arXiv subjects

S. V. Lotkhov

Publications and source records attributed to S. V. Lotkhov.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2019

DC measurement of dressed states in a coupled 100~GHz resonator system using a single quasiparticle transistor as a sensitive microwave detector

We report on the on-chip detection of microwaves in the frequency range around 100GHz. For the purpose of detection, we employ a discrete transport channel triggered in a superconducting single-electron transistor by photon-assisted tunneling of quasiparticles. The technique is successfully applied to observe the spectrum of the dressed states of a model cQED system consisting of a superconducting coplanar resonator coupled to a quantum Josephson oscillator. The dressed states appear as typical resonance anticrossing exhibiting, in our case, an expectedly wide frequency splitting corresponding to the Jaynes-Cummings coupling strength, g/pi~10GHz. Due to the high decay rate, gamma~20-40GHz, in the very transparent Josephson junctions used, the strong coupling limit, g>>gamma, which is required for qubit operation, is not achieved, and the photon population in the resonator is low, ~1. Remarkably, the continuous readout of the low population states demonstrates the high microwave sensitivity of the detector.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Characterising superconducting filters using residual microwave background

A normal metal - superconductor hybrid single-electron trap with tunable barrier is utilized as a tool for spectrum analysis at the extremely low signal levels, using only well filtered cryogenic microwave background as a photon source in the frequency range from about 50 to 210 GHz. We probe millimeter wave propagation in two superconducting systems: a Josephson junction array around its plasma frequency, and a superconducting titanium film in the limit when the photon energies are larger than the superconducting energy gap. This regime is relevant for improving the performance of cryogenic quantum devices but is hard to access with conventional techniques. We show that relatively simple models can be used to describe the essential properties of the studied components.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Single quasiparticle excitation dynamics on a superconducting island

We investigate single quasiparticle excitation dynamics on a small superconducting aluminum island connected to normal metallic leads by tunnel junctions. We find the island to be free of excitations within the measurement resolution allowing us to determine Cooper pair breaking rate to be less than 3 kHz. By tuning the Coulomb energy of the island to have an odd number of electrons, one of them remains unpaired. We detect it by measuring its relaxation rate via tunneling. By injecting electrons with a periodic gate voltage, we probe electron-phonon interaction and relaxation down to a single quasiparticle excitation pair, with a measured recombination rate of 8 kHz. Our experiment yields a strong test of BCS-theory in aluminum as the results are consistent with it without free parameters.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

A hybrid superconductor-normal metal electron trap as a photon detector

A single-electron trap built with two Superconductor (S) - Insulator (I) - Normal (N) metal tunnel junctions and coupled to a readout SINIS-type single-electron transistor A (SET A) was studied in a photon detection regime. As a source of photon irradiation, we used an operating second SINIS-type SET B positioned in the vicinity of the trap. In the experiment, the average hold time of the trap was found to be critically dependent on the voltage across SET B. Starting in a certain voltage range, a photon-assisted electron escape was observed at a rate roughly proportional to the emission rate of the photons with energies exceeding the superconducting gap of S-electrodes in the trap. The discussed mechanism of photon emission and detection is of interest for low-temperature noise spectrometry and it can be of relevance for the ampere standard based on hybrid SINIS turnstiles.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Long hold times in a two-junction electron trap

The hold time $τ$ of a single-electron trap is shown to increase significantly due to suppression of environmentally assisted tunneling events. Using two rf-tight radiation shields instead of a single one, we demonstrate increase of $τ$ by a factor exceeding $10^3$, up to about 10 hours, for a trap with only two superconductor (S) -- normal-metal (N) tunnel junctions and an on-chip resistor $R$ (R-SNS structure). In the normal state, the improved shielding made it possible to observe $τ\sim$ 100 s, which is in reasonable agreement with the quantum-leakage-limited level expected for the two-electron cotunneling process.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Pumping properties of the hybrid single-electron transistor in dissipative environment

Pumping characteristics were studied of the hybrid normal-metal/superconductor single-electron transistor embedded in a high-ohmic environment. Two 3 micrometer-long microstrip resistors of CrOx with a sum resistance R=80kOhm were placed adjacent to this hybrid device. Substantial improvement of pumping and reduction of the subgap leakage were observed in the low-MHz range. At higher frequencies 0.1-1GHz, a slowdown of tunneling due to the enhanced damping and electron heating negatively affected the pumping, as compared to the reference bare devices.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2006

