Superconducting digital technology based on Rapid Single Flux Quantum logic (RSFQ) is a digital technology characterized by high speed, low power consumption and low operational temperatures. RSFQ is attractive for many applications and in particular for high frequency Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and for digital control of mK devices like superconducting qubits. Due to the 30 GHz clock speed, RSFQ DSP could be used to implement a Successive Interference Canceller for multi-user detection in a 3G wireless systems. The being developed DSP consists of a digital core, an RSFQ Multiply Accumulate unit (MAC), RSFQ fast cache memory and external semiconductor memory.The first part of this thesis is focusing on architecture and implementation of the hierarchical CMOS-RSFQ hybrid memory for the RSFQ DSP. The architecture ofthe RSFQ cache is optimized in order to reach the highest speed and reliable data communication with CMOS memory. Aspects of block synchronization betweenthe RSFQ cache and the RSFQ digital core are discussed and solved using a new developed RSFQ gate, C3. For design of different components of the DSP, a designapproach based on validated VHDL models is proposed and experimentally verified.The second part of this thesis is focusing on the design oflow-dissipative RSFQ circuits for interface to the superconducting qubits. Power dissipation ofRSFQ circuits is minimized. A low-temperature thermal model of resistively shunted Josephsonjunctions is developed and applied to optimize the shape of the shunt resistors in order to reduce their electron temperature. Depending on the available fabricationprocess the lowest noise temperature of RSFQ circuit can be in the range from 90 mK to 180 mK.
Superconducting digital technology based on Rapid Single Flux Quantum logic (RSFQ) is a digital technology characterized by high speed, low power consumption and low operational temperatures. RSFQ is attractive for many applications and in particular for high frequency Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and for digital control of mK devices like superconducting qubits. Due to the 30 GHz clock speed, RSFQ DSP could be used to implement a Successive Interference Canceller for multi-user detection in a 3G wireless systems. The being developed DSP consists of a digital core, an RSFQ Multiply Accumulate unit (MAC), RSFQ fast cache memory and external semiconductor memory.The first part of this thesis is focusing on architecture and implementation of the hierarchical CMOS-RSFQ hybrid memory for the RSFQ DSP. The architecture ofthe RSFQ cache is optimized in order to reach the highest speed and reliable data communication with CMOS memory. Aspects of block synchronization betweenthe RSFQ cache and the RSFQ digital core are discussed and solved using a new developed RSFQ gate, C3. For design of different components of the DSP, a designapproach based on validated VHDL models is proposed and experimentally verified.The second part of this thesis is focusing on the design oflow-dissipative RSFQ circuits for interface to the superconducting qubits. Power dissipation ofRSFQ circuits is minimized. A low-temperature thermal model of resistively shunted Josephsonjunctions is developed and applied to optimize the shape of the shunt resistors in order to reduce their electron temperature. Depending on the available fabricationprocess the lowest noise temperature of RSFQ circuit can be in the range from 90 mK to 180 mK.
Superconductor digital technology based on Rapid Single Flux Quantum logic (RSFQ) offers more than 50 times gain in speed and more than 100 reduction in power consumption over mainstream CMOS devices. However, the necessity of cooling down to 4 K and modest degree of integration density currently available mean that employing RSFQ is reasonable only for the tasks that are impossible or ineffective to implement in CMOS technology. One of the promising applications of the RSFQ technology is Digital Signal Processing (DSP) for telecommunications. Interference cancellation is a bottleneck for all existing systems in terms of the performance gain that is theoretically possible and technically realizable using conventional technology. The crucial factor is computational complexity required to handle multiple access interference. The general approach is to compute the interference using available data about propagation channels and then either remove it from received signal or use to predistort the transmitted signal. Computation of the interference matrix can easily fall into 100 Gops range, furthermore, the most e±cient algorithms are based on successive iterations. This requires not only high overall performance of the DSP but also high actual clock rate.This thesis reports a proposed architecture of an RSFQ Successive Interference Canceller and a design of an RSFQ Digital Signal Processor based on hybrid RSFQ-CMOS memory suitable for a general matrix on matrix multiplication algorithm. The processor consists of an RSFQ Multiply-Accumulate Unit, memory caches and a synchronization block, partitioned into multiple chips, and a large CMOS memory.The complexity of the RSFQ DSP is 10x10 multiplication, rounding to 14 bits, 18 bits accumulator length and 3.7 Kb memory cache. In order to implement the RSFQ DSP, we have developed approach to simulate and describe the RSFQ circuits using VHDL. The maximum simulated clock frequency is equal to 24 GHz for Hypres 4.5 kA/cm2 process and optimum communication bandwidth with CMOS memory is 2 Gbps.Components of the processor such as 4x4 two's complement and 5x5 parallel multipliers, 4x5, 20x5 and 4x15 parallel shift registers, a 5-bit serial adder have been designed and experimentally tested. The simplified version of the RSFQ DSP consisting of a 4x4 MAC with rounding to 5 bits and 17x6 memory caches has been designed for Hypres 4.5 kA/cm2 process and fabricated.
