Operation of HTS Toggle-Flip-Flop Circuit With Improved Layout Design

Toggle-flip-flop (T-FF) is one of the most important high-T_c superconducting single-flux quantum (HTS SFQ) circuit components and has been designed and fabricated by using YBa₂Cu₃ O_7-delta ramp-edge junction technology. The circuit layout of the T-FF was improved to suppress the junction critical current (I_c) spread in the circuit. Test circuits, which include a T-FF with a single output for evaluating the logic operation and measuring the operating frequency, were fabricated and their operation characteristics were investigated. The T-FF circuit with a single output was successfully operated and finite direct current (dc) supply current margins were obtained at temperatures from 27 to 34 K. Moreover, the maximum operating frequency of the T-FF was estimated to be 360 GHz at 4.2 K and 114 GHz at 41 K. In addition, reduction of dc supply current margins due to thermal noise was also investigated. According to the numerical simulation in which parasitic inductances were taken into account, the narrowest margin in the T-FF circuit wider than plusmn10% was maintained with a bit-error rate (BER) of 10^-6 up to 40 K     

Effect of aluminium on the polymerization silicic acid in aqueous solution and the deposition of silica of silica

The effect of aluminium on the polymerization of silicic acid was studied at pH 7, 8 and 9 in the aluminium concentration range of 0–26 ppm (Al) by spectrophotometry, gel chromatography and ²⁷Al NMR. Retarding and accelerating effects of aluminium on the growth of polysilicic acid particles and on the reaction between monosilicic acid and polysilicic acid were observed by changing the pH. It is suggested that the accelerating effect on the reaction between polysilicic acid particles is due to the formation of aluminium hydroxide on the surface of polysilicic acid. The rate of decrease in the monosilicic acid concentration in the presence of aluminium was faster than that in the absence of aluminium at pH 9, because monosilicic acid could be adsorbed rapidly on the aluminium hydroxide. From the results it was presumed that the formation of aluminium hydroxide on the solid surface may accelerate the deposition of silicic acid from geothermal water.     

High-speed operation of HTS SQUID-array interface circuits with a cryocooler

The authors evaluated the operation of high-temperature superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID)-array interface circuits (IFCs) with normal-metal control lines. Transimpedance amplification was obtained at an operating speed of 1 Gb/s using a cryocooler. The effect of the number of SQUIDs connected in series and the number of arrays connected in parallel on the level of output from the SQUID-array IFCs was examined by Josephson circuit simulation, and then the effect of statistical spreads of junction characteristics was evaluated by Monte Carlo simulation. It was found that the configuration of two parallel SQUID arrays with 64 SQUIDs gives the highest output when the junction characteristics in the arrays have a certain spread. The authors fabricated the IFCs by using the conventional interface-engineered junction process. The process reproducibility was 100 /spl mu/A /spl plusmn/25% for junction I/sub c/, and 3.02 pH /spl plusmn/5% and 2.57 pH /spl plusmn/17% for the sheet inductance of the upper and lower electrodes, respectively. The transimpedance at low frequencies reached 20 and 4 V/A for input levels of 20 and 100 /spl mu/A, respectively. Output voltages as high as 4.4 mV at 4.2 K and 2.3 mV at 40 K were obtained. Furthermore, an output voltage of 600 /spl mu/V was obtained for a 1-Gb/s 2/sup 15/-1 pseudo-random binary signal input at 40 K.     

