[ad_1]
Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have devised a miniature superconducting thermometer capable of measuring temperatures below 1 Kelvin (minus 272.15 ° C or minus 457.87 ° F), down to 50 milliKelvin (mK ) and potentially 5 mK. It can be used to monitor the temperature of processor chips in superconductor-based quantum computers, which must remain cold to function properly.
Unlike conventional cryogenic thermometers, this new superconducting thermometer is smaller, faster, and more affordable for chip-scale and mass-produced devices.
At just 2.5 by 1.15mm in size, the new thermometer can be embedded or attached to another cryogenic microwave device to quantify its temperature when mounted on a chip. The analysts used the thermometer to show quick and accurate measurements of the heating of a superconducting microwave amplifier.
Group leader Joel Ullom said: “This was a fun idea that quickly became something very useful. The thermometer allows researchers to measure the temperature of a wide range of components in their test packages at minimal cost and without introducing many additional electrical connections. This has the potential to benefit researchers working in quantum computing or using low-temperature sensors across a wide range of fields. “
The thermometer consists of a superconducting niobium resonator coated with silicon dioxide which subsequently interacts with the resonator to shift the frequency at which it naturally vibrates. The interaction occurs due to the “tunneling” of atoms between two sites, a quantum mechanical effect.
The thermometer takes about 5 milliseconds to measure the temperature. Furthermore, it maps the frequency changes, measured by the electronics, over a temperature.
Journal reference:
- J. Wheeler et al. Sub-kelvin thermometer for on-chip measurements of microwave devices using two-level systems in superconducting microresonators, Applied Physics Letters (2020). DOI: 10.1063 / 5.0029351
[ad_2]
Source link
