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Journal of Physics Conference Series

Calculations of superconducting parametric amplifiers performances

Tokio Goto, Mahoto Takeda, Shingo Saito, Hisashi Shimakage

Published Jul 1, 2017• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

A superconducting parametric amplifier is an electromagnetic wave amplifier with high-quality characteristics such as a wide bandwidth, an extremely low noise, and a high dynamic range. In this paper, we report on the estimations of a YBCO superconducting parametric amplifier characteristic. The YBCO thin films were deposited on an MgO substrate by a pulsed laser deposition method. Based on the measured YBCO thin film parameters, theoretical calculations were implemented for evaluations of kinetic inductance nonlinearities and parametric gains. The nonlinearity of the YBCO thin film was estimated to be stronger than a single crystal NbTiN thin film. It is indicated that the YBCO parametric amplifier has a potential to be realized the amplifier with the high parametric gain. It is also expected that it could be operated in the range of the high frequency band, at the high temperature, and low applied current.

DOI
10.1088/1742-6596/871/1/012081

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A superconducting parametric amplifier is an electromagnetic wave amplifier with high-quality characteristics such as a wide bandwidth, an extremely low noise, and a high dynamic range. In this paper, we report on the estimations of a YBCO superconducting parametric amplifier characteristic. The YBCO thin films were deposited on an MgO substrate by a pulsed laser deposition method. Based on the measured YBCO thin film parameters, theoretical calculations were implemented for evaluations of kinetic inductance nonlinearities and parametric gains. The nonlinearity of the YBCO thin film was estimated to be stronger than a single crystal NbTiN thin film. It is indicated that the YBCO parametric amplifier has a potential to be realized the amplifier with the high parametric gain. It is also expected that it could be operated in the range of the high frequency band, at the high temperature, and low applied current.
Abstract We measured the microwave transmission characteristics of coplanar waveguides (CPWs) fabricated using YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) thin films with DC current biases. Kinetic inductances ( L K ) and nonlinear parameters ( I * ) were evaluated for CPWs with film thicknesses of 20, 50, and 200 nm. The results indicate that the experimental values closely follow the second-order nonlinearity exhibited by the L K . To operate as a superconducting parametric amplifier with a standard gain of 20 dB and a pump power of −10 dBm, we introduced a step-impedance structure into the transmission line. As a result, when using an MgO substrate, the required line length was estimated to be approximately 1.25 m, corresponding to approximately 29 times the wavelength of the CPW.
Abstract We fabricated a coplanar waveguide (CPW) using high temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) and evaluated its characteristics for the realization of a superconducting parametric amplifier. A YBCO thin film with a film thickness of 200 nm was formed by the PLD method using a YAG laser on a 10 × 10 mm MgO substrate. The YBCO thin films were processed into the CPW shape with a line width of 8 μm, a gap width of 8 μm and a line length of 5 mm by photolithography and sputter etching. Using a network analyzer, phase differences of microwave were measured at dc current bias from 0 mA to 14 mA. From the measurement results, it was found that the phase difference decreased with increasing temperature. In addition, it was found that the phase shifts greatly varied near the superconducting transition temperature at each current bias. We observed a maximum phase difference Δθ of -0.08 rad at a bias current of 14.0 mA, which is the closest to the transition temperature. A parametric gain was estimated to be 0.15 dB from the measured maximum phase difference.
Traveling-wave parametric amplifiers based on superconducting NbTiN films are being developed that provide gain over nearly an octave of bandwidth at microwave frequencies. The amplifiers are non-linear transmission lines, where the nonlinearity comes from the current dependence of the kinetic inductance. Amplification results from three and four-wave mixing processes, and phase matching over a wide frequency range is achieved by engineering the dispersion characteristics of the transmission line. Recent noise measurements over a wide frequency band demonstrate that the added noise of these amplifiers is close to one half photon, consistent with the quantum limit for a phase preserving amplifier. We will discuss applications of this class of amplifier to astronomical instruments.
Amplifiers are ubiquitous in electronics and play a fundamental role in a wide range of scientific measurements. From a user's perspective, an ideal amplifier has very low noise, operates over a broad frequency range, and has a high dynamic range - it is capable of handling strong signals with little distortion. Unfortunately, it is difficult to obtain all of these characteristics simultaneously. For example, modern transistor amplifiers offer multi-octave bandwidths and excellent dynamic range. However, their noise remains far above the fundamental limit set by the uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics. Parametric amplifiers, which predate transistor amplifiers and are widely used in optics, exploit a nonlinear response to transfer power from a strong pump tone to a weak signal. If the nonlinearity is purely reactive, ie. nondissipative, in theory the amplifier noise can reach the quantum-mechanical limit. Indeed, microwave frequency superconducting Josephson parametric amplifiers do approach the quantum limit, but generally are narrow band and have very limited dynamic range. In this paper, we describe a superconducting parametric amplifier that overcomes these limitations. The amplifier is very simple, consisting only of a patterned metal film on a dielectric substrate, and relies on the nonlinear kinetic inductance of a superconducting transmission line. We measure gain extending over 2 GHz on either side of an 11.56 GHz pump tone, and we place an upper limit on the added noise of the amplifier of 3.4 photons at 9.4 GHz. Furthermore, the dynamic range is very large, comparable to microwave transistor amplifiers, and the concept can be applied throughout the microwave, millimeter-wave and submillimeter-wave bands.
Superconducting parametric amplifiers have great promise for quantum-limited readout of superconducting qubits and detectors. Until recently, most superconducting parametric amplifiers had been based on resonant structures, limiting their bandwidth and dynamic range. Broadband traveling-wave parametric amplifiers based both on the nonlinear kinetic inductance of superconducting thin films and on Josephson junctions are in development. By modifying the dispersion property of the amplifier circuit, referred to as dispersion engineering, the gain can be greatly enhanced and the size can be reduced. We present two theoretical frameworks for analyzing and understanding such parametric amplifiers: 1) generalized coupled-mode equations and 2) a finite difference time domain (FDTD) model combined with a small signal analysis. We show how these analytical and numerical tools may be used to understand device performance.
Advancing superconducting quantum devices to higher operating frequencies broadens their functionality and enables operation at elevated temperatures, but it also requires near-quantum-limited amplifiers beyond the few-gigahertz regime. Here we present a junction-free, kinetic-inductance parametric amplifier based on thin-film niobium nitride (NbN) operating at 23 GHz in the microwave K-band, achieving a gain up to 40 dB, a 100 MHz gain-bandwidth product, a 1 dB saturation input power of -85 dBm with 23 dB gain, and added noise no greater than 1.4 quanta for phase-preserving amplification. Leveraging the large superconducting gap of NbN, this architecture can be extended to even higher frequencies, supporting applications such as high-fidelity readout of millimeter-wave superconducting qubits and axion searches over an expanded mass window.