Weiwei Xu

Low loss and magnetic field-tunable superconducting terahertz metamaterial

Superconducting terahertz (THz) metamaterial (MM) made from niobium (Nb) film has been investigated using a continuous-wave THz spectroscopy. The quality factors of the resonance modes at 0.132 THz and 0.418 THz can be remarkably increased when the working temperature is below the superconducting transition temperature of Nb, indicating that the use of superconducting Nb is a possible way to achieve low loss performance of a THz MM. In addition, the tuning of superconducting THz MM by a magnetic field is also demonstrated, which offers an alternative tuning method apart from the existing electric, optical and thermal tuning methods.

Superconducting terahertz metamaterials mimicking electromagnetically induced transparency

We designed and fabricated planar terahertz (THz) metamaterials made from superconducting NbN films to mimic electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) system. They are characterized using THz time domain spectroscopy over a temperature range from 8 to 300 K. High transmittance and large delay-bandwidth product at transparency window are demonstrated, which mainly arise from the enhanced coupling and decreased damping in superconducting state. The EIT-like spectral response could be tuned in a wide frequency range. By applying two dark resonators with different resonance frequencies coupled with a radiative resonator, we experimentally demonstrated the planar metamaterials mimicking four-level EIT system.

Terahertz emission and detection both based on high-Tc superconductors: Towards an integrated receiver

We have combined a stand-alone Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 intrinsic Josephson junction stack, emitting terahertz radiation, with a YBa2Cu3O7 grain boundary Josephson junction acting as detector. The detector is mounted on a lens, positioned 1.2 cm away from the emitter on a similar lens. With the emitter radiating at 0.5 THz, we observed up to 7 Shapiro steps on the current-voltage characteristic of the detector. The ac current induced in this junction was 0.9 mA, and the dissipated power was 1.8 μW. The setup, although far from being optimized, may be considered as a first step towards an integrated high-Tc receiver.

Tuning of superconducting niobium nitride terahertz metamaterials

Superconducting planar terahertz (THz) metamaterials (MMs), with unit cells of different sizes, are fabricated on 200 nm-thick niobium nitride (NbN) films deposited on MgO substrates. They are characterized using THz time domain spectroscopy over a temperature range from 8.1 K to 300 K, crossing the critical temperature of NbN films. As the gap frequency (f(g) = 2Δ0/h, where Δ0 is the energy gap at 0 K and h is the Plank constant) of NbN is 1.18 THz, the experimentally observed THz spectra span a frequency range from below f(g) to above it. We have found that, as the resonance frequency approaches f(g), the relative tuning range of MMs is quite wide (30%). We attribute this observation to the large change of kinetic inductance of superconducting film.

Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 intrinsic Josephson junction stacks with improved cooling: Coherent emission above 1 THz

We report on Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 (BSCCO) intrinsic Josephson junction stacks with improved cooling, allowing for a remarkable increase in emission frequency compared to the previous designs. We started with a BSCCO stack embedded between two gold layers. When mounted in the standard way to a single substrate, the stack emits in the range of 0.43–0.82 THz. We then glued a second, thermally anchored substrate onto the sample surface. The maximum voltage of this better cooled and dimension-unchanged sample was increased and, accordingly, both the emission frequencies and the tunable frequency range were significantly increased up to 1.05 THz and to 0.71 THz, respectively. This double sided cooling may also be useful for other “hot” devices, e.g., quantum cascade lasers.

Thermal escape from a metastable state in periodically driven Josephson junctions.

Resonant activation and noise-enhanced stability were observed in an underdamped real physical system, i.e., Josephson tunnel junctions. With a weak sinusoidal driving force applied, the thermal activated escape from a potential well underwent resonancelike behaviors as a function of the driving frequency. The resonances also crucially depended on the initial condition of the system. Numerical simulations showed good agreement with the experimental results.

Phase locking a 3 mm waveband Gunn oscillator with a high Tc superconducting Josephson junction at 77 K

Using a high‐temperature superconducting YBa2Cu3O7−δ Josephson‐junction harmonic mixer operated at 77 K and an analog phase‐locking loop, we have locked a 3 mm waveband Gunn oscillator to a synthesizer for harmonic numbers ranging from 10 to 52. The spectrum of the phase‐locked intermediate frequency reveals good phase‐locked quality even for the 48th harmonic mixing between the signal at 104.3 GHz and the local oscillator at about 2 GHz. Our experimental results show that a high Tc superconducting harmonic mixer can work efficiently with high harmonic number for phase locking in the millimeter waveband.

Josephson effects at 77 K in grain boundary bridge made of thick films

Using the screen printing method, YBaCuO high Tc superconducting films were fabricated. The thickness of the films was ≃30 µm and maximum grain size was ≃70 µm. Tczero=90.7 K and Jc=20 A/cm2 at 77 K were obtained. With a razor edge, the films were cut and formed to grain boundary bridges having a few grain boundaries in the bridge region. The devices showed clear Shapiro steps and SQUID patterns at 77 K.

Population inversion induced by Landau–Zener transition in a strongly driven rf superconducting quantum interference device

Microwave resonances between discrete macroscopically distinct quantum states with single photon and multiphoton absorption are observed in a strongly driven radio frequency superconducting quantum interference device flux qubit. The amplitude of the resonant peaks and dips are modulated by the power of the applied microwave irradiation and a population inversion is generated at low flux bias. These results, which can be addressed with Landau-Zener transition, are useful to develop an alternative means to initialize and manipulate the flux qubit, as well as to do a controllable population inversion used in a micromaser.Microwave resonances between discrete macroscopically distinct quantum states with single photon and multiphoton absorption are observed in a strongly driven radio frequency superconducting quantum interference device flux qubit. The amplitude of the resonant peaks and dips are modulated by the power of the applied microwave irradiation and a population inversion is generated at low flux bias. These results, which can be addressed with Landau–Zener transition, are useful to develop an alternative means to initialize and manipulate the flux qubit, as well as to do a controllable population inversion used in a micromaser.

Counting rate enhancements in superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors with improved readout circuits

Counting rates of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors are usually estimated at hundreds of MHz by their kinetic-inductive reset time. This maximum is also limited by capacitor coupling effects in conventional readout circuits. In this Letter, we design and demonstrate an improved readout circuit that reduces the reset time and removes circuit limits. The counting rate at the 3 dB compression point is increased by four times for a large active area detector. We also discuss nonlinear dependences of the counting rate on the incident continuous-wave optical power and give a numerical model to explain our observations.