Tuning rf-SQUID flux qubit system's potential with magnetic flux bias

At an extremely low temperature of 20 mK, we measured loop current in a tunable rf superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) with a dc-SQUID. By adjusting the magnetic flux applied to the rf-SQUID loop (Φ_f) and the small dc-SQUID (Φ_f^cjj), respectively, the potential shape of the system can be fully controlled in situ. Variations of transition step and overlap size in switching current with the barrier flux bias are analyzed, from which we can obtain some relevant device parameters and built up a model to explain the experimental phenomenon.     

Charge-Related SQUID and Tunable Phase-Slip Flux Qubit

A phase-slip flux qubit, exactly dual to a charge qubit, is composed of a superconducting loop interrupted by a phase-slip junction. We propose a tunable phase-slip flux qubit by replacing the phase-slip junction with a charge-related superconducting quantum interference device （SQUID） consisting of two phase-slip junctions connected in series with a superconducting island. This charge-SQUID acts as an effective phase-slip junction controlled by the applied gate voltage and can be used to tune the energy-level splitting of the qubit. In addition, we show that a large inductance inserted in the loop can reduce the inductance energy and consequently suppress the dominating flux noise of the phase-slip flux qubit. This enhanced phase-slip flux qubit is exactly dual to a transmon qubit.     

Electron Magnetohydrodynamics Magnetic Reconnection Experiment on Keda Linear Magnetized Plasma Device

We conduct an electron magnetohydrodynamics magnetic reconnection experiment with guide-field in our Keda linear magnetized plasma device, in which two pulsed currents with the same direction are conducted in parallel with the axial direction of the main chamber of the device using two long aluminum sticks. After approximately 5μs, an X-type magnetic field line topology is formed at the center of the chamber. With the formation of the X-type topology of magnetic field lines, we can also find the rapid increase of the current and ratio of the common flux to the private flux in this area. Additionally, a reduction in the plasma density and the plasma density concentration along one pair of separatrices can also be found.     

Nonadiabatic Geometric Quantum Computation with Asymmetric Superconducting Quantum Interference Device

We propose a method of controlling the dc-SQUID(superconductiong quantum interference device)system by changing the gate voltages,which controls the amplitude of the fictitious magnetic fields Bz,and the externally applied current that produces the piercing magnetic flux Φx for the dc-SQUID system,we have also introduced a physical model for the dc-SQUID system.Using this physical model,one can obtain the non-adiabatic geometric phase gate for the single qubit and the non-adiabatic conditional geometric phase gate (controlled NOT gate) for the two qubits.It is shown that when the gate voltage and the externally applied current of the dc-SQUID system satisfies an appropriate constraint condition,the charge state evolution can be controlled exactly on a dynamic phase free path.The non-adiabatic evolution of the charge states is given as well.     

Flux qubit with a large loop size and tunable Josephson junctions

We present the design of a superconducting flux qubit with a large loop inductance. The large loop inductance is desirable for coupling between qubits. The loop is configured into a gradiometer form that could reduce the interference from environmental magnetic noise. A combined Josephson junction, i.e., a DC-SQUID is used to replace the small Josephson junction in the usual 3-JJ (Josephaon junction) flux qubit, leading to a tunable energy gap by using an independent external flux line. We perform numerical calculations to investigate the dependence of the energy gap on qubit parameters such as junction capacitance, critical current, loop inductance, and the ratio of junction energy between small and large junctions in the flux qubit. We suggest a range of values for the parameters.     

Adiabatic quantum pump in a zigzag graphene nanoribbon junction

The adiabatic electron transport is theoretically studied in a zigzag graphene nanoribbon(ZGNR) junction with two time-dependent pumping electric fields. By modeling a ZGNR p–n junction and applying the Keldysh Green's function method, we find that a pumped charge current is flowing in the device at a zero external bias, which mainly comes from the photon-assisted tunneling process and the valley selection rule in an even-chain ZGNR junction. The pumped charge current and its ON and OFF states can be efficiently modulated by changing the system parameters such as the pumping frequency, the pumping phase difference, and the Fermi level. A ferromagnetic ZGNR device is also studied to generate a pure spin current and a fully polarized spin current due to the combined spin pump effect and the valley valve effect. Our finding might pave the way to manipulate the degree of freedom of electrons in a graphene-based electronic device.     

