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Superconductor Science and Technology

Network modeling of non-ideal superconducting resonator circuits

H. Guan, M Dai, Qing He, J. Hu, P. H. Ouyang, Yiwen Wang, L. F. Wei, J. Gao

Published Apr 16, 2020• 12 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract We originally develop a network analysis method to study the non-ideal superconducting resonator circuits. We model the resonator device by a 3-block serial network, consisting of input feedline, resonator-coupler and output feedline. We show that the resonance curve will be modified if non-negligible discontinuity (reflection) exists at input or output side of the resonator. The extracted resonance parameters (such as coupling quality factor Q c ) from only fitting the transmission deviate from their true values as originally defined in matched impedance conditions, and the deviation depends on a single parameter which includes all the non-ideal effects from the circuits. We prove that the internal quality factor Q i can be accurately extracted from the modified transmission curve by using a very simple graphical method. Our methods and results are quantitatively verified by both simulations and experiments on superconducting microstrip resonators. Comparing to the usual circuit analysis, our network analysis method is more intuitive and easier to understand. It can serve as a general tool to study the non-ideal superconducting resonator circuits.

DOI
10.1088/1361-6668/ab89eb

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Abstract We originally develop a network analysis method to study the non-ideal superconducting resonator circuits. We model the resonator device by a 3-block serial network, consisting of input feedline, resonator-coupler and output feedline. We show that the resonance curve will be modified if non-negligible discontinuity (reflection) exists at input or output side of the resonator. The extracted resonance parameters (such as coupling quality factor Q c ) from only fitting the transmission deviate from their true values as originally defined in matched impedance conditions, and the deviation depends on a single parameter which includes all the non-ideal effects from the circuits. We prove that the internal quality factor Q i can be accurately extracted from the modified transmission curve by using a very simple graphical method. Our methods and results are quantitatively verified by both simulations and experiments on superconducting microstrip resonators. Comparing to the usual circuit analysis, our network analysis method is more intuitive and easier to understand. It can serve as a general tool to study the non-ideal superconducting resonator circuits.
Superconducting resonators provide a convenient way to measure loss tangents of various dielectrics at low temperature. For the purpose of examining the microscopic loss mechanisms in dielectrics, precise measurements of the internal quality factor at different values of energy stored in the resonators are required. Here, we present a consistent method to analyze a LC superconducting resonator coupled to a transmission line. We first derive an approximate expression for the transmission S-parameter S21(ω), with ω the excitation frequency, based on a complete circuit model. In the weak coupling limit, we show that the internal quality factor is reliably determined by fitting the approximate form of S21(ω). Since the voltage V of the capacitor of the LC circuit is required to determine the energy stored in the resonator, we next calculate the relation between V and the forward propagating wave voltage Vin+, with the latter being the parameter controlled in experiments. Due to the dependence of the quality factor on voltage, V is not simply proportional to Vin+. We find a self-consistent way to determine the relation between V and Vin+, which employs only the fitting parameters for S21(ω) and a linear scaling factor. We then examine the resonator transmission in the cases of port reflection and impedance mismatch. We find that resonator transmission asymmetry is primarily due to the reflection from discontinuity in transmission lines. We show that our analysis method to extract the internal quality factor is robust in the non-ideal cases above. Finally, we show that the analysis method used for the LC resonator can be generalized to arbitrary weakly coupled lumped and distributed resonators. The generalization uses a systematic approximation on the response function based on the pole and zero which are closest to the resonance frequency. This Closest Pole and Zero Method is a valuable tool for analyzing physical measurements of high-Q resonators.
We examine the transmission through nonideal microwave resonant circuits. The general analytical resonance line shape is derived for both inductive and capacitive coupling with mismatched input and output transmission impedances, and it is found that, for certain non-ideal conditions, the line shape is asymmetric. We describe an analysis method for extracting an accurate internal quality factor (Qi), the diameter correction method (DCM), and compare it to the conventional method used for millikelvin resonator measurements, the φ rotation method (φRM). We analytically find that the φRM deterministically overestimates Qi when the asymmetry of the resonance line shape is high, and that this error is eliminated with the DCM. A consistent discrepancy between the two methods is observed when they are used to analyze both simulations from a numerical linear solver and data from asymmetric coplanar superconducting thin-film resonators.
A method is proposed and experimentally explored for in-situ calibration of complex transmission data for superconducting microwave resonators. This cryogenic calibration method accounts for the instrumental transmission response between the vector network analyzer reference plane and the device calibration plane. Once calibrated, the observed resonator response is analyzed in detail by two approaches. The first, a phenomenological model based on physically realizable rational functions, enables the extraction of multiple resonance frequencies and widths for coupled resonators without explicit specification of the circuit network. In the second, an ABCD-matrix representation for the distributed transmission line circuit is used to model the observed response from the characteristic impedance and propagation constant. When used in conjunction with electromagnetic simulations, the kinetic inductance fraction can be determined with this method with an accuracy of 2%. Datasets for superconducting microstrip and coplanar-waveguide resonator devices were investigated and a recovery within 1% of the observed complex transmission amplitude was achieved with both analysis approaches. The experimental configuration used in microwave characterization of the devices and self-consistent constraints for the electromagnetic constitutive relations for parameter extraction are also presented.
Superconducting quantum chips commonly utilize quarter-wavelength (λ/4) transmission line resonators as readout circuits. An analytical model for the accurate determination of resonance frequencies and coupling Q-factors of feedline-coupled superconducting resonators is introduced. The model leverages four-port microwave network analysis, integrating boundary conditions and conformal mapping techniques to compute even- and odd-mode impedances in edge-coupled coplanar waveguide (CPW) structures. Its versatility allows application to both planar and 3-D heterogeneous architectures, making it a powerful tool for resonator design. To validate the model, a test chip with λ/4 resonators of varying geometries is fabricated and measured in a cryogenic environment. Comparisons with finite element method (FEM) simulations and experimental measurements confirm the model's accuracy, with resonance frequencies and coupling Q-factors aligning closely across configurations. This proposed model facilitates the design of superconducting resonators in readout circuits for more effective, scalable, and adaptable quantum computing architectures.
Abstract We present a new fitting method that can robustly and accurately fit the complex transmission curve of a superconducting resonator in the nonlinear regime. This method takes into account the varying internal current in the resonator at different frequencies and the nonlinear dependence of the inductance on the internal current L = L 0 ( 1 + I 2 / I ∗ 2 ) , where I ∗ is a characteristic current. We demonstrate using this method to retrieve important resonator parameters, such as the quality factor and the resonance frequency, from resonators driven below, near, and above bifurcation. We further use this method to retrieve I ∗ for lumped-element TiN resonators with various inductor designs. By fitting the resonance frequency shift at different readout powers of each resonator, we can determine the characteristic current I ∗ , which is found to be linearly related to the cross-sectional area of the narrow inductor strip. Our method has wide applications in superconducting detector, superconducting qubit and parametric amplifier data analysis where the resonator is driven in the nonlinear regime.
We describe a unified classical approach for analyzing the scattering coefficients of superconducting microwave resonators with a variety of geometries. To fill the gap between experiment and theory, we also consider the influences of small circuit asymmetry and the finite length of the feedlines, and describe a procedure to correct their influences in typical experiments. We show that, similar to the transmission coefficient of a hanger-type resonator, the reflection coefficient of a necklace- or cross-type resonator also contains a so-called reference point that can be used to characterize the internal quality factor of the resonator. Our results provide a comprehensive understanding of superconducting microwave resonators from the design concepts to the characterization details.