International Journal of Geometric Methods in Modern Physics
Design, fabrication, and modeling of Nb-based Josephson traveling wave parametric amplifiers toward quantum-limited readout
A. Mauro, G. Carapella, Guerino Avallone, V. Granata, Mariagorizia Pia Trippa, Maria Giuseppina Adesso, Carmine Granata, Antonio Vettoliere, Claudio Guarcello, S. Pagano, C. Barone
This work presents the design, fabrication strategy, and numerical modeling of niobium-based Josephson traveling-wave parametric amplifiers (JTWPAs) for quantum microwave readout. These devices are designed as nonlinear transmission lines composed of more than two thousand Josephson junction unit cells, with periodically embedded resonators enabling phase matching. The use of Nb trilayer technology (Nb/AlO[Formula: see text]/Nb) with respect to Al-based devices ensures higher junction uniformity, lower losses, and higher resilience to stray magnetic fields. We developed a multi-scale modeling framework combining harmonic balance methods and time-domain simulations of nonlinear coupled differential equations to describe wave propagation, parametric amplification, and spectral dynamics. Numerical results predict broadband gain up to 20[Formula: see text]dB over multi-GHz bandwidths. These results demonstrate the potential of Nb-based JTWPAs as scalable components for quantum applications.
This work presents the design, fabrication strategy, and numerical modeling of niobium-based Josephson traveling-wave parametric amplifiers (JTWPAs) for quantum microwave readout. These devices are designed as nonlinear transmission lines composed of more than two thousand Josephson junction unit cells, with periodically embedded resonators enabling phase matching. The use of Nb trilayer technology (Nb/AlO[Formula: see text]/Nb) with respect to Al-based devices ensures higher junction uniformity, lower losses, and higher resilience to stray magnetic fields. We developed a multi-scale modeling framework combining harmonic balance methods and time-domain simulations of nonlinear coupled differential equations to describe wave propagation, parametric amplification, and spectral dynamics. Numerical results predict broadband gain up to 20[Formula: see text]dB over multi-GHz bandwidths. These results demonstrate the potential of Nb-based JTWPAs as scalable components for quantum applications.
Josephson traveling-wave parametric amplifiers (JTWPAs) are wideband, ultralow-noise amplifiers used to enable the readout of superconducting qubits. While individual JTWPAs have achieved high performance, behavior between devices is inconsistent due to wide manufacturing tolerances. Amplifier designs could be modified to improve resilience towards variations in amplifier components; however, existing device models often rely on analytical techniques that typically fail to incorporate component variations. To begin addressing this issue, a 1D numerical method for modeling JTWPAs is introduced in this work. The method treats the Josephson junctions and transmission lines in an amplifier as coupled subsystems and can easily incorporate arbitrary parameter variations. We discretize the transmission line subsystem with a finite element time domain method and the Josephson junction subsystem with a finite difference method, with leap-frog time marching used to evolve the system in time. We validate our method by comparing the computed gain to an analytical model for a traditional JTWPA architecture and one with resonant phase matching. We then use our method to demonstrate the impact of variations in Josephson junctions and phase-matching resonators on amplification. In future work, the method will be adjusted to incorporate additional amplifier architectures and extended to a 3D full-wave approach.
The development of large-scale superconducting quantum computers critically depends on the accurate readout of qubit states. To enable this, cryogenic parametric amplifiers have been proposed and developed, and have since found widespread use in small-signal detection applications. Among various amplifier architectures, Josephson traveling-wave parametric amplifiers (JTWPAs) are widely adopted due to their broad bandwidth, high saturation power, and compatibility with superconducting qubits. In this work, we present a design workflow of JTWPAs based on a co-simulation approach combining electromagnetic (EM) and circuit-level simulation. We apply this method to a uniform JTWPA, comparing our simulation results with experimental data. To mitigate the challenge of constructing lumped element circuit models usually used in conventional simulation method, we directly perform full EM analysis of the device to accurately determine its linear response. The extracted S parameters are then fed into a nonlinear harmonic balance simulator with Josephson junctions modeled as circuit elements. By doing so, the linear and gain properties of the JTWPA are extracted. Different factors that impact device performance including gain compression, phase matching, and fabrication imperfections are further investigated and modeled. A good agreement between simulation and measurements is identified, establishing the effectiveness of our approach in designing quantum parametric amplifiers.
