SRI 6000 Series Programmable Josephson Voltage Standard (PJVS)

Technical Contact: paul.dresselhaus [at] nist.gov (Paul Dresselhaus)

The Programmable Josephson voltage standard (PJVS) is an instrument that generates stable, quantum-accurate, direct-current (DC) voltages that are programmable over the range from -10 volts to +10 volts. The quantum accuracy of these voltages is derived from the Josephson Effect such that every superconducting Josephson junction in the PJVS circuit produces a voltage precisely proportional to the frequency of the applied microwave bias signal.

The PJVS with its quantum accurate dc voltages can serve as a primary voltage standard with accuracy of parts in 10¹⁰(determined through intercomparison with another quantum voltage standard) or as a stable, programmable source for precision measurements, metrology experiments or calibrations. For example, the PJVS can be used to calibrate Zener references (typically parts in 10⁷ depending on the measurement instruments and Zener noise) as well as the amplitude-dependent gain and linearity of digital voltage meters.

The PJVS is also capable of generating stepwise-approximated waveforms or sine waves with a rise time between voltage steps that is less than 2 microseconds. The AC voltage of the stepwise waveforms do not have quantum accuracy because the transitions between the steps are bias dependent. A differential-sampling measurement technique with an integrating sampling digital voltmeter is used with the step-wise waveforms to calibrate the ac voltage of commercial voltage calibration sources at frequencies up to a few hundred hertz with a typical measurement uncertainty of parts in 10⁷, depending on the phase and amplitude stability of the source.

Specifications Certificate (PDF format)

Standard Configurations:

To obtain a quote for the instrument and calibration services, please contact Sales and Customer Service by email at srminfo [at] nist.gov (srminfo[at]nist[dot]gov).