Josephson Integrated Circuits

Nineteen years ago, B. D. Josephson1 predicted a supercurrent at zero voltage between two superconducting metals, separated by a thin insulator. Today, 20–25 laboratories around the world are actively studying the possible exploitation of devices based on the Josephson effect. Although the promise of a very fast device (picosecond) at low power levels (microwatt) has yet to be realized in a computing system, usage of Josephson junctions as a voltage standard and an extremely sensitive magnetic-field detector is widespread. The attractions of Josephson devices are summarized in Table 1. The combination of a fast, low power circuit plus superconducting transmission lines offers the possibility of packing and interconnecting hundreds of thousands of circuits and hundreds of millions of memory bits into a volume very comparable to that occupied by the human brain;2 a feat unachievable with a high-performance semiconductor technology.

[1]  Shin-Shem Pei,et al.  A simple high‐performance current‐switched Josephson gate , 1979 .

[2]  W. Anacker,et al.  Josephson Computer Technology: An IBM Research Project , 1980, IBM J. Res. Dev..

[3]  W. Anacker.  Computers: Computing at 4 degrees Kelvin: Superconducting technology and unconventional packaging herald an era of ultrafast, ultrareliable computers , 1979, IEEE Spectrum.

[4]  P. Gueret,et al.  Single flux-quantum memory cells , 1977 .

[5]  A. Mukherjee,et al.  Josephson direct coupled logic (DCL) , 1979, 1979 International Electron Devices Meeting.

[6]  J. Matisoo,et al.  SUBNANOSECOND PAIR‐TUNNELING TO SINGLE‐PARTICLE TUNNELING TRANSITIONS IN JOSEPHSON JUNCTIONS , 1966 .

[7]  H. Zappe,et al.  Experimental investigation of resonances in low‐Q Josephson interferometer devices , 1978 .

[8]  E. Harris.  Turn-on delay of Josephson interferometer logic devices , 1979 .

[9]  W. Walter,et al.  Niobium oxide-barrier tunnel junction , 1980, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[10]  J. Rowell,et al.  Magnetic Field Dependence of the Josephson Tunnel Current , 1963 .

[11]  R. L. Peterson,et al.  A superconducting sampler for Josephson logic circuits , 1979 .

[12]  W. Baechtold,et al.  Complementary Josephson-junction circuit: a fast flip-flop and logic gate , 1975 .

[13]  T. R. Gheewala,et al.  Design of 2.5-Micrometer Josephson Current Injection Logic (CIL) , 1980, IBM J. Res. Dev..

[14]  David B. Tuckerman,et al.  A Josephson ultrahigh‐resolution sampling system , 1980 .

[15]  W. C. Stewart,et al.  CURRENT‐VOLTAGE CHARACTERISTICS OF JOSEPHSON JUNCTIONS , 1968 .

[16]  H. Gove,et al.  NEUTRON THRESHOLD MEASUREMENTS USING THE CHALK RIVER TANDEM VAN DE GRAAFF ACCELERATOR , 1958 .

[17]  B. Josephson.  Possible new effects in superconductive tunnelling , 1962 .

[18]  P. Gueret,et al.  Investigations for a Josephson Computer Main Memory with Single-Flux-Quantum Cells , 1980, IBM J. Res. Dev..

[19]  Richard L. Kautz,et al.  Picosecond pulses on superconducting striplines , 1978 .

[20]  D. Mccumber.  Effect of ac Impedance on dc Voltage‐Current Characteristics of Superconductor Weak‐Link Junctions , 1968 .

[21]  R. Broom,et al.  Studies on arrays of Josephson tunnel junction interferometers , 1978 .

[22]  Alan V. Brown.  An Overview of Josephson Packaging , 1980, IBM J. Res. Dev..

[23]  C. J. Kircher,et al.  Fabrication Process for Josephson Integrated Circuits , 1980, IBM J. Res. Dev..

[24]  Kenneth E. Gray,et al.  A superconducting transistor , 1978 .

[25]  Two-Josephson-junction interferometer memory cell for n.d.r.o. , 1977 .

[26]  R. Dynes,et al.  Switching to zero voltage in Josephson tunnel junctions , 1971 .

[27]  Philip W. Anderson,et al.  PROBABLE OBSERVATION OF THE JOSEPHSON SUPERCONDUCTING TUNNELING EFFECT , 1963 .

[28]  D. Herrell,et al.  Regulated AC power for Josephson interferometer latching logic circuits , 1979 .

[29]  H.H. Zappe,et al.  A subnanosecond Josephson tunneling memory cell with nondestructive readout , 1975, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[30]  L. Cooper,et al.  Microscopic theory of superconductivity , 1957 .

[31]  H.H. Zappe,et al.  An experimental 64-bit decoded Josephson NDRO random access memory , 1978, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[32]  T.R. Gheewala,et al.  A 30-ps Josephson current injection logic (CIL) , 1979, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.

[33]  L. Esaki.  New Phenomenon in Narrow Germanium p-n Junctions , 1958 .

[34]  H. Zappe,et al.  Josephson quantum interference computer devices , 1977 .

[35]  H. H. Zappe,et al.  Analysis of resonance phenomena in Josephson interferometer devices , 1978 .

[36]  R. F. Broom,et al.  Josephson junctions of small area formed on the edges of niobium films , 1980 .

[37]  I. Giaever,et al.  Energy gap in superconductors measured by electron tunneling. [Al-AlO-Pb] , 1960 .

[38]  W. H. Henkels,et al.  Basic Design of a Josephson Technology Cache Memory , 1980, IBM J. Res. Dev..

[39]  B. Landman,et al.  Calculation of threshold curves for Josephson quantum interference devices , 1977 .

[40]  T.R. Gheewala,et al.  Josephson-logic devices and circuits , 1980, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[41]  R. F. Broom,et al.  Modeling of Characteristics for Josephson Junctions Having Nonuniform Width or Josephson Current Density , 1980, IBM J. Res. Dev..

[42]  P. Gueret,et al.  Storage and detection of single flux quantum in Josephson junction devices , 1975 .

[43]  A. Davidson,et al.  A Josephson latch , 1978, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits.