Summary
A superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) is an extremely sensitive magnetic field detector. Microstrip SQUIDs can amplify weak radio frequency (RF) signals, a capability that makes them attractive as a potential alternative to the cryogenic semiconductor-based RF amplifiers that are available commercially, but at a cost of approximately $6,000 each. The challenge of using microstrip SQUIDs has been that they are static sensitive and can be overwhelmed by external noise. By tweaking microstrip SQUID design to achieve the quantum noise limit, and by packaging the technology into a more practical configuration, our team is working to reduce the cost of the SQUID approach by an order of magnitude. We also are working toward a much higher performance amplifier, with voltage noise reduced ten fold.
In the course of our work, we expect to fabricate “user-friendly” SQUIDs – packaging the RF filtering, RF-SQUID, and amplification together – such that a non-specialist could easily run the amplifier with the ease of running a conventional semiconductor amplifier. In addition to producing a practical, high-performance and economical amplifier, we believe that our work will facilitate multiple new quantum readout applications, as well as interesting fundamental physics.
Related Content
Ultrafast Dynamical Studies of Valley-Based Qubits
Summary As monolayers, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) – such as tungsten diselenide (WSe2) – become direct-bandgap semiconductors capable of emitting light. Compared to conventional direct-bandgap semiconductors, such as III-V semiconductors like GaAs, excitons (quasiparticles made of an electron hole bound with an electron) and single-layer TMDCs (SL-TMDCs) have much stronger binding energy. Excitons and […]
June 29, 2018
Line-Scanning optical coherence tomography system for in-vivo, non-invasive imaging of the cellular structure and blood perfusion of biological tissue
Summary Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an optical imaging method that allows for in-vivo, non-invasive imaging of the structure and vasculature of biological tissue. Commercially available, clinical OCT systems utilize point-scanning method to acquire volumetric images over a large surface with typical frame rates of ~ 30 frames/ second. Since living biological tissue is constantly […]
August 27, 2019
Harnessing the Promise of Quantum Materials for Future Electronic Devices
Summary Two-dimensional (2D) quantum materials, such as graphene and molybdenum disulfide, have great potential for use in future flexible and wearable electronics applications. With traditional silicon-based electronics nearing their theoretical performance limits, nano-electronics made from 2D quantum materials offer breakthrough opportunities for energy-efficient, wearable ubiquitous computation. In this project, we will study integration of […]
June 14, 2018
QuantumIon: an open-access quantum computing platform
Summary Trapped ions are one of the most advanced technologies for quantum computing, offering multi-qubit control in a universal quantum computing architecture and the ability to perform calculations with unprecedented precision. In this project we construct a shared trapped-ion quantum computing platform, QuantumIon, that will enable a broader and interdisciplinary scientific community to access an […]
September 9, 2019