Microwave Circuits Research Articles

Self-sustained optomechanical state destruction triggered by the Kerr nonlinearity

Cavity optomechanics implements a unique platform where moving objects can be probed by quantum fields, either laser light or microwave signals. With a pump tone driving at a frequency above the cavity resonance, self-sustained oscillations can be triggered at large injected powers. These limit-cycle dynamics are particularly rich, presenting hysteretic behaviors, broad comb signals, and especially large motion amplitudes. All of these features can be exploited for both fundamental quantum research and engineering. Here we present low-temperature microwave experiments performed on a high-Q cavity resonance capacitively coupled to the flexure of a beam resonator. We study the limit-cycle dynamics parameter space as a function of pump parameters (detuning, power). Unexpectedly, we find that in a region of this parameter space the microwave resonance is irremediably destroyed: Only a dramatic power reset can restore the dynamics to its original state. The phenomenon can be understood as an optical instability linked to the Kerr nonlinearity of the cavity. A theory supporting this claim is presented, reproducing almost quantitatively the measurement. This remarkable feature might be further optimized and represents a new resource for quantum microwave circuits. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Bringing the Microwave Community to Texas: A Recap of the 2024 IEEE Texas Symposium on Wireless and Microwave Circuits and Systems [Conference Report

Bringing the Microwave Community to Texas: A Recap of the 2024 IEEE Texas Symposium on Wireless and Microwave Circuits and Systems [Conference Report

Guest Editorial Mini-Special Issue on the 2023 International Workshop on Integrated Nonlinear Microwave and Millimetre-Wave Circuits

Guest Editorial Mini-Special Issue on the 2023 International Workshop on Integrated Nonlinear Microwave and Millimetre-Wave Circuits

Efficient Integral Equation Analysis of 3-D Rectangular Waveguide Microwave Circuits by Using Green’s Functions Accelerated With the Ewald Method

Efficient Integral Equation Analysis of 3-D Rectangular Waveguide Microwave Circuits by Using Green’s Functions Accelerated With the Ewald Method

Review of RF and Microwave Circuit Design: Theory and Applications [Book/Software Reviews

<i>Review of</i> RF and Microwave Circuit Design: Theory and Applications [Book/Software Reviews

Quantum Entanglement between Optical and Microwave Photonic Qubits

Entanglement is an extraordinary feature of quantum mechanics. Sources of entangled optical photons were essential to test the foundations of quantum physics through violations of Bell’s inequalities. More recently, entangled many-body states have been realized via strong nonlinear interactions in microwave circuits with superconducting qubits. Here, we demonstrate a chip-scale source of entangled optical and microwave photonic qubits. Our device platform integrates a piezo-optomechanical transducer with a superconducting resonator which is robust under optical illumination. We drive a photon-pair generation process and employ a dual-rail encoding intrinsic to our system to prepare entangled states of microwave and optical photons. We place a lower bound on the fidelity of the entangled state by measuring microwave and optical photons in two orthogonal bases. This entanglement source can directly interface telecom wavelength time-bin qubits and gigahertz frequency superconducting qubits, two well-established platforms for quantum communication and computation, respectively. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Heralding entangled optical photons from a microwave quantum processor

Exploiting the strengths of different quantum hardware components may increase the capabilities of emerging quantum processors. Here we propose and analyze a quantum architecture that leverages the nonlocal connectivity of optics, along with the exquisite quantum control offered by superconducting microwave circuits, to produce entangled optical resource states. In contrast to previous proposals on optically distributing entanglement between superconducting microwave processors, we use squeezing between microwaves and optics to produce microwave-optical Bell pairs in a dual-rail encoding from a single microwave quantum processor. Moreover, the microwave quantum processor allows us to deterministically entangle microwave-optical Bell pairs into larger cluster states, from which entangled optical photons can be extracted through microwave measurements. Our scheme paves the way for small microwave quantum processors to create heralded entangled optical resource states for optical quantum computation, communication, and sensing using imperfect microwave-optics transducers. We expect that improved isolation of the superconducting processor from stray optical fields will allow the scheme to be demonstrated with currently available hardware. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Assessing Vulnerabilities in Line Length Parameterization and the Per-Unit-Length Paradigm for Phase Modulation and Figure-of-Merit Evaluation in 60 GHz Liquid Crystal Phase Shifters