Niobium-based integrated circuit technologies

Metallurgical and electrical properties of Nb and NbN films for use as Josephson junction electrodes and wiring layers are investigated. The crystallographic and superconducting properties necessary for Nb-based integrated circuit processes are clarified. Tunnel barrier structures of NbN-Nb oxide-NbN (Pb alloy) and Nb-Al oxide-Nb Josephson junctions have been analyzed and correlated with junction characteristics and critical current uniformity. It was found that the surface structure of a base electrode should be smooth to ensure that Josephson junctions have low leakage current and uniform critical current distribution. New types of Josephson junctions with artificial tunnel barriers such as amorphous Si or Mg oxide are reviewed. A variety of Josephson junction structures or processes have been developed for Nb-based Josephson integrated circuits in order to improve circuit performance. These include junction miniaturization, planarization, and stacked junction structures. These structures are mainly intended for Nb-Al oxide-Nb Josephson circuits. The Nb-Al oxide-Nb Josephson junction technology is by far the most advanced and has been used in logic and memory circuits, for example a 4-bit×4-bit parallel multiplier, a Josephson logic gate array, a 16-bit arithmetic logic unit, a 4-bit microprocessor, and 1-kb and 4-kb memory circuits     

Thyroglobulin-specific T cell line from a healthy individual does not produce proinflammatory cytokines on antigenic stimulation: an implication for possible fail-safe mechanism to avoid autoimmunity

In order to investigate the regulation of autoimmune response to thyroglobulin (Tg), one of the thyroid autoantigens, we established a Tg-specific T cell line by stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from a healthy volunteer with Tg and characterized its cytokine production pattern. The Tg-specific T cell line, designated DH5D1, obtained from a limiting dilution culture bore alpha beta T cell receptor and was CD4 and CD45RO positive. Upon stimulation with Tg, DH5D1 secreted little or no titers of IL-2, TNF-alpha, and IFN-gamma, whereas activation with combination of phorbol myristate acetate and calcium ionophore produced measurable levels of these cytokines. These results indicate that the Tg-specific T cell line is not defective in its capacity to produce proinflammatory cytokines and suggest that the inability of cytokine production by autoreactive T cells of healthy individuals is one fail-safe mechanism for preventing aggression of harmful autoimmune response.     

A-15-type Nb-Si thin films prepared by co-evaporation and their atomic ordering processes

Niobium-silicon thin films are prepared by a co-evaporation technique. The crystal structure, lattice parameters, and long-range order parameter of the atoms are measured. Thin films with Si concentration near 15 at % have a single phase of A-15-type crystal structure. The maximum Si concentration of the A-15-type phase films obtained is 18 at %. The critical temperature of the Nb-Si thin films is experimentally proved to depend both on the Si concen - tration of the A-15-type phase and on the long-range order parameter. From phenomenological studies on the long-range ordering process of thin films, the order parameter is found to depend on the substrate temperature, the deposition rate, and the background gas pressure.     

Inductance measurements in YBa2Cu3O7 DC SQUID's with a submicrometer line width

We measured the inductances of submicrometerwide strip lines by using DC superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUID's) fabricated from a single layer of YBa₂Cu₃O₇ thin film, The measured inductances coincided well with some numerically calculated inductances consisting of a magnetic and kinetic component. The proportion of the magnetic component in the total inductance for the line width of 2 μm was estimated from calculation to be 56%, The kinetic component increased with the decrease of the line width and was dominant for line widths less than 1 μm. The inductance per square at 4.2 K was measured to be 1.3 pH/□ for line widths from 0.5 to 2 μm     

High-temperature operation of oxide SFQ-circuit-elements

Single flux quantum (SFQ) circuit components such as an SFQ-dc converter and a confluence buffer have been fabricated by using an YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-/spl delta// ramp-edge junction technology and their logic operations at temperatures up to near 60 K were investigated. The SFQ-dc converter was correctly operated in a wide temperature range from 4.2 K to 56 K and found to be useful for detecting output signals from other SFQ circuit components at any operating temperatures. The basic function that a signal from either of two input Josephson transmission lines (JTLs) was transmitted to an output JTL was confirmed for the confluence buffer and finite operating margins were obtained at temperatures from 42 K to 61 K. The narrowest margin of dc supply current obtained at temperatures from 55 K to 60 K was /spl plusmn/20% and was consistent with the simulation. Margin reduction due to thermal noise was also evaluated. According to the analytical calculation, the operating margin to keep the bit-error rate less than 10/sup -5/ was as large as /spl plusmn/20% even at 50 K when the value of junction critical-current I/sub c/ was kept near 0.4 mA.