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IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium digest

Josephson Junction Microwave Modulators

Ofer Naaman, Joshua Strong, David Ferguson, Jonathan Egan, Nancyjane Bailey, Robert T. Hinkey

Published Jun 1, 2018• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We demonstrate experimentally the operation of a double-balanced mixer, a phase shifter, and an I/Q modulator, built with Josephson junction active elements in a superconducting integrated ciruit. The devices operate at cryogenic temperatures with no power dissipation on chip, making them suitable for qubit control.
DOI
10.1109/mwsym.2018.8439493

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Parametric conversion and amplification based on three-wave mixing are powerful primitives for efficient quantum operations. For superconducting qubits, such operations can be realized with a quadrupole Josephson junction element, the Josephson Ring Modulator, which behaves as a loss-less three-wave mixer. However, combining multiple quadrupole elements is a difficult task so it would be advantageous to have a three-wave dipole element that could be tessellated for increased power handling and/or information throughput. Here, we present a dipole circuit element with third-order nonlinearity, which implements three-wave mixing. Experimental results for a non-degenerate amplifier based on the proposed third-order nonlinearity are reported.
Abstract Temperature sensing and control are essential in experiments running in cryocooled systems, as with the case of liquid helium-free superconducting devices. A Josephson junction as on-chip temperature sensor operated in ac provides the highest sensitivity and minimal power loading to the cryogenic environment, thanks to the noise rejection of lock-in detection. To demonstrate the advantages of on-chip sensing, we tested it with a Josephson voltage standard array in cryocooler and compared with the conventional case of a sensor on the cold surface of the refrigerator, showing that the power dissipated within the chip may further increment the device temperature up to some tenths of kelvin. An ac Josephson junction sensor is proven to be capable of directly stabilizing the temperature of the superconductive circuit from fluctuations of dissipated power during operation. Reliability issues related to flux trapping are discussed and solutions are proposed suited to different applications. Overall, on-chip control with ac Josephson temperature sensing has the advantage of avoiding the complexities in minimization of cryogenic thermal links, virtually reducing to zero the contact resistance and keeping the operating temperature of the superconductor constant, independently of instantaneous operating power.