No Arabic abstract
A high Q-factor microwave resonator in a high magnetic field could be used in a wide range of applications, especially for enhancing the scanning speed in axion dark matter research. In this letter, we introduce a polygon-shaped resonant cavity with commercial YBCO tapes covering the entire inner wall. We demonstrated that the maximum Q-factor (TM$_{010}$, 6.93 GHz) of the superconducting YBCO cavity was about 6 times higher than that of a copper cavity and showed no significant degradation up to 8 T at 4 K. This is the first indication of the possible applications of HTS technology to the research areas requiring low loss in a strong magnetic field at high radio frequencies.
A high Q-factor microwave resonator in a high magnetic field could be of great use in a wide range of fields, from accelerator design to axion dark matter search. The natural choice of material for the superconducting cavity to be placed in a high field is a high temperature superconductor (HTS) with a high critical field. The deposition, however, of a high-quality, grain-aligned HTS film on a three-dimensional surface is technically challenging. We have fabricated a polygon-shaped resonant cavity with commercial YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-x}$ (YBCO) tapes covering the entire inner wall and measured the Q-factor at 4 K at 6.93 GHz as a function of an external DC magnetic field. We demonstrated that the high Q-factor of the superconducting YBCO cavity showed no significant degradation from 1 T up to 8 T. This is the first indication of the possible applications of HTS technology to the research areas requiring a strong magnetic field at high radio frequencies.
Scaling up trapped-ion quantum computers requires new trap materials to be explored. Here, we present experiments with a surface ion trap made from the high-temperature superconductor YBCO, a promising material for future trap designs. We show that voltage noise from superconducting electrode leads is negligible within the sensitivity $S_V=9times 10^{-20},mathrm{V}^2mathrm{Hz}^{-1}$ of our setup, and for lead dimensions typical for advanced trap designs. Furthermore, we investigate the frequency and temperature dependence of electric field noise above a YBCO surface. We find a $1/f$ spectral dependence of the noise and a non-trivial temperature dependence, with a plateau in the noise stretching over roughly $60,mathrm{K}$. The onset of the plateau coincides with the superconducting transition, indicating a connection between the dominant noise and the YBCO trap material. We exclude the YBCO bulk as origin of the noise and suggest further experiments to decide between the two remaining options explaining the observed temperature dependence: noise screening within the superconducting phase, or surface noise activated by the YBCO bulk through some unknown mechanism.
Superconducting Quantum Interference Filters (SQIF) are promising devices for Radio- Frequency (RF) detection combining low noise, high sensitivity, large dynamic range and wide-band capabilities. Impressive progress have been made recently in the field, with SQIF based antennas and amplifiers showing interesting properties in the GHz range using the well-established Nb/AlOx technology. The possibility to extend these results to High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) is still open, and different techniques to fabricate HTS SQIFs are competing to make RF devices. We report on the DC and RF response of a High Temperature SQIF fabricated by the ion irradiation technique. It is made of 1000 Superconducting QUantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) in series, with loop areas randomly distributed between 6 micron2 and 60 micron2. The DC transfer factor is around 450 V/T at optimal bias and temperature, and the maximum voltage swing around 2:5 mV . We show that such a SQIF detects RF signals up to 150 MHz. It presents linear characteristics for RF power spanning more than five decades, and non-linearities develop beyond PRF = -35 dBm in our set-up configuration. Second-harmonic generation has been shown to be minimum at the functioning point in the whole range of frequencies. A model has been developed which captures the essential features of the SQIF RF response.
Developing compact, low-dissipation, cryogenic-compatible microwave electronics is essential for scaling up low-temperature quantum computing systems. In this paper, we demonstrate an ultra-compact microwave directional forward coupler based on high-impedance slow-wave superconducting-nanowire transmission lines. The coupling section of the fabricated device has a footprint of $416,mathrm{mu m^2}$. At 4.753 GHz, the input signal couples equally to the through port and forward-coupling port (50:50) at $-6.7,mathrm{dB}$ with $-13.5,mathrm{dB}$ isolation. The coupling ratio can be controlled with DC bias current or temperature by exploiting the dependence of the kinetic inductance on these quantities. The material and fabrication-process are suitable for direct integration with superconducting circuits, providing a practical solution to the signal distribution bottlenecks in developing large-scale quantum computers.
Photodetectors based on nano-structured superconducting thin films are currently some of the most sensitive quantum sensors and are key enabling technologies in such broad areas as quantum information, quantum computation and radio-astronomy. However, their broader use is held back by the low operation temperatures which require expensive cryostats. Here, we demonstrate a nitrogen cooled superconducting transition edge sensor, which shows orders of magnitude improved performance characteristics of any superconducting detector operated above 77K, with a responsivity of 9.61x10^4 V/W, noise equivalent power of 15.9 fW/Hz-1/2 and operation speeds up to GHz frequencies. It is based on van der Waals heterostructures of the high temperature superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8, which are shaped into nano-wires with ultra-small form factor. To highlight the versatility of the detector we demonstrate its fabrication and operation on a telecom grade SiN waveguide chip. Our detector significantly relaxes the demands of practical applications of superconducting detectors and displays its huge potential for photonics based quantum applications.