Calculations of superconducting parametric amplifiers performances

Abstract

A superconducting parametric amplifier is an electromagnetic wave amplifier with high-quality characteristics such as a wide bandwidth, an extremely low noise, and a high dynamic range. In this paper, we report on the estimations of a YBCO superconducting parametric amplifier characteristic. The YBCO thin films were deposited on an MgO substrate by a pulsed laser deposition method. Based on the measured YBCO thin film parameters, theoretical calculations were implemented for evaluations of kinetic inductance nonlinearities and parametric gains. The nonlinearity of the YBCO thin film was estimated to be stronger than a single crystal NbTiN thin film. It is indicated that the YBCO parametric amplifier has a potential to be realized the amplifier with the high parametric gain. It is also expected that it could be operated in the range of the high frequency band, at the high temperature, and low applied current.