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Superconductor Science and Technology

Simulation of a flux-pumped Josephson parametric amplifier with a detailed SQUID model using the harmonic balance method

Kaiyong He, Genting Dai, Qing Yu, Yongcheng He, Changhao Zhao, Jianshe Liu, Wei Chen

Published Jan 18, 2023• 7 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract This work presents an analysis of a flux-pumped Josephson parametric amplifier (JPA) with a detailed superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) model, using the harmonic balance (HB) method in Keysight’s Advanced Design System. The model is built using the generalized resistively shunted junction model of a Josephson junction and the quantization condition of a SQUID, incorporating the effects of the geometric inductance and parasitic parameters. This approach is used to simulate the behavior of an unmatched lumped element JPA and an impedance-matched JPA, showing the necessity of the detailed SQUID model for the simulation of a broadband JPA by comparison with the results based on a widely used, simplified model. Gain profiles obtained from the approach are consistent with existing experiments in the literature, with reasonable accuracy. Due to the HB method, the simulation is of high efficiency, making it feasible to sweep and optimize parameters. This provides a useful method for the analysis of Josephson parametric amplification and the design of a JPA.

DOI
10.1088/1361-6668/acb468

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quant-pharXiv:2604.13881•Apr 16, 2026•0 citations
Abstract This work presents an analysis of a flux-pumped Josephson parametric amplifier (JPA) with a detailed superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) model, using the harmonic balance (HB) method in Keysight’s Advanced Design System. The model is built using the generalized resistively shunted junction model of a Josephson junction and the quantization condition of a SQUID, incorporating the effects of the geometric inductance and parasitic parameters. This approach is used to simulate the behavior of an unmatched lumped element JPA and an impedance-matched JPA, showing the necessity of the detailed SQUID model for the simulation of a broadband JPA by comparison with the results based on a widely used, simplified model. Gain profiles obtained from the approach are consistent with existing experiments in the literature, with reasonable accuracy. Due to the HB method, the simulation is of high efficiency, making it feasible to sweep and optimize parameters. This provides a useful method for the analysis of Josephson parametric amplification and the design of a JPA.
Josephson parametric amplifiers (JPAs) have become an important component of superconducting applications. Simulating these circuits is vital for optimizing their performance, including their gain and stability. Previously, simulating JPAs has been inefficient due to the limits of using SPICE-based simulators that work in the time domain. JPAs are better suited to frequency domain simulations over a broad frequency range and parameter space. We present JPA simulations using the recently released flux-aware Josephson junction (JJ) and inductor models in Keysight Advanced Design Systems (ADS). We simulate two different flux-driven JPAs: one based on an RF SQUID, and another based on a DC SQUID. We efficiently run harmonic balance simulations over a wide range of circuit parameters. We compare the use of RF and DC SQUIDs in these JPAs by analyzing their simulation results. This work provides a foundation for future SQUID-based JPA simulations in Keysight ADS.
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.
Quantum-limited noise amplifiers based on superconducting Josephson junction elements are essential components for measuring low-power signals in a wide range of applications. The gain bandwidth of a flux-pumped Josephson parametric amplifier can be broadened by coupling junction elements with an impedance-matching network. Well-known modeling methods for these amplifiers typically assume ideal lumped-element circuits for passive components, but often overlook unexpected resonant modes arising from the bulk geometric features. To address this challenge, flux-pumped junction elements can be simulated using finite-element analysis (FEA) combined with the pumpistor modeling method, which accurately accounts for the geometric features of arbitrary impedance-matching circuits. Here, we present a benchmark study using a circuit topology to compare different modeling methods: (1) the coupled mode network method, (2) the harmonic balance method, (3) the analytical pumpistor method, and (4) the FEA-assisted pumpistor method. Our results highlight the importance of accurately reflecting geometric features to prevent unexpected resonant modes and avoid detuning from the target flux bias values.
We introduce Josephson junction and inductor models in Keysight Advanced Design System that feature an auxiliary flux port, and facilitate the expression of flux quantization conditions in simulation of superconducting microwave circuits. We present several examples that illustrate our methodology for constructing flux-quantizing circuits, including dc- andrf-SQUIDs, tunable couplers, and parametric amplifiers using superconducting nonlinear asymmetric inductive element and rf-SQUID arrays. We perform dc, S-parameter, and harmonic balance simulations to validate our models and methods against theory and published experimental results.
Broadband quantum-limited amplifiers play a critical role in the single-shot readout of superconducting qubits, but a popular implementation, the traveling wave parametric amplifier, involves a complex design and fabrication process. Here, we present a simple design for a Josephson parametric amplifier, using a lumped element resonator comprising a superconducting quantum interference device whose useful bandwidth is enhanced with an on-chip impedance-matching circuit. We demonstrate a flux-coupling geometry that maximizes the coupling to the Josephson loop and minimizes spurious excitation of the amplifier resonant circuit. The amplifier, which operates in a flux-pumped mode, is demonstrated with a power gain of more than 20 dB over a bandwidth of about 300 MHz, where approximate noise measurements indicate quantum-limited performance. A procedure is given for optimizing the bandwidth for this kind of amplifier, using a linearized circuit simulation while minimizing non-linearities.
Quantum-limited parametric amplifiers are essential components for many quantum technologies operating in the microwave domain. Achieving both high gain and broad bandwidth, however, remains challenging due to trade-offs between gain and bandwidth, pump efficiency, and dynamic range. Moreover, high-gain broadband amplifiers become increasingly sensitive to their external electromagnetic environment, which can distort their gain spectra and hinder reliable operation. Here, we present an accurate theoretical model and a systematic design methodology for a flux-driven, lumped-element Josephson parametric amplifier based on a SQUID array. Our device achieves near-quantum-limited, phase-preserving amplification with a net gain of 20 (maximally 44) dB and a 3-dB bandwidth of $\sim50(50 (50(\lesssim$0.2) MHz. We further show that the gain spectra exhibit pronounced sensitivity to weak reflections in the input-output waveguide caused by impedance mismatches in the microwave environment. By incorporating Fabry-Pérot-type interference into a quantum input-output model, we analytically reproduce these complex spectral features and identify how they depend on the physical parameters of the environment. More generally, our results provide a practical framework for separating the intrinsic dynamics of parametric amplifiers from environmental effects. This approach enables reliable characterization and optimization of amplifier performance while providing a systematic strategy for diagnosing microwave reflections and engineering environmental interference to shape amplifier gain spectra, thereby offering a pathway toward robust, reproducible, and truly quantum-limited microwave amplification.