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Johannes Hubmayr, Jason E. Austermann, James A. Beall, Daniel T. Becker, Shannon M. Duff, Arpi L. Grigorian, Gene C. Hilton, Joel N. Ullom, Michael R. Vissers
We describe 280 GHz bolometric detector arrays that instrument the balloon-borne polarimeter spider. A primary science goal of spider is to measure large-scale B-mode polarization of the cosmic microwave back-ground (cmb) in search of the cosmic-inflation
Frederic Overney, Nathan Flowers-Jacobs, Blaise Jeanneret, Alain Rufenacht, Anna Fox, Jason Underwood, Andrew D. Koffman, Samuel P. Benz
This paper describes a Josephson-based full digital impedance bridge capable of comparing any two impedances, regardless of type (R-C, R-L, or L-C), over a large frequency range. At the heart of the bridge are two Josephson arbitrary waveform synthesizer
Nathan E. Flowers-Jacobs, Steven B. Waltman, Anna E. Fox, Paul D. Dresselhaus, Samuel P. Benz
The output voltage of Josephson arbitrary waveform synthesizers (JAWS) has been limited by the number of Josephson junctions (JJs) that can be driven by a single pulse generator channel. Here we double the number of JJs driven by one channel to 51 200 JJs
Varun B. Verma, Martin J. Stevens, Richard P. Mirin, Sae Woo Nam
We demonstrate that two superconducting nanowires separated by a thin insulating barrier can undergo a thermal avalanche process. In this process, Joule heating caused by a photodetection event in one nanowire and the associated production of athermal
Nathan E. Flowers-Jacobs, Anna E. Fox, Paul D. Dresselhaus, Robert E. Schwall, Samuel P. Benz
The root-mean-square (rms) output voltage of the NIST Josephson arbitrary waveform synthesizer (JAWS) has been doubled from 1 V to a record 2 V by combining two new 1 V chips on a cryocooler. This higher voltage will improve calibrations of ac thermal
The cryogenic current comparator is used to maintain national representations of the ohm based on the quantized Hall resistance standard. The measurement technique utilizes the Meissner effect to establish accurate resistance ratios with specialized
William B. Doriese, Kelsey M. Morgan, Douglas A. Bennett, Edward V. Denison, Colin P. Fitzgerald, Joseph W. Fowler, Johnathon D. Gard, James P. Hays-Wehle, Gene C. Hilton, Kent D. Irwin, Young Il Joe, John A. Mates, Galen C. O'Neil, Carl D. Reintsema, Nigel O. Robbins, Daniel R. Schmidt, Daniel S. Swetz, Hideyuki Tatsuno, Joel N. Ullom, Leila R. Vale
Time-division multiplexing (TDM) is a mature scheme for the readout of transition-edge sensors. Variants of TDM, which is based on superconducting-quantum-interference-device (SQUID) current amplifiers, have to date been field-deployed in several
Joseph W. Fowler, Bradley K. Alpert, William B. Doriese, Young Il Joe, Galen C. O'Neil, Joel N. Ullom, Daniel S. Swetz
The analysis of data from x-ray microcalorimeters requires great care; their excellent intrinsic energy resolution cannot usually be achieved in practice without a statistically near-optimal pulse analysis and corrections for important systematic errors
Superconducting electronics is an established technological field for sensors, quantum computation and quantum-based standards and is emerging as an important low-power alternative to semiconductors. As in any electronics fabrication, the production of
Joseph W. Fowler, Bradley K. Alpert, William B. Doriese, Young Il Joe, Galen C. O'Neil, Cherno Jaye, Joel N. Ullom, Daniel A. Fischer, Daniel S. Swetz
Transition edge sensor microcalorimeters can measure x-ray and gamma-ray energies with very high energy resolution and high photon-collection efficiency. For this technology to reach its full potential in future x-ray observatories, each sensor must be
In the pulse-driven ac Josephson voltage standard, the low frequency component of the drive signal increases the system complexity and induces unwanted voltages through the on-chip inductances. A novel zero-compensation method for pulse-driven ac waveform
Yi-hua D. Tang, James Wachter, Alain Rufenacht, Gerald J. FitzPatrick, Samuel P. Benz
This paper briefly describes the working principle of the 10 V programmable Josephson voltage standard (PJVS) that was developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and how to use it in a direct comparison with a conventional