AbstractSuperconducting digital technology based on Rapid Single Flux Quantum (RSFQ) logic offers a 50 times faster clock rate and 100 times less on chip power consumption than today's mainstream semiconductor electronics. This technology is attractive for many applications and in particular for Digital Signal Processing (DSP). The applications of the RSFQ DSPs are numerous and include multi-user detection in spread spectrum system, channel equalization for Multi-in, Multi-out (MIMO) systems, and blind detection and signal tracking for signal intelligence.At Chalmers we are developing a hybrid DSP with target performance of 30 giga operations per second. It consists of an RSFQ Multiply Accumulate unit (MAC), RSFQ fast cache memory, and an external semiconductor memory. The development of the complex high speed cryogenic digital system requires interface, packaging and testing solutions. The main difficulties are due to the 4 K operational temperature, the high magnetic field sensitivity of the RSFQ circuits, the multi-channel high bandwidth interface required in the hybrid architecture, and the high speed RSFQ digital core. The key steps towards addressing each of these problems are the subject of this thesis. The main emphasis is put on the experimental testing and interfacing of superconductor electronics. A large part of the work is connected to the experimental verification of DSP components and their incremental improvement towards functionality. The RSFQ circuits tested were fabricated using the four-metal layer VLSI processes available from NGST(8 kA/cm^2 Josephson junction critical current) and HYPRES (both 1 kA/cm^2 and HYPRES 4.5 kA/cm^2. The main results of the work are demonstrations of the RSFQ cache memory with more than 2,000 Josephson junctions, 33.5 GHz operation of the digital clock controller, and 20.48 GHz operation of the autocorrelator. In addition, various experiments have been done for investigation of parasitic effects in RSFQ circuits such as flux trapping and influence of the high current bias lines.At the final stage of the work, a unique high bandwidth 4 K cryocooler based experimental setup has been developed. The system, developed in close cooperation with Hypres Inc. USA, has 40 high speed I/Os with bandwidth of 2 Gbps, 64 DC bias channels, 4 high frequency clock lines, and 4 auxiliary control lines. It supports exchangeable test units for 10 mm x 10 mm and 20 mm x 20 mm Multi Chip Module (MCM) carriers. The availability of such a system is critical to demonstration of the hybrid DSP prototype and future commercialization.
Superconductive Rapid Single Flux Quantum (RSFQ) logic and memory, in which ones and zeros are represented by the presence or absence within a timing window of quantized picosecond voltage pulse (/spl int/v(t)dt=h/2e=2.07 mV/spl middot/ps), corresponding to one SFQ, can be integrated into a digital computing system with an operating rate of several tens of GHz, based on the present Nb Josephson junction integrated circuit technology. It is the most promising technology beyond semiconductor transistors for low-power high-end computation. However, as the operating speed of circuits and systems increase, timing uncertainty from fabrication process variations makes global synchronization very hard. In this paper, we present a globally asynchronous, locally synchronous timing methodology for RSFQ digital design, which can solve the global synchronization problem. We also demonstrate the recent experimental results of some asynchronous circuits and systems implemented in RSFQ technology. Several key components such as a self-timed shift register, a self-timed demultiplexor, a Muller-C element, a completion detector, and a clock generator have been designed and tested. High speed operation has been confirmed up to 20 Gb/s for a prototype data buffer system, which consists two self-timed shift registers and an on-chip 5-38 GHz clock generator.
Ultra fast switching speed of superconducting digital circuits enable realization of Digital Signal Processors with performance unattainable by any other technology. Based on rapid-single-flux technology (RSFQ) logic, these integrated circuits are capable of delivering high computation capacity up to 30 GOPS on a single processor and very short latency of 0.1ns. There are two main applications of such hardware for practical telecommunication systems: filters for superconducting ADCs operating with digital RF data and recursive filters at baseband. The later of these allows functions such as multiuser detection for 3G WCDMA, equalization and channel precoding for 4G OFDM MIMO, and general blind detection. The performance gain is an increase in the cell capacity, quality of service, and transmitted data rate. The current status of the development of the RSFQ baseband DSP is discussed. Major components with operating speed of 30GHz have been developed. Designs, test results, and future development of the complete systems including cryopackaging and CMOS interface are reviewed.
Rapid single flux quantum (RSFQ) logic is a digital circuit technology that in recent years has presented itself as an alternative to semiconductors in the application of ultra high speed, very low power applications. The optimal timing of digital circuits operating at hundreds of GHz is still a complex problem for both RSFQ and semiconductor technologies. The fact that most RSFQ gates require a clock signal to function makes this even more complex. Various RSFQ timing schemes have been adapted from semiconductor design methodologies, and some have been designed specifically for RSFQ. Currently, synchronous clocking schemes outperform other schemes, but with the scale of RSFQ circuits ever increasing, the proper use of timing schemes are becoming more crucial. This paper describes a new asynchronous self-timing scheme where the details of clock distribution and clocking are built into the logic gates. Tests were done on the newly developed asynchronous logic gates and an asynchronous full adder was implemented and tested
Key digital circuits for signal processing with tens of gigahertz speed and a few microwatts power dissipation have been recently demonstrated using a simple, 2 /spl mu/m linewidth process. These are the fastest digital circuits reported to date. These circuits use novel rapid single flux quantum (RSFQ) technology that takes advantage of the fundamental properties of superconductivity. In this technology, data and clock are picosecond-long quantized voltage pulses corresponding to the transfer of single magnetic flux quanta, /spl Phisub 0/=h/2e=2 mVps. These SFQ pulses are regenerated at each gate and are processed by circuits comprised of overdamped Josephson junctions interconnected via microstrip inductances. The inherent internal memory of all RSFQ gates (primarily flip-flops), combined with high switching speed, makes serial, bit-pipelined circuit design advantageous. This paper presents experiments in RSFQ digital circuits, including an N/spl times/8b serial multiplier, and on-chip test systems based on RSFQ shift registers and on SFQ samplers. They enable test and study of RSFQ circuits at full GHz speed while communicating with semiconductor electronics at low speed.>