Laboratory of Superconducting Devices for Signal Detection and Processing

Research Activities
  1. Integrated superconducting submm receivers and spectrometers.
  2. Technology for fabrication of superconducting integrated circuits based on high quality submicron Nb and NbN tunnel junctions with high current density.
  3. Development, study and optimization of the superconducting phase locked Local Oscillator for integrated spectrometer.
  4. Design, fabrication and experimental studies of a novel device: Cold Electron Bolometer (CEB).
  5. Development of the superconducting elements for operation at frequencies up to 1 THz.
  6. Superconducting Integrated Submm Spectrometer for Laboratory Applications.
  7. SQUID Amplifiers.
  8. Electron beam lithography.
  9. Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 intrinsic Josephson junctions as coherent THz emitters
    10.

7. SQUID Amplifiers.

One of the best candidates for second stage amplifier of cryogenic high-sensitive Terahertz receiver is a Superconducting Quantum Interferometer (SQUID). If it is a heterodyne receiver with output at intermediate frequency (IF) of a few Gigaherts, then SQUID can be operated as a low-noise (Tn<1 K) amplifier. We were among pioneers in this field and in our earlier publications we demonstrated such amplifiers made of Nb junctions. Later we fabricated this type of amplifier with high critical temperature Josephson junctions. For details see references:

M.A.Tarasov, V.Yu.Belitsky, G.V.Prokopenko, “DC SQUID RF amplifiers”, IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond., v.2, N 2, (1992), pp. 79-83.PDF (413kB)

M.Tarasov; V.Belitsky; G.Prokopenko; L.Filippenko; V.Koshelets, “DC SQUID RF amplifier with external mm-wave pumping and its testing by SIS junction noise”, Superconductor Science & Technology, vol.4, no.11; Nov. 1991; p.644-646. PDF (190kB)

M.Tarasov; Z. Ivanov; L. Filippenko; A. Vystavkin, “The noise suppression mechanism in a superconducting quantum interference amplifier”, Journal of Communications Technology and Electronics. vol.41, no.14; Nov. 1996; p.1297-303. (Ðàäèîòåõíèêà è ýëåêòðîíèêà)

M.Tarasov, Z.Ivanov, “Optimization of input impedance and mechanism of noise suppression in a dc SQUID RF amplifier”, IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond., v.6, N 2, June 1996, pp. 81-86.PDF (408kB)

M.Tarasov; G.Prokopenko; V.Koshelets; I.Lapitskaya; L.Filippenko, “Integrated rf amplifier based on dc SQUID”, IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, vol. 5, no.2, pt.3; June 1995; p.3226-3229.PDF (330kB)

M.Tarasov, A.Vystavkin, L.Filippenko, “Performance margins and application area of SQUID amplifiers”, 25 European Microwave Conf., Bologna, Italy, 4-8 Sept. 1995, pp. 1118-1122.

M.Tarasov, L.Filippenko, A.Baryshev, A.Vystavkin, T.de Graauw, W.Luinge, “Experimental studies of SQUID amplifier at 1 GHz with SIS mixer as a source of signal”, EUCAS’95, 3-6 July 1995, Edinburgh, Scotland., pp. 763-768.

A.Kalaboukhov, M.Tarasov, A.Lohmus, Z.Ivanov, O.Snigirev, Properties of a high-Tc dc SQUID radiofrequency amplifier, IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond., VOL. 13, No 2, 2003, pp. 1039-1041. PDF (130kB)

M.Tarasov, A.Kalabukhov, O.Snigirev, E.Stepantsov, Z.Ivanov, O.Mukhanov, “Radio frequency amplifier based on high temperature superconducting dc SQUID”, Proc. 85th Int. Supercond. Electronics Conf., June 19-22, 2001 Osaka, Japan, pp. 149-150.

M.Tarasov, A.Kalabukhov, O.Snigirev, S.Krasnosvobodtsev, “High frequency amplifier based on dc SQUID”, Journal of Communications Technology and Electronics, v.45, N 9, pp. 1147-1152

G. V. Prokopenko, S. V. Shitov, D. V. Balashov, V. P. Koshelets, and J. Mygind, "Low-noise S-band DC SQUID Amplifier", presented at EUCAS'99, report 6-80, Barcelona, September (1999). PDF (311kB)

G. V. Prokopenko, D. V. Balashov, S. V. Shitov, V. P. Koshelets, and J. Mygind, "Two-stage S-Band DC SQUID Amplifier". Was presented at ASC-98, Palm Desert , CA , USA , Report EAC-02 (1998), IEEE Trans. on Appl. Supercond. 9, 2902–2905 (1999).PDF (415kB)

G.V. Prokopenko, S.V. Shitov, D.V. Balashov, P.N. Dmitriev, V.P. Koshelets and J. Mygind, “Low-noise S-band DC SQUID Amplifier”, Applied Superconductivity Conference ASC’2000, September (2000), Report 5EH04, IEEE Trans. on Appl. Supercond., v.11, No 1, pp. 1239-1242, (2001). PDF (127kB)  

G.V. Prokopenko, S.V. Shitov, I.L. Lapitskaya, V.P. Koshelets and J. Mygind, “Dynamic Characteristics of S-band DC SQUID Amplifier”, “IEEE Trans. on Appl. Supercond.”, vol. 13, No 2, pp. 1042-1045, June 2003. PDF (413kB)

Photo of SQA test unit with two-stage SQA chip

 

 

Gain and noise of SQA at 4.2 K (balanced and non-balanced)

 

For incoherent receivers such as bolometers and direct detectors we can offer another type of SQUID readout, it is SQUID femtoamperemeter in which dc SQUID is matched to the source of signal by a high gain superconducting transformer. As a result we can measure current down to 35 fA/Hz1/2. Such SQUIDs are also fabricated in our laboratory. For details see latest publications:

M.Tarasov, A.Kalabukhov, S.Gudoshnikov, H.Seppa, M.Kiviranta, L.Kuzmin, “Towards a SQUID readout for the normal metal hot-electron microbolometer”, Physica C, 368 (2002), 161-165. PDF (142kB)

M.Tarasov, A.Kalabukhov, S.Kovtonjuk, I.Lapitskaya, S.Gudoshnikov, M.Kiviranta, O.Snigirev, L.Kuzmin, H.Seppa, Femtoamperemeter based on superconducting quantum interferometer and bulk transformer, J. of Communications Technol. And Electronics, Vol. 48, No 12 (2003), pp. 1521-1526.-  file in txt format (14 kB).

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