Performance of a Kinetic Inductance Traveling-Wave Parametric Amplifier at 4 Kelvin: Toward an Alternative to Semiconductor Amplifiers

Journal Article · 04 April 2022 · Physical Review Applied

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevapplied.17.044009 · OSTI ID:1869789

Malnou, M.  ^[1]; Aumentado, J. ^[2]; Vissers, M. R. ^[2]; Wheeler, J. D. ^[2]; Hubmayr, J.  ^[2]; Ullom, J. N. ^[3]; Gao, J. ^[3]

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1. National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST), Boulder, CO (United States); Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); National Institute of Standards and Technology
2. National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST), Boulder, CO (United States)
3. National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST), Boulder, CO (United States); Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)

Most microwave readout architectures in quantum computing or sensing rely on a semiconductor amplifier at 4 K, typically a high-electron mobility transistor (HEMT). Despite its remarkable noise performance, a conventional HEMT dissipates several milliwatts of power, posing a practical challenge to scale up the number of qubits or sensors addressed in these architectures. As an alternative, we present an amplification chain consisting of a kinetic inductance traveling-wave parametric amplifier (KITWPA) placed at 4 K, followed by a HEMT placed at 70 K, and demonstrate a chain-added noise $$T_Σ$$ = 6.3 ± 0.5 K between 3.5 and 5.5 GHz. While, in principle, any parametric amplifier can be quantum limited even at 4 K, in practice we find the performance of the KITWPA to be limited by the temperature of its inputs and by an excess of noise $$T_{ex}$$ = 1.9 K. In this work, the dissipation of the rf pump of the KITWPA constitutes the main power load at 4 K and is about 1% that of a HEMT. These combined noise and power dissipation values pave the way for the use of the KITWPA as a replacement for semiconductor amplifiers.

• Research Organization: National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST), Boulder, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
• Grant/Contract Number: 89243020SSC000058
• OSTI ID: 1869789
• Journal Information: Physical Review Applied, Journal Name: Physical Review Applied Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 17; ISSN 2331-7019
• Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English