No Arabic abstract
We have developed a coupled-mode analysis framework for superconducting travelling-wave parametric amplifiers using the full Telegraphers equations to incorporate loss-related behaviour. Our model provides an explanation of previous experimental observations regarding loss in amplifiers, advantages of concatenating amplifiers to achieve high gains, and signal gain saturation. This work can be used to guide the design of amplifiers in terms of the choice of material systems, transmission line geometry, operating conditions, and pump strength.
We study theoretically how loss impacts the amplification and squeezing performance of a generic quantum travelling wave parametric amplifier. Unlike previous studies, we analyze how having different levels of loss at signal and idler frequencies can dramatically alter properties compared to the case of frequency-independent loss. We find that loss asymmetries increase the amplifiers added noise in comparison to the symmetric loss case. More surprisingly, even small levels of loss asymmetry can completely destroy any quantum squeezing of symmetric collective output quadratures, while nonetheless leaving the output state strongly entangled.
Superconducting parametric amplifiers have great promise for quantum-limited readout of superconducting qubits and detectors. Until recently, most superconducting parametric amplifiers had been based on resonant structures, limiting their bandwidth and dynamic range. Broadband traveling-wave parametric amplifiers based both on the nonlinear kinetic inductance of superconducting thin films and on Josephson junctions are in development. By modifying the dispersion property of the amplifier circuit, referred to as dispersion engineering, the gain can be greatly enhanced and the size can be reduced. We present two theoretical frameworks for analyzing and understanding such parametric amplifiers: (1) generalized coupled-mode equations and (2) a finite difference time domain (FDTD) model combined with a small signal analysis. We show how these analytical and numerical tools may be used to understand device performance.
We have performed a quantum mechanical analysis of travelling-wave parametric amplifiers (TWPAs) in order to investigate five experimental phenomena related to their operations, namely the effect of impedance mismatch, the presence of upper idler modes, the presence of quantum and thermal noise, the generation of squeezed states, and the preservation of pre-squeezed states during amplification. Our analysis uses momentum operators to describe the spatial evolution of quantised modes along a TWPA. We calculate the restriction placed on pump amplitude as well as amplifier gain as a result of impedance mismatch between a TWPA and its external system. We apply our analysis to upper idler modes and demonstrate that they will result in suppressed gain. We show that an ideal TWPA is indeed quantum-limited - i.e. it introduces a half-quantum of zero-point fluctuation which is the minimum possible noise contribution for a phase-preserving linear amplifier. We analyse the thermal noise associated with a TWPA by considering the effect of distributed sources along an amplifier transmission line. Our analysis predicts a doubling of thermal noise in the high gain limit as a result of wave-mixing between signal and idler modes. We study the operation of a TWPA in the presence of a DC bias current, and have shown that highly squeezed states can in principle be generated. However, amplifying a pre-squeezed state using a non-degenerate TWPA generally reduces the squeezing advantage.
It is now well-established that photonic systems can exhibit topological energy bands; similar to their electronic counterparts, this leads to the formation of chiral edge modes which can be used to transmit light in a manner that is protected against back-scattering. While it is understood how classical signals can propagate under these conditions, it is an outstanding important question how the quantum vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field get modified in the presence of a topological band structure. We address this challenge by exploring a setting where a non-zero topological invariant guarantees the presence of a parametrically-unstable chiral edge mode in a system with boundaries, even though there are no bulk-mode instabilities. We show that one can exploit this to realize a topologically protected, quantum-limited travelling-wave parametric amplifier. The device is naturally protected both against internal losses and back-scattering; the latter feature is in stark contrast to standard travelling wave amplifiers. This adds a new example to the list of potential quantum devices that profit from topological transport.
Magnetization loss on a twisted superconducting (SC) tape in a ramped magnetic field is theoretically investigated through the use of a power law for the electric field--current density characteristics and a sheet current approximation. First, the Maxwell equation in a helicoidal coordinate system is derived to model a twisted SC tape, taking account of the response to the perpendicular field component in the steady state. We show that a loosely twisted tape can be viewed as the sum of a portion of tilted flat tapes of infinite length by examining the perpendicular field distribution on a twisted tape. The analytic formulae for both magnetization and loss power in the tilted flat tape approximation are verified based on the analytic solution of the reduced Maxwell equation in the loosely twisted tape limit of $L_{rm p}rightarrow infty$ with the twist pitch length $L_{rm p}$. These analytic formulae show that both magnetization and loss power decrease by a factor of $B(1+1/2n,1/2)/pi$ (where $B$ is the beta function) for an arbitrary power of SC nonlinear resistivity $n$, compared with those in a flat tape of infinite length. Finally, the effect of the field-angle dependence of the critical current density $J_{rm c}$ on the loss power is investigated, and we demonstrate that it is possible to obtain an approximate estimate of the loss power value via $J_{rm c}$ in an applied magnetic field perpendicular to the tape surface (i.e., parallel to the $c$ axis).