Xiaohang NMN Zhang, Peter J. Lowell, Brandon L. Wilson, Galen C. O'Neil, Joel N. Ullom
In this paper, we demonstrate a general-purpose macroscopic refrigerator based on the transport of hot electrons through superconducting tunnel junctions. Our refrigerator is intended to provide access to temperatures below those accessible using pumped
Shannon M. Duff, Gene C. Hilton, Johannes Hubmayr, James A. Beall, Jason E. Austermann, Daniel T. Becker, Jeffrey L. Van Lanen
Advanced ACTPol is a third generation cosmic microwave background (CMB) receiver, deploying in 2016 on the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) in the Atacama desert of Chile. Spanning five frequency bands from 25 280 GHz and having a total of nearly 5800
Michael S. Allman, Varun B. Verma, Martin J. Stevens, Thomas Gerrits, Robert D. Horansky, Adriana E. Lita, Francesco Marsili, A. Beyer, Matthew Shaw, D. Kumor, Richard P. Mirin, Sae Woo Nam
We demonstrate a 64-pixel free-space-coupled array of superconducting nanowire single photon detectors optimized for high detection efficiency in the near-infrared range. An integrated, readily scalable, multiplexed readout scheme is employed to reduce the
In this work we derive the general conditions for obtaining nonreciprocity in multi-mode parametrically- coupled systems. The results can be applied to a broad variety of optical, microwave, and hybrid systems including recent electro- and opto-mechanical
Burm Baek, William H. Rippard, Matthew R. Pufall, Samuel P. Benz, Stephen E. Russek, Horst Rogalla, Paul D. Dresselhaus
Combining superconducting and magnetic materials to create novel superconducting devices has been motivated by the discovery of the Josephson critical current (Ics) oscillations with magnetic layer thickness and the demonstration of devices with switchable
Alain Rufenacht, Logan A. Howe, Anna Fox, Robert E. Schwall, Paul Dresselhaus, Charles J. Burroughs, Samuel Benz
Implementation of programmable Josephson voltage standard (PJVS) circuits on cryocooler at 4 K is a challenge. The limited cooling power of the cryocoolers has to balance the heat dissipated by the PJVS circuit in order to maintain a stable temperature
Anna E. Fox, Paul D. Dresselhaus, Alain Rufenacht, Aric W. Sanders, Samuel P. Benz
Analysis of the Josephson junction yield in the National Institute of Standards and Technology 10 V Programmable Josephson Voltage Standard (PJVS) has been performed by fabricating and measuring over 25 million Nb/NbxSi1-x/Nb junctions. Using the 265,116
Samuel P. Benz, Steven B. Waltman, Anna E. Fox, Paul D. Dresselhaus, Alain Rufenacht, Logan A. Howe, Robert E. Schwall, Nathan E. Flowers-Jacobs
The performance of the NIST Josephson arbitrary waveform synthesizer has been improved such that it generates a root-mean-square (RMS) output voltage of 1 V with an operating current range greater than 2 mA. Our previous 1 V JAWS circuit achieved this same
Logan A. Howe, Anna Fox, Alain Rufenacht, Charles J. Burroughs, Paul Dresselhaus, Samuel Benz, Robert E. Schwall
Rising costs of and difficulty in obtaining liquid helium in many areas of the world provides strong motivation for cryogen-free operation of superconducting devices such as NIST Programmable Josephson Voltage Standard (PJVS) systems. However, operation on
Samuel P. Benz, Steven B. Waltman, Anna E. Fox, Paul D. Dresselhaus, Alain Rufenacht, Jason M. Underwood, Charles J. Burroughs
A quantum-accurate waveform with a root-mean-square (RMS) output amplitude of 1 V has been synthesized for the first time. This four-fold increase in voltage over previous systems was achieved through developments and improvements in bias electronics
Najib Cheggour, Loren F. Goodrich, Z-H Sung, Theodore C. Stauffer, Jolene D. Splett, P. J. Lee, Matthew C. Jewell
Systematic studies of the intrinsic irreversible strain limit ε irr0, microstructure, and microchemistry were made on several internal-tin Nb 3Sn pre-production wires fabricated for the domestic agencies of the U.S.A. and China participating in the
Raymond W. Simmonds, Jie-Qiao Liao, Kurt Jacobs, Franco Nori
It is well-known that the nonlinear coupling between a mechanical oscillator and a superconducting oscillator or optical cavity can be used to generate a Kerr-nonlinearity for the cavity mode. We show that the strength of this Kerr-nonlinearity, as well as