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Abstract We design a sub-gigahertz Josephson parametric amplifier for the readout of nanoscale calorimeters which consist of normal-metal–superconductor heterostructures. We characterize the amplifier performance at two operating points, 605 and 655 MHz, corresponding to reproducible local frequency maxima with respect to the applied magnetic flux. At the 655 MHz operating point, the device displays its maximum small-signal gain of 32 dB and gain-bandwidth product of 2 π × 3.3 MHz . The gain remains above 20 dB for incident powers up to −119 dBm. The added noise of the amplifier, determined by the hot/cold source method, assumes a minimum value of 0.2 K.
We demonstrate a lumped-element Josephson parametric amplifier, using a single-ended design that includes an on-chip, high-bandwidth flux bias line. The amplifier can be pumped into its region of parametric gain through either the input port or through the flux bias line. Broadband amplification is achieved at a tunable frequency ω/2π between 5 and 7 GHz with quantum-limited noise performance, a gain-bandwidth product greater than 500 MHz, and an input saturation power in excess of −120 dBm. The bias line allows fast frequency tuning of the amplifier, with variations of hundreds of MHz over time scales shorter than 10 ns.
Josephson parametric amplification is a tool of paramount importance in circuit-QED especially for the quantum-noise-limited single-shot read-out of superconducting qubits. We developed a Josephson parametric amplifier (JPA) based on a lumped-element LC resonator, in which the inductance L is composed by a geometric inductance and an array of 4 superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). We characterized the main figures of merit of the device, obtaining a −3 dB bandwidth BW = 15 MHz for a gain G = 21 dB and a 1 dB compression point P1dB = −115 dBm. The obtained results are promising for the future use of such JPA as the first stage of amplification for single-shot readout of superconducting qubits.
In the work on superconducting parametric amplifiers, the frequency band below one gigahertz is calling for systematic improvements. Despite a prospect for ultralow added noise, bandwidth limitations have slowed down the integration of such amplifiers into sub-GHz experiments demanding fast (<1 μ< 1\, \mu<1μs) readout speeds. Here, we study the impedance engineering of a flux-driven Josephson parametric amplifier (JPA) at 600 MHz. We propose, simulate and experimentally demonstrate a partially reconfigurable impedance transformer. The transformer enhances the JPA bandwidth to a state-of-the-art value of 10 MHz at 20 dB gain. Our amplifier has immediate applications in the readout of cryogenic sensors and in the reflectometry of quantum dots for spin qubit quantum computing.
We have developed and measured a high-gain quantum-limited microwave parametric amplifier based on a superconducting lumped LC resonator with the inductor L including an array of eight superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). This amplifier is parametrically pumped by modulating the flux threading the SQUIDs at twice the resonator frequency. Around 5 GHz, a maximum gain of 31 dB, a product amplitude gain $\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}$ bandwidth above 60 MHz, and a 1 dB compression point of $\ensuremath{-}123$ dBm at 20 dB gain are obtained in the nondegenerate mode of operation. Phase-sensitive amplification-deamplification is also measured in the degenerate mode and yields a maximum gain of 37 dB. The compression point obtained is 18 dB above what would be obtained with a single SQUID of the same inductance, due to the smaller nonlinearity of the SQUID array.
Abstract We present experimental results for a Josephson parametric amplifier tailored for readout of ultra-sensitive thermal microwave detectors. In particular, we discuss the impact of fabrication details on the performance. We show that the small volume of deposited dielectric materials enabled by the side-wall passivated spacer niobium junction technology leads to robust operation across a wide range of operating temperatures up to 1.5 K. The flux-pumped amplifier has gain in excess of 20 dB in three-wave mixing and its center frequency is tunable between 540–640 MHz. At 600 MHz, the amplifier adds 105 mK ±9 mK of noise, as determined with the hot/cold source method. Phase-sensitive amplification is demonstrated with the device.
Josephson parametric amplifiers (JPAs) with nearly quantum-limited noise performance have become indispensable devices for the measurements of superconducting quantum information. We have developed an all-Nb lumped-element flux-driven JPA operating in the three-wave mixing mode. Our Nb-based JPA comprises Nb/Al-AlO x /Nb Josephson junctions, a parallel-plate capacitor with SiO2 dielectric sandwiched between two Nb layers, a bottom coplanar waveguides layer, and a top Nb wiring layer. We experimentally demonstrate a 20 dB gain over a 190 MHz bandwidth, a mean 1 dB compression of –123 dBm, and near quantum-limited noise performance. This fabrication process can be further used to design impedance transformed parametric amplifiers for multiple-qubit readout.