In this work, we briefly overview various options for Josephson junctions, which should be scalable down to nanometer range for utilization in nanoscale digital superconducting technology. Such junctions should possess high values of critical current, I c , and normal state resistance, R N . Another requirement is the high reproducibility of the junction parameters across a wafer in a fabrication process. We argue that superconductor-normal metal-superconductor (SN -N -NS) Josephson junction of "variable thickness bridge" geometry is a promising choice to meet these requirements. Theoretical analysis of the SN -N -NS junction is performed in the case where the distance between the S electrodes is comparable to the coherence length of the N material. The restriction on the junction geometrical parameters providing the existence of superconductivity in the S electrodes is derived for the current flowing through the junction of an order of I c . The junction heating, as well as available mechanisms for the heat removal, is analyzed. The obtained results show that a SN -N -NS junction with a high (submillivolt) value of I c R N product can be fabricated from a broadly utilized combination of materials like Nb/Cu using well-established technological processes. The junction area can be scaled down to that of semiconductor transistors fabricated in the frame of a 40-nm process.
We consider the current-phase relation (CPR) in the Josephson junctions with complex insulatorsuperconductor-ferromagnetic interlayers in the vicinity of 0-π transition. We find a strong impact of the second harmonic on CPR of the junctions. It is shown that the critical current can be kept constant in the region of 0-pi transition, while the CPR transforms through multi-valued hysteretic states depending on the relative values of tunnel transparency and magnetic thickness. Moreover, CPR in the transition region has multiple branches with distinct ground states.
Magnetic flux quantization in superconductors allows the implementation of fast and energy-efficient digital superconducting circuits. However, information representation in magnetic flux severely limits the functional density and is a long-standing problem. Here, we introduce the concept of superconducting digital circuits that do not utilize magnetic flux and have no inductors. We argue that neither the use of geometric nor kinetic inductance is promising for the scaling down of superconducting circuits. The key idea of our approach is the utilization of bistable Josephson junctions, allowing the representation of information through the Josephson energy. Since the proposed circuits are composed only of Josephson junctions, they can be called all-Josephson junction (all-JJ) circuits. We present a methodology for the design of circuits consisting of conventional and bistable junctions. We analyze the principles of the circuit's functioning, ranging from simple logic cells to an 8-bit parallel adder. The utilization of bistable junctions in the all-JJ circuits is promising for the simplification of schematics and a decrease of the JJ count, leading to space efficiency.
An ultrafast qubit control concept is proposed and analyzed theoretically to reduce the duration of operations with single and multiple superconducting qubits. It is based on the generation of Ramsey fringes due to unipolar sub-nanosecond control pulses. The key role in the concept is played by the interference of waves of qubit states population propagating forward and backward in time. The influence of the shape and duration of control pulses on the contrast of the interference pattern is revealed in the frame of Ramsey’s paradigm. Protocols for observation of Ramsey oscillations and implementation of various gate operations are developed for flux qubits. We also suggest a notional engineering solution for creating the required sub-nanosecond control pulses with the desired shape and amplitude. It is demonstrated that this makes it possible to control the quantum states of the system with fidelity of more than 99%.
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