The figure-of-merit (FoM) is a crucial metric in evaluating liquid crystal (LC) phase shifters, significantly influencing the selection of superior device candidates. This paper identifies, for the first time, a fundamental limitation in the widely-used High-Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS), a closed-source commercial tool, when modeling reconfigurable delay line phase shifters (RDLPS) based on LC at millimeter-wave (mmW) frequencies for Beyond 5G (B5G) and Sixth-Generation (6G) applications. Specifically, the study reveals unreliable predictions of differential phase shifts (DPS) when using the line length parameterization (LLP) approach, with an accuracy of only 47.22%. These LLP-induced inaccuracies lead to misleading FoM calculations, potentially skewing comparative analyses against phase shifters implemented with different geometries or advanced technologies. Additionally, the per-unit-length (PUL) paradigm, commonly employed by microwave circuit engineers for evaluating and optimizing microwave transmission line designs, is also found to have limitations in the context of mmW RDLPS based on LC. The PUL methodology underestimates the FoM by 1.38206°/dB for an LC coaxial RDLPS at 60 GHz. These findings underscore a critical symmetry implication, where the assumed symmetry in phase shift response is violated, resulting in inconsistent performance assessments. To address these challenges, a remediation strategy based on a scenario-based “Length-for-π” (LFP) framework is proposed, offering more accurate performance characterization and enabling better-informed decision-making in mmW phase shifter design.

DESIGN AND SIMULATION OF S-BAND MICROWAVE AMPLIFIER FOR SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

This paper presents a novel design of S-band monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) amplifiers based on GaAs MESFET HFET-1102 transistors used in radiofrequency (RF) and microwave communications systems. Based on the Chebyshev gain response, an analytical method is used to design a two-stage lumped microwave amplifier. The matching networks constituted by lumped elements are transformed into T inductive networks, and the resulting amplifier is optimized using RF simulator software. In the following step, the lumped optimized amplifier is transformed into a distributed amplifier and implemented on Rogers TMM3 substrate largely used in microwave circuits. The final MMIC amplifier is stable in the frequency band (2-4 GHz), and excellent performances are obtained in terms of very high gain, reaching a peak of 35 dB, low input (S11) and output reflection (S22) coefficients, and very good output/input isolation (S12). For its RF characteristics, the proposed MMIC amplifier presented in this work is very suitable for space telecommunications in low earth orbit (LEO) satellites onboard receivers.

Ultra-broadband near-field Josephson microwave microscopy

Abstract Advanced microwave technologies constitute the foundation of a wide range of modern sciences, including microwave integrated circuits, quantum computing, microwave photonics, spintronics, etc. To facilitate the design of chip-based microwave devices, there is an increasing demand for state-of-the-art microscopic techniques capable of characterizing the near-field microwave distribution and performance. In this work, we integrate Josephson junctions onto a nano-sized quartz tip, forming a highly sensitive microwave mixer on-tip. This allows us to conduct spectroscopic imaging of near-field microwave distributions with high spatial resolution. Leveraging its microwave-sensitive characteristics, our Josephson microscopy achieves a broad detecting bandwidth of up to 200 GHz, as well as remarkable frequency and intensity resolutions. Near-field characterizations of microwave circuits are also conducted to demonstrate the capabilities of Josephson microscopy. Our work emphasizes the benefits of utilizing Josephson microscopy as a real-time, non-destructive technique to advance integrated microwave devices.

Improved efficacy behavioral modeling of microwave circuits through dimensionality reduction and fast global sensitivity analysis

Behavioral models have garnered significant interest in the realm of high-frequency electronics. Their primary function is to substitute costly computational tools, notably electromagnetic (EM) analysis, for repetitive evaluations of the structure under consideration. These evaluations are often necessary for tasks like parameter tuning, statistical analysis, or multi-criterial design. However, constructing reliable surrogate models faces several challenges, including the nonlinearity of circuit characteristics and the vast size of the parameter space, encompassing both dimensionality and design variable ranges. Additionally, ensuring the validity of the model across broad geometry/material parameter and frequency ranges is crucial for its utility in design. The purpose of this paper is to introduce an innovative approach to cost-effective and dependable behavioral modeling of microwave passives. Central to our method is a fast global sensitivity analysis (FGSA) procedure, which is devised to identify correlations between design parameters and quantify their impacts on circuit characteristics. The most significant directions identified through FGSA are utilized to establish a reduced-dimensionality domain. Within this domain, the model may be constructed using a limited amount of data samples while capturing a significant portion of the circuit response variability, rendering it suitable for design purposes. The outstanding predictive capability of the proposed model, its superiority over traditional techniques, and its readiness for design applications are demonstrated through the analysis of three microstrip circuits of diverse characteristics.

