Kinetic Inductance Traveling Wave Parametric Amplifiers Near the Quantum Limit: Methodology and Characterization

  1. L. Howe,
  2. A. Giachero,
  3. M. Vissers,
  4. P. Campana,
  5. J. Wheeler,
  6. J. Gao,
  7. J. Austermann,
  8. J. Hubmayr,
  9. A. Nucciotti,
  10. and J. Ullom
We present a detailed simulation and design framework for realizing traveling wave parametric amplifiers (TWPAs) using the nonlinear kinetic inductance of disordered superconductors — in our case niobium-titanium-nitride (NbTiN). These kinetic inductance TWPAs (KITs) operate via three-wave mixing (3WM) to achieve high broadband gain and near-quantum-limited (nQL) noise. Representative fabricated devices — realized using an inverted microstrip (IMS), dispersion-engineered, artificial transmission line — demonstrate power gains above 25 dB, bandwidths beyond 3 GHz, and achieve ultimate system noise levels of 1.1 quanta even when operated with no magnetic shielding. These performance metrics are competitive with state-of-the-art Josephson-junction-based TWPAs but involve simpler fabrication and able to providing three orders of magnitude higher dynamic range (IIP1=−68 dBm, IIP3=−55 dBm), and high magnetic field resilience — making KITs an attractive technology for highly multiplexed readout of quantum information and superconducting detector systems.
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