Effects of Induced Flux on Andreev Levels in a Quantum Point Contact Embedded in Superconducting Ring

We investigate the effects of flux induced by persistent current on the states of Andreev levels in a quantum point contact (QPC) embedded in a superconducting ring. The Andreev levels correspond to the bound states in the QPC created by multiple reflection at the boundaries. We self-consistently calculate the eigenstates and persistent current of such a system with different external fluxes threaded through the ring by using a tight-binding model with Bogoliubov-de Gennes potential. We show that the induced flux can significantly change the dependence of the Andreev levels and the persistent current on the external flux if the inductance of the system is large. By solving the time-dependent Schroedinger equation we obtain the dynamical behaviour of Andreev states in the presence of flux oscillations in the equivalent LC circuit.     

Current Reversal and Negative Conductance for a Super-Conducting Junctions Device

In the paper, we study a super-conducting junctions device subject to an input periodic signal and a constant force. It is shown that, for this device, we can get current reversals for the current of the electron pairs versus the frequency of the periodic signal and negative conductance for the current of the electron pairs as a function of the constant force.     

Controllable Spin Polarization of Charge Current by Rashba Spin Orbital Coupling

We report a theoretic study on modulating the spin polarization of charge current in a mesoscopic fourterminal device of cross structure by using the inverse spin hall effect. The scattering region of device is a two-dimensional electron gas （2DEG） with Rashba spin orbital interaction （RSOI）, one of lead is ferromagnetic metal and other three leads are spin-degenerate normal metals. By using Landauer-Biittiker formalism, we found that when a longitudinal charge current flows through 2DEG scattering region from FM lead by external bias, the transverse current can be either a pure spin current or full-polarized charge current due to the combined effect of spin hall effect and its inverse process, and the polarization of this transverse current can be easily controlled by several device parameters such as the Fermi energy, ferromagnetic magnetization, and the RSOI constant. Our method may pave a new way to control the spin polarization of a charge current.     

Dynamic electron transport theory for multiprobe mesoscopic structures

Using the linear response theory and random phase approximation,we develop a general dynamic electron transport theory for multiprobe mesoscopic structures in an arbitrarily time-dependent external field.In this case,the responses of the dynamic current,charge and internal potential to the external fields can be determined self-consistently.Without loss of generality,charge (current) conservation and gauge invariance under a potential shift are satisfied.As an example,we employ a quantum wire with a single barrier to discuss the response of the internal potential.     

New DDSCR structure with high holding voltage for robust ESD applications

A novel dual direction silicon-controlled rectifier(DDSCR)with an additional P-type doping and gate(APGDDSCR)is proposed and demonstrated.Compared with the conventional low-voltage trigger DDSCR(LVTDDSCR)that has positive and negative holding voltages of 13.371 V and 14.038 V,respectively,the new DDSCR has high positive and negative holding voltages of 18.781 V and 18.912 V in a single finger device,respectively,and it exhibits suitable enough positive and negative holding voltages of 14.60 V and 14.319 V in a four-finger device for±12-V application.The failure current of APGDDSCR is almost the same as that of LVT-DDSCR in the single finger device,and the four-finger APGDDSCR can achieve positive and negative human-body model(HBM)protection capabilities of 22.281 kV and 23.45 kV,respectively,under 40-V voltage of core circuit failure,benefitting from the additional structure.The new structure can generate a snapback voltage on gate A to increase the current gain of the parasitic PNP in holding voltage.Thus,a sufficiently high holding voltage increased by the structure can ensure that a multi-finger device can also reach a sufficient holding voltage,it is equivalent to solving the non-uniform triggering problem of multi-finger device.The operating mechanism and the gate voltage are both discussed and verified in two-dimensional(2D)simulation and experiemnt.     

Spin Filter Based on an Aharonov--Bohm Interferometer with Rashba Spin--Orbit Effect

We propose a spin filter based on both the quantum interference and the Rashba spin-orbit （RSO） effects. This spin filter consists of a Aharonov-Bohm （AB） interferometer with two quantum dots （QDs） inserted in its arms. The influences of a magnetic flux φ threading through the AB ring and the RSO interaction inside the two QDs are taken into account by using the nonequilibrium Green＇s function technique. Due to the existence of the RSO interaction, the electrons flowing through different arms of the ring will acquire a spin-dependent phase factor in the linewidth matrix elements. This phase factor, combined with the influence of the magnetic flux, will induce a spin-dependent electron transport through the device. Moreover, we show that by tuning the magnetic flux, the RSO strength and the inter-dot tunnelling coupling strength, a pure spin-up or spin-down conductance can be obtained when a spin-unpolarized current is injected from the external leads, which can be used to filter the electron spin.     

Designing thermal demultiplexer: Splitting phonons by negative mass and genetic algorithm optimization

We propose the concept of thermal demultiplexer, which can split the heat flux in different frequency ranges intodifferent directions. We demonstrate this device concept in a honeycomb lattice with dangling atoms. From the view ofeffective negative mass, we give a qualitative explanation of how the dangling atoms change the original transport property.We first design a two-mass configuration thermal demultiplexer, and find that the heat flux can flow into different ports incorresponding frequency ranges roughly. Then, to improve the performance, we choose the suitable masses of danglingatoms and optimize the four-mass configuration with genetic algorithm. Finally, we give out the optimal configuration witha remarkable effect. Our study finds a way to selectively split spectrum-resolved heat to different ports as phonon splitter,which would provide a new means to manipulate phonons and heat, and to guide the design of phononic thermal devices inthe future.     

An Aharonov-Anandan phase gate in the sub-Hilbert space of a coupling flux qubits system

We study two flux qubits with a parameter coupling scenario. Under the rotating wave approximation, we truncate the 4-dimensional Hilbert space of a coupling flux qubits system to a 2-dimensional subspace spanned by two dressed states |01 and |10 . In this subspace, we illustrate how to generate an Aharnov-Anandan phase, based on which, we can construct a NOT gate (as effective as a C-NOT gate) in this coupling flux qubits system. Finally, the fidelity of the NOT gate is also calculated in the presence of the simulated classical noise.     

BBU effect in an ERL-FEL two-purpose test facility

Both the energy recovery linac (ERL) and the free electron laser (FEL) are considered to be candidate fourth generation light sources. It is proposed to combine an FEL into an ERL facility to integrate the advantages of both, and to realize a compact two-purpose light source. A test facility to verify this principle is being designed at the Institute of High Energy Physics, Beijing. One main concern is the beam breakup (BBU) instability which limits the available beam current. To this end, we developed a numerical simulation code to calculate the BBU threshold, which is found to have only a small reduction even in a high-FEL-bunch-charge operation mode, compared with that in the case with ERL bunches only. However, even with the ERL beam current far below the BBU threshold, we observed a fluctuation of the central orbit of the ERL bunches in the presence of an FEL beam. We then present a physical model of BBU and understand the mechanism of the orbit-fluctuation in an ERL-FEL two-purpose machine. We found that by choosing an appropriate FEL bunch repetition rate, the central orbit fluctuation amplitude can be well controlled.     

