Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors, or MKIDs, are a type of low temperature detector that exhibit intrinsic frequency domain multiplexing at microwave frequencies. We present the first theory and measurements on a MKID based on a microstrip transmission line resonator. A complete characterization of the dielectric loss and noise properties of these resonators is performed, and agrees well with the derived theory. A competitive noise equivalent power of 5$\times10^{-17}$ W Hz$^{-1/2}$ at 1 Hz has been demonstrated. The resonators exhibit the highest quality factors known in a microstrip resonator with a deposited thin film dielectric.
Data are presented on mutual and self-inductance of various inductors used in multilayered superconductor integrated circuits: microstrips and striplines with widths of signal traces from 250 nm to a few micrometers, located on the same circuit layer at various distances from each other (from 250 nm to a few micrometers) and/or on different layers spaced vertically; effect of long slits in the ground plane(s) along the inductors on their mutual inductance; inductance of right-angled bends; inductance of meanders. Simple analytical expressions for mutual and self-inductance of the basic inducto…
Inductance of superconducting thin-film inductors and structures with linewidth down to 250 nm has been experimentally evaluated. The inductors include various striplines and microstrips, their 90-degree bends and meanders, interlayer vias, etc., typically used in superconducting digital circuits. The circuits have been fabricated by a fully planarized process with 8 niobium layers, developed at MIT Lincoln Laboratory for very-large-scale superconducting integrated circuits. Excellent run-to-run reproducibility and inductance uniformity of better than 1% across 200-mm wafers have been found. I…
We describe a microwave amplifier based on the Superconducting Low-inductance Undulatory Galvanometer (SLUG). The SLUG is embedded in a microstrip resonator, and the signal current is injected directly into the device loop. Measurements at 30 mK show gains of 25 dB at 3 GHz and 15 dB at 9 GHz. Amplifier performance is well described by a simple numerical model based on the Josephson junction phase dynamics. We expect optimized devices based on high critical current junctions to achieve gain greater than 15 dB, bandwidth of several hundred MHz, and added noise of order one quantum in the freque…
Microwave properties of High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) exhibit dependence on RF power levels. Effects of nonlinear phenomena causing this dependence can be modelled using lumped element circuits. Several RLC circuits to model the surface impedance of HTS were investigated (with equations expressing transmitted power derived) and assessed. Linear, quadratic and exponential dependences of surface resistance RS and inductance LS on the RF power for the model chosen as the best have been examined and used in simulations of electromagnetic responses of superconducting films in a Hakki-Colem…
We describe progress and initial results achieved towards the goal of developing integrated multi-conductor arrays of shielded controlled-impedance flexible superconducting transmission lines with ultra-miniature cross sections and wide bandwidths (dc to >10 GHz) over meter-scale lengths. Intended primarily for use in future scaled-up quantum computing systems, such flexible thin-film Nb/polyimide ribbon cables provide a physically compact and ultra-low thermal conductance alternative to the rapidly increasing number of discrete coaxial cables that are currently used by quantum computing exper…
Disentangling superconductor and dielectric microwave losses in sub-micron $\rm Nb$/$\rm TEOS-SiO_2$ interconnects using a multi-mode microstrip resonator
Magnetic-Field and Temperature Limits of a Kinetic-Inductance Traveling-Wave Parametric Amplifier
University of Cologne（科隆大学）；Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology（加州理工学院喷气推进实验室）；Department of Applied Physics and Materials Science, California Institute of Technology（加州理工学院应用物理与材料科学系）；JARA Institute for Quantum Information (PGI-11), Forschungszentrum Jülich（于利希研究中心JARA量子信息研究所）；Quantum Research Center, Technology Innovation Institute（技术创新研究院量子研究中心）
We perform an experimental and numerical study of dielectric loss in superconducting microwave resonators at low temperature. Dielectric loss, due to two-level systems, is a limiting factor in several applications, e.g. superconducting qubits, Josephson parametric amplifiers, microwave kinetic-inductance detectors, and superconducting single-photon detectors. Our devices are made of disordered NbN, which, due to magnetic-field penetration, necessitates 3D finite-element simulation of the Maxwell--London equations at microwave frequencies to accurately model the current density and electric fie…
Cryogenic growth of aluminum: structural morphology, optical properties, superconductivity and microwave dielectric loss
University of California, Santa Barbara（加利福尼亚大学圣塔芭芭拉分校）；National Institute of Standards and Technology（美国国家标准与技术研究院）；University of Colorado, Boulder（科罗拉多大学博尔德分校）；University of Pittsburgh（匹兹堡大学）；New Mexico State University（新墨西哥州立大学）
Absolute measurement of penetration depth of superconducting thin films using microwave stripline resonators
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research（塔塔基础研究所）；School of Physical Sciences, UM-DAE Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences, University of Mumbai（孟买大学物理科学学院，UM-DAE基础科学卓越中心）
Superconducting resonators used in millimeter-submillimeter astronomy would greatly benefit from deposited dielectrics with a small dielectric loss. We deposited hydrogenated amorphous silicon films using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, at substrate temperatures of 100°C, 250°C and 350°C. The measured void volume fraction, hydrogen content, microstructure parameter, and bond-angle disorder are negatively correlated with the substrate temperature. All three films have a loss tangent below $10^{-5}$ for a resonator energy of $10^5$ photons, at 120 mK and 4-7 GHz. This makes these film…
