Yung-Fu Chen

Microwave Photon Counter Based on Josephson Junctions

We describe a microwave photon counter based on the current-biased Josephson junction. The junction is tuned to absorb single microwave photons from the incident field, after which it tunnels into a classically observable voltage state. Using two such detectors, we have performed a microwave version of the Hanbury Brown-Twiss experiment at 4 GHz and demonstrated a clear signature of photon bunching for a thermal source. The design is readily scalable to tens of parallelized junctions, a configuration that would allow number-resolved counting of microwave photons.

Superconducting low-inductance undulatory galvanometer microwave amplifier

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 frequency range of 5-10 GHz.

Superconducting low-inductance undulatory galvanometer microwave amplifier: Theory

We describe a novel scheme for low-noise phase-insensitive linear amplification at microwave frequencies based on the superconducting low-inductance undulatory galvanometer (SLUG). Direct integration of the junction equations of motion provides access to the full scattering matrix of the SLUG. We discuss the optimization of SLUG amplifiers and calculate amplifier gain and noise temperature in both the thermal and quantum regimes. Loading of the SLUG element by the finite input admittance is taken into account, and strategies for decoupling the SLUG from the higher-order modes of the input circuit are discussed. The microwave SLUG amplifier is expected to achieve noise performance approaching the standard quantum limit in the frequency range from 5–10 GHz, with gain around 15 dB for a single-stage device and instantaneous bandwidths of order 1 GHz.

Electrical autonomous Brownian gyrator

We study experimentally and theoretically the steady-state dynamics of a simple stochastic electronic system featuring two resistor-capacitor circuits coupled by a third capacitor. The resistors are subject to thermal noises at real temperatures. The voltage fluctuation across each resistor can be compared to a one-dimensional Brownian motion. However, the collective dynamical behavior, when the resistors are subject to distinct thermal baths, is identical to that of a Brownian gyrator, as first proposed by Filliger and Reimann [Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 230602 (2007)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.99.230602]. The average gyrating dynamics is originated from the absence of detailed balance due to unequal thermal baths. We look into the details of this stochastic gyrating dynamics, its dependences on the temperature difference and coupling strength, and the mechanism of heat transfer through this simple electronic circuit. Our work affirms the general principle and the possibility of a Brownian ratchet working near room temperature scale.

Ultra-low acoustoelectric attenuation in graphene

We investigate the acoustoelectric properties of graphene and extract its acoustoelectric attenuation Γ as a function of the carrier density n, tuned via ionic liquid gating. Acoustoelectric effects in graphene are induced by launching surface acoustic waves (SAWs) on a piezoelectric LiNbO3 substrate. We measure the acoustoelectric current Iae through graphene and extract the SAW attenuation factor Γ as a function of n. The magnitude of Iae increases with decreasing n when the n is far from the charge neutral point (CNP). When n is tuned across the CNP, Iae first exhibits a local maximum, vanishes at the CNP, and then changes sign in accordance with the associated change in the carrier polarity. By contrast, Γ monotonically increases with decreasing n and reaches a maximum at the CNP. The extracted values of Γ, calibrated at the central frequency of 189 MHz, vary from ∼0.4 m−1 to 6.8 m−1, much smaller than the values for known two-dimensional systems. Data analysis suggests that the evolution of Iae and Γ...

Fluctuations of entropy production in partially masked electric circuits

We experimentally investigate fluctuations of entropy production in a coupled driven-RC circuit. In particular, we focus on the hidden-variable problem, where part of the circuit is neglected intentionally. In the two versions of the reduced descriptions we provide for the system, the fluctuation theorem (FT) is valid in all timescales for weak coupling. However, FT fails in the strong-coupling regime, in the short-time limit for one version, and in the long-time limit for the other. In these timescales where FT fails, both descriptions still give FT-like behavior. The failure of FT implies non-Markovian dynamics, meaning there exists a hidden variable that cannot be incorporated into the heat bath. We argue that FT can be restored with the introduction of a timescale-dependent effective noise.

Entropy production and irreversibility of dissipative trajectories in electric circuits.

We experimentally examine the equivalence between the entropy production evaluated from irreversibility of trajectories and the physical dissipation in dissipative processes via electric resistor-capacitor (RC) circuits. The examinations are performed for two nonequilibrium steady states that are driven by an injected current and temperature difference, respectively. Such an equivalence demonstrates a parameter-free method to evaluate the entropy production of a system. The effects of configurational and temporal resolutions are also studied.

Experimental determination of the elastic cotunneling rate in a hybrid single-electron box

We report measurements of charge configurations and charge transfer dynamics in a hybrid single-electron box composed of aluminum and copper. We used two single-electron transistors (SETs) to simultaneously read out different parts of the box, enabling us to map out stability diagrams of the box and identify various charge transfer processes in the box. We further characterized the elastic cotunneling in the box, which is an important source of error in electron turnstiles consisting of hybrid SETs, and found that the rate was as low as 1 Hz at degeneracy and compatible with theoretical estimates for electron tunneling via virtual states in the central superconducting island of the box.