Recent progress in physics has increased the necessity for ultra-low noise amplifiers capable of operating at the quantum limit performance. These amplifiers are essential to enhance astronomical detection, dark-matter search, and qubit readout in quantum computing, among other applications. Superconducting Josephson junction Travelling Wave Parametric Amplifiers (JTWPAs) operated in the microwave range, have demonstrated high gain over several gigahertz (GHz) bandwidth, with quantum-limited noise performance and minimal heat dissipation. These excellent properties make JTWPAs an ideal solution for ultra-low noise amplification. This thesis delves into the design, fabrication and characterisation of JTWPAs operated in the microwave (1-16 GHz) and the W-band (70-115GHz) regimes. A generalised coupled-mode equations (CME) framework describing JTWPAs based on Josephson junctions and DC superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) is introduced. This framework can be combined with electromagnetic (EM) simulation softwares to model the JTWPAs, facilitating their design. It is therefore used to model two microwave JTWPA designs, using parallel plate capacitors (PPCs) and interdigitated capacitors (IDCs). The fabrication and characterisation of both designs are presented, and possible fabrication and design issues are carefully discussed. Despite these issues, we observed broadband gain in the JTWPA with PPCs, achieving > 20 dB gain at several frequency points, and a measured P1dB = −95.8dBm when operated at 17.3 dB. The RF properties of a 500-junction Josephson array are also presented in this manuscript. The device creates a Fabry-Perot cavity, leading to non-travelling wave parametric effects, such as narrow-band gain. We also observed indications of efficient phase-sensitive amplification. The thesis is concluded with the first — to the best of our knowledge — experimental attempt to extend the operational frequency of a JTWPA to the W-band. The novel design, fabrication techniques and characterisation of the W-band JTWPA are discussed in detail in this manuscript, leading to promising results suggesting that JTWPA could operate at high frequencies.
Josephson junction based parametric amplifiers are used to read out the state of superconducting qubits with high fidelity. These amplifiers are themselves superconducting circuits operating at temperatures of tens of millikelvin. A version of this type of amplifier which has exhibited large bandwidth and saturation power is the Josephson traveling wave parametric amplifier (JTWPA). One particular JTWPA topology consists of hundreds to thousands of Josephson junctions in a transmission line configuration along with periodic phase matching resonators to increase gain. Here, we look at using a superconducting qubit fabrication process to realize this circuit To analyze the sensitivity of the JTWPA to fabrication process variation, we discuss a linear model for the circuit which takes into account unit cell to unit cell variation. To extract the measured circuit values, we use in-situ measurements of a JTWPA to compare the designed values to the realized values. Finally we discuss preliminary results realizing an example JTWPA design using a fabrication process designed for superconducting qubits.
Abstract A Josephson traveling-wave parametric amplifier (JTWPA) is indispensable for the high-fidelity readout of superconducting qubits, owing to its broadband gain and near-quantum-limited noise performance. Conventional JTWPAs implemented with 0-Josephson junctions (0-JTWPAs) avoid magnetic-flux bias but rely on Kerr nonlinearity, which leads to pump-power-dependent phase mismatch, gain ripple, and a limited dynamic range. More recently, three-wave-mixing (3WM) JTWPAs employing flux-biased rf-SQUIDs have been proposed to suppress Kerr effects. However, these designs require a significant external flux bias per unit cell, which complicates cryogenic hardware, introduces sensitivity to flux noise, and limits scalability in large arrays. In this study, we propose and analyze a π -junction-based JTWPA ( π -JTWPA) in which the intrinsic π phase shift of the junction effectively displaces the operating point of the current–phase relation. This approach aims to realize 3WM-type nonlinearity with reduced flux bias while preserving broadband amplification, thereby simplifying flux-bias distribution, enhancing robustness against flux noise, and providing a pathway toward scalable, multiplexed quantum readout architectures. In addition, we examine the potential applicability of the π -JTWPA in four-wave-mixing (4WM) operation.
Bringing signals from quantum to classical, from few-photon to many-photon levels for further processing, is a common challenge in rising quantum technologies. These include quantum computing, quantum communication, quantum sensing, radio astronomy, and dark matter searches, typically operating at microwave frequencies and millikelvin temperatures. Superconducting parametric amplifiers, as the first piece in the readout chain, have become a cornerstone of these technologies, since they offer unrivaled noise performance near the quantum-mechanical limit and high gain to surpass the noise of subsequent amplifiers. A notable implementation is the Josephson traveling-wave parametric amplifier (TWPA), which stands out due to its bandwidth of several Gigahertz and high saturation power, often larger than -100 dBm. These key properties come at the cost of complexity in design and fabrication: TWPA metamaterials often contain several thousands of Josephson junctions. Designing high-gain TWPAs involves three major challenges: ensuring impedance-matching, phase-matching of parametric amplification, and suppressing unwanted processes, all achievable through sub-wavelength dispersion engineering. This thesis covers the circuit design and analysis, implementation, and experimental characterization of a dispersion-engineered TWPA based on radio-frequency superconducting interference devices (rf-SQUIDs). It focuses on a detailed investigation of dispersion-engineering techniques and their effects on amplifier performance, particularly through the use of time-domain circuit simulations to analyze the multimode dynamics of the circuit. The experimentally realized device features 18 dB of gain, an instantaneous bandwidth spanning from 2.2 to 6.7 GHz, a system noise of 2.5 quanta, and a saturation power of (−86.5 ± 4.0) dBm. With these characteristics, it is suitable for frequency-multiplexed readout of detector arrays or qubits. Its high saturation power, about 10 dB higher than other reported Josephson-junction-based TWPAs, allows increasing the number of qubits per readout line, or decreasing the intermodulation between frequency-multiplexed qubits, both crucial for scaling up quantum computation.