Demonstration of a tunable interface between Rydberg atoms and superconducting microwave circuits with differential polarizability nulling

Microwave-dressed Rydberg atoms in pairs of states that are optically accessible and engineered so that the frequency of the transition between them is tunable while exhibiting a low sensitivity to stray electric fields have been interfaced with a superconducting coplanar waveguide (CPW) microwave resonator. This was achieved with helium atoms in triplet Rydberg states with principal quantum numbers n=55 and 56. The atoms were dressed with two strong microwave fields—a control field and a differential polarizability nulling field. The control field allowed the atoms to be coupled to the resonator using the two-color two-photon transition between the equal parity 1s55sS13≡|55s〉 and 1s56sS13≡|56s〉 Rydberg states, with one photon supplied by it and the other provided by the resonator. The nulling field was detuned from the field-free 1s55sS13→1s55pPJ3≡|55p〉 transition to admix |55p〉 character into the |55s〉 state and eliminate the differential static electric dipole polarizability of the |55s〉 and |56s〉 states. The experiments were performed with atoms located ∼300µm above a λ/4 niobium nitride superconducting CPW resonator operated at temperatures between 3.59 and 3.73K. The measured ac and dc Stark shifts of the Rydberg states at this atom-circuit interface in the presence of the dressing fields are in good quantitative agreement with the results of Floquet calculations. The differential polarizability nulling fields used in the experiments allowed the difference in the Stark shifts of the |55s〉 and |56s〉 states over the range of dc fields offset from the residual stray field by ±65 mV/cm to be reduced from 2π×2.1 MHz to 2π×125 kHz. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

(Electronics and Photonics Division Award) Research Advances Wide- and Ultrawide-Bandgap Power Switching Devices

Wide bandgap semiconductors such as SiC and GaN (WBG) and emerging ultrawide-bandgap materials such as Ga2O3, AlGaN, and Diamond (UWBG) represent the next-generation materials for high performance medium voltage and high voltage power switch technology. Such devices have a wide range of immediate Naval applications, including high-power satellite communications and radar, unmanned underwater and aerial vehicles, ship drive components, and hybrid vehicle inverters. Vertical SiC power device technology has matured rapidly over the past two decades, owing to advances in substrates, a fundamental understanding of epitaxial growth to eliminate performance-limiting defects, as well as device design breakthroughs. This has enabled breakthroughs in highly integrated module design for medium voltage power conversion with switching frequency >100 kHz. In parallel, lateral GaN-based high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) technology has been highly successful for RF power amplifiers and is well positioned to supersede GaAs-based microwave circuits. Recently, GaN-based vertical and lateral power devices have attracted significant interest due to promising device results coupled with progress in native substrate, epitaxial growth, and processing technology developments. This seminar will present an overview of the WBG/UWBG power device efforts at NRL. This research has four primary focus areas – 1) thermal management in III-N power device structures by diamond thin film integration, 2) characterization of substrate materials and homoepitaxial layers used for drift regions of power devices identify appropriate specifications and benchmark performance, 3) process module development, particularly for selective area doping by ion implantation, and 4) pilot production manufacturing of 1.2kV-class PiN diodes including reliability assessments to identify and mitigate performance limiting defects.

Frequency Shift in Microwave Circuits Manufactured with Circuit Board Plotters: Case Study of a Parallel Coupled Lines Filter

Board milling is one of the most widespread methods for manufacturing printed circuit boards from low frequencies to the microwave and millimeter wave range. In this contribution, the detrimental effect of defects typical of printed circuit board plotters has been investigated. In detail, a systematic frequency shift in the circuit performance has been observed both in terms of S21 and S11 parameters. The performance degradation has been analyzed and attributed to the inaccurate milling depth, which is typical of many plotters, particularly for less recent models. After the conductor removal step, the unwanted milling of dielectric material changes the electrical properties of the microstrip structure, in turn affecting the circuit performance. This circumstance has been investigated by means of electromagnetic simulations performed on the real case study of a parallel coupled lines filter. Therefore, a filter prototype has been realized and measured to confirm the simulated results. This study can be beneficial to those professionals involved in the design and realization of microwave and millimeter waves circuits with board milling machines.