Self-shunted Al/AlOx/Al Josephson junctions

Self-shunted aluminum Josephson junctions with high-transparency barriers were fabricated using the shadow-evaporation technique and measured at low temperatures, T=25 mK. Due to high junction transparency, the IV-characteristics were found to be of only small hysteresis with retrapping-to-switching current ratio of up to 80%. The observed critical currents were close to the Ambegaokar-Baratoff values (up to 80-100%). Good barrier quality was confirmed by the low subgap leakage currents in the quasiparticle branches, which makes the self-shunted Al junctions promising for application in integrated RSFQ-qubit circuitry.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Subgap conductivity in SIN-junctions of high barrier transparency

We investigate the current-voltage characteristics of high-transparency superconductor-insulator-normal metal (SIN) junctions with the specific tunnel resistance below 30 kOhm per square micron. The junctions were fabricated from different superconducting and normal conducting materials, including Nb, Al, AuPd and Cu. The subgap leakage currents were found to be appreciably larger than those given by the standard tunnelling model. We explain our results using the model of two-electron tunnelling in the coherent diffusive transport regime. We demonstrate that even in the high-transparency SIN-junctions, a noticeable reduction of the subgap current can be achieved by splitting a junction into several submicron sub-junctions. These structures can be used as nonlinear low-noise shunts in Rapid-Single-Flux-Quantum (RSFQ) circuitry for controlling Josephson qubits.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2004

Steps towards a capacitance standard based on single-electron counting at PTB

A capacitance standard based on the definition of capacitance C = Ne/U is realized when a capacitor is charged with a known number N of electrons (e is the elementary charge) and the voltage U across the capacitor is measured. If U is measured by means of a Josephson voltage standard, C is solely determined by quantum numbers and fundamental constants. Presently, PTB is setting up this experiment using a special type of single-electron pump, the so-called r-pump, for transferring electrons one by one onto a cryogenic vacuum capacitor with the decadic capacitance C = 1 pF. We report on the progress in the setup with emphasis on the characterization of the single-electron tunneling elements. We describe the modifications of the single-electron circuit that are necessary to implement the capacitor charging experiment by using a four- or five-junction r-pump.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2003

Rf-induced transport of Cooper pairs in superconducting single electron transistors in a dissipative environment

We investigate low-temperature and low-voltage-bias charge transport in a superconducting Al single electron transistor in a dissipating environment, realized as on-chip high-ohmic Cr microstrips. In our samples with relatively large charging energy values Ec > EJ, where EJ is the energy of the Josephson coupling, two transport mechanisms were found to be dominating, both based on discrete tunneling of individual Cooper pairs: Depending on the gate voltage Vg, either sequential tunneling of pairs via the transistor island (in the open state of the transistor around the points Qg = CgVg = e mod(2e), where Cg is the gate capacitance) or their cotunneling through the transistor (for Qg away of these points) was found to prevail in the net current. As the open states of our transistors had been found to be unstable with respect to quasiparticle poisoning, high-frequency gate cycling (at f ~ 1 MHz) was applied to study the sequential tunneling mechanism. A simple model based on the master equation was found to be in a good agreement with the experimental data.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2003

Cooper pair cotunneling in single charge transistors with dissipative electromagnetic environment

We observed current-voltage characteristics of superconducting single charge transistors with on-chip resistors of R about R_Q = h/4e^2 = 6.45 kOhm, which are explained in terms of Cooper-pair cotunneling. Both the effective strength of Josephson coupling and the cotunneling current are modulated by the gate-induced charge on the transistor island. For increasing values of the resistance R we found the Cooper pair current at small transport voltages to be dramatically suppressed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2001

Radio-frequency-driven motion of single Cooper pairs across the superconducting single-electron transistor with dissipative environment