Spectroscopy and coherent manipulation of single and coupled flux qubits

Measurements of three-junction flux qubits, both single flux qubits and coupled flux qubits, using a coupled direct current superconducting quantum interference device （dc-SQUID） for readout are reported. The measurement procedure is described in detail. We performed spectroscopy measurements and coherent manipulations of the qubit states on a single flux qubit, demonstrating quantum energy levels and Rabi oscillations, with Rabi oscillation decay time TRabi =- 78 ns and energy relaxation time T~ = 315 ns. We found that the value of TRabi depends strongly on the mutual inductance between the qubit and the magnetic coil. We also performed spectroscopy measurements on inductively coupled flux qubits.     

Spin-Dependent Electron Properties of a Triple-Terminal Quantum Dot Structure

Electron transport properties of a triple-terminal Aharonov-Bohm interferometer are theoretically studied. By applying a Rashba spin-orbit coupling to a quantum dot locally, we find that remarkable spin polarization comes about in the electron transport process with tuning the structure parameters, i.e., the magnetic flux or quantum dot levels. When the quantum dot levels are aligned with the Fermi level, there only appear spin polarization in this structure by the presence of an appropriate magnetic flux. However, in absence of magnetic flux spin polarization and spin separation can be simultaneously realized with the adjustment of quantum dot levels, namely, an incident electron from one terminal can select a specific terminal to depart from the quantum dots according to its spin state.     

Spatial dependent diffusion of cosmic rays and the excess of primary electrons derived from high precision measurements by AMS-02

The precise spectra of Cosmic Ray(CR) electrons and positrons have been published by the measurement of AMS-02. It is reasonable to regard the difference between the electron and positron spectra(?Φ = Φ_(e-)-Φ_(e+)) as being dominated by primary electrons. The resulting electron spectrum shows no sign of spectral softening above 20 GeV, which is in contrast with the prediction of the standard model of CR propagation. In this work, we generalize the analytic one-dimensional two-halo model of diffusion to a three-dimensional realistic calculation by implementing spatial variant diffusion coefficients in the DRAGON package. As a result, we can reproduce the spectral hardening of protons observed by several experiments, and predict an excess of high energy primary electrons which agrees with the measurement reasonably well. Unlike the break spectrum obtained for protons, the model calculation predicts a smooth electron excess and thus slightly over-predicts the flux from tens of GeV to 100 GeV. To understand this issue, further experimental and theoretical studies are necessary.     

Superconducting anisotropy and vortex pinning in CaKFe_4As_4 and KCa_2Fe_4As_4F_2

The vortex pinning determining the current carrying capacity of a superconductor is an important property to the applications of superconducting materials.For layered superconductors,the vortex pinning can be enhanced by a strong interlayer interaction in accompany with a suppression of superconducting anisotropy,which remains to be investigated in iron based superconductors(FeSCs)with the layered structure.Here,based on the transport and magnetic torque measurements,we experimentally investigate the vortex pinning in two bilayer FeSCs,CaKFe₄As₄(Fe1144)and KCa₂Fe₄As4F₂(Fe12442),and compare their superconducting anisotropyγ.While the anisotropyγ≈3 for Fe1144 is much smaller thanγ≈15 in Fe12442 around Tc,a higher flux pinning energy as evidenced by a higher critical current density is found in Fe1144,as compared with the case of Fe12442.In combination with the literature data of Ba_0.72K_0.28Fe2As₂ and Nd Fe As_O0.82F_0.18,we reveal an anti-correlation between the pinning energy and the superconducting anisotropy in these Fe SCs.Our results thus suggest that the interlayer interaction can not be neglected when considering the vortex pinning in Fe SCs.     

Ab initio investigation of boron nanodevices: conductances of the different geometric conformations

Conductances of different geometric conformations of boron ribbon devices are calculated by the ab initio method. The I-V characteristics of three devices are rather different due to the difference in structure. The current of the hexagonal boron device is the largest and increases nonlinearly. The current of the hybrid hexagon-triangle boron device displays a large low-bias current and saturates at a value of about 5.2 μA. The current of the flat triangular boron flake exhibits a voltage gap at low bias and rises sharply with increasing voltage. The flat triangular boron device can be either conducting or insulating, depending on the field.