Revolutionizing Microwave Circuit Design with Machine Learning: Challenges and Opportunities

Revolutionizing Microwave Circuit Design with Machine Learning: Challenges and Opportunities

Fully nonlinear neuromorphic computing with linear wave scattering

The increasing size of neural networks for deep learning applications and their energy consumption create a need for alternative neuromorphic approaches, for example, using optics. Current proposals and implementations rely on physical nonlinearities or optoelectronic conversion to realize the required nonlinear activation function. However, there are considerable challenges with these approaches related to power levels, control, energy efficiency and delays. Here we present a scheme for a neuromorphic system that relies on linear wave scattering and yet achieves nonlinear processing with high expressivity. The key idea is to encode the input in physical parameters that affect the scattering processes. Moreover, we show that gradients needed for training can be directly measured in scattering experiments. We propose an implementation using integrated photonics based on racetrack resonators, which achieves high connectivity with a minimal number of waveguide crossings. Our work introduces an easily implementable approach to neuromorphic computing that can be widely applied in existing state-of-the-art scalable platforms, such as optics, microwave and electrical circuits.

Enhancement noise margin and delay time performance of novel punch-through nMOS for single-carrier CMOS

In this paper, we propose the use of punch-through nMOS (PTnMOS) as an alternative to pMOS in complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuits. According to the TCAD simulation results, PTnMOS exhibit sub-threshold characteristics similar to those of pMOS and can be formed by simply changing the doping concentration of the source and drain. Without the need for sizing, which solves the area occupation problem caused by the need to increase the width of pMOS due to insufficient hole mobility. In addition, we compose a PTnMOS and nMOS without sizing to form a single-carrier CMOS in which only electrons are transmitted, and We extract its performance for comparison with conventional CMOS (Wp/Wn = 1). The results indicate that single-carrier CMOS has symmetric noise margin and 29% faster delay time compared to conventional CMOS (Wp/Wn = 1). If III–V or II–VI group materials could be applied to single-carrier CMOS, not only could costs be reduced and wafer area occupancy minimized, but also significant improvements in the performance and bandwidth application of microwave circuits could be achieved.

A Review of Electromagnetics-Based Microwave Circuit Design Optimization

A Review of Electromagnetics-Based Microwave Circuit Design Optimization

Design of high gain MMIC amplifier for LEO satellite communication systems

In this paper, we present a novel design of S-band monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) amplifier based on GaAs Mesfet HFET-1102 transistor used in radiofrequency (RF) and microwave communications system. Basing on Chebyshev gain response an analytical method is used to design two stages lumped microwave amplifier. The matching networks constituted by lumped elements are transformed to T inductive networks and the resulting amplifier is optimized using RF simulator software. Thelumped optimized amplifier is then transformed to distributed amplifier and implemented on Rogers TMM3 substrate, largely used in microwave circuits. The proposed MMIC distributed amplifier is stable in the frequency band (2–4 GHz) and excellent performances are obtained in terms of very high gain reaching a peak of 34.23 dB, minimum input return loss (S11) of −8.85 dB at f=2.62 GHz, minimum output return loss (S22) of −12.21 dB at f=2.05 GHz and very good output/input isolation (S12) lower than −51.99 dB. For its excellent performances, the proposed MMIC distributed amplifier, is very suitable for use in space telecommunications as in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites onboard receivers where the high gain amplifier is very important to assure the success of the space missions.

Design of a Wilkinson Power Divider with Harmonic Suppression for Mobile Application

This paper presents a Wilkinson Power Divider (WPD) operating at 6 GHz capable of suppressing unwanted harmonics up to the 3rd harmonic. The design formulas are analysed and presented in detail. Power dividers are widely used in microwave circuit structures. Indeed, this paper outlines the design and simulation of a 1:1 power divider for mobile applications using CST Studio Suite.