We report on the effect of the frequency-locked transfer of single Cooper pairs in a superconducting single-electron Al transistor embedded in a dissipative environment (on-chip Cr resistor of R = 40 kOhm). The transistor was dc voltage biased, and the harmonic signal of frequency f of several MHz was applied to the gate. Due to the substantial rate of relaxation, the unidirectional transfer of single pairs occurred in each junction once per clock cycle and the current plateaus at I = 2ef were developed in the transistor's I-V curves. The mechanisms (supercurrent, Landau-Zener tunneling, quasiparticle tunneling, etc.) deteriorating the phase-locking regime are discussed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2000

Cooper pair tunneling in circuits with substantial dissipation: the three-junction R-pump for single Cooper pairs

We propose a circuit comprising a linear array of three small-capacitance superconducting tunnel junctions with miniature resistors (R > R_Q = h/4e^2 = 6.5 kOhm) attached to the ends of this array. Owing to the Coulomb blockade effect and the effect of dissipative environment on the supercurrent, this circuit enables the gate-controlled transfer of individual Cooper pairs. The first experiment on operating the Al-Cr Cooper pair R-pump is described.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2000

The single electron R-pump: first experiment

We fabricated and tested the single electron R-pump, i.e. a three-junction Al circuit with on-chip Cr resistors. We show that due to the presence of the resistors (R > h/e^2 = 25.8 kOhm), the accuracy of electron transfer in the R-pump can approach the level of 10^-8. Preliminary results of experiment with the R-pump made at PTB are reported.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv1999

Coulomb blockade and cotunneling in single electron circuits with on-chip resistors: towards the implementation of R-pump

We report on the investigation of Al single electron structures equipped with miniature (8 um long) on-chip Cr resistors of R > R_k = h/e^2 = 25.8 kOhm. From the measurement of the Coulomb blockade in single-junction structures we evaluated the self-capacitance of our resistors per unit length, c = 62 aF/um. We demonstrate that the cotunneling current in the transistor samples in the Coulomb blockade regime obeys the power law, $I \propto V^{3+(R/R_k)}$, predicted by Odintsov, Bubanja and Schön for a transistor having pure ohmic-resistance leads. The concept of the three-junction single electron pump with on-chip resistors (R-pump) is developed. We demonstrate that the implementation of the R-pump with a relative accuracy of the electron transfer of 10^{-8} is quite feasible with the technology available.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv1999

Non-Gaussian distribution of nearest-neighbour Coulomb peak spacings in metallic single electron transistors

The distribution of nearest-neighbour spacings of Coulomb blockade oscillation peaks in normal conducting aluminum single electron transistors is found to be non-Gaussian. A pronounced tail to reduced spacings is observed, which we attribute to impurity-specific parametric charge rearrangements close to the transistor. Our observation may explain the absence of a Wigner-Dyson distribution in the experimental nearest-neighbour spacing distributions in semiconductor quantum dots.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv1999

Storage capabilities of a 4-junction single electron trap with an on-chip resistor

We report on the operation of a single electron trap comprising a chain of four Al/AlOx/Al tunnel junctions attached, at one side, to a memory island and, at the other side, to a miniature on-chip Cr resistor R=50 kOhm which served to suppress cotunneling. At appropriate voltage bias the bi-stable states of the trap, with the charges differing by the elementary charge e, were realized. At low temperature, spontaneous switching between these states was found to be infrequent. For instance, at T=70 mK the system was capable of holding an electron for more than 2 hours, this time being limited by the time of the measurement.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv1999

Superconducting Electrometer Based on the Resistively Shunted Bloch Transistor

We have fabricated the Bloch transistor shunted on-chip by a small-sized Cr resistor with Rs about 1 kOhm. The Bloch transistor normally consists of two small Josephson junctions connected in series, which in our case have been replaced by two superconducting interferometer loops, each with two junctions in parallel. A capacitively coupled gate is supplied to control the induced charge of the small intermediate electrode (island) of the transistor. The measured I-V curves show no hysteresis and correspond to the operation of a effective Josephson junction at the high-damping and strong-noise limits. The critical current of the system was found to be close to its nominal value, that is in accordance with the electromagnetic environment theory. The I-V curves were modulated by the gate with a period of e and a maximum swing of about 2 /mu_V. Such rather moderate modulation results from the Josephson-to- charging energies ratio, Ej/Ec about 9, in our sample being far from its optimum value of 0.3 up to 1.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