50 research outputs found
Direct calibration of a true-rms ac voltmeter against a He-free pulsed Josephson standard
Starting from 2019 a new central role is played by quantum standards, owing to the redefined SI, where electrical units are directly linked to the fundamental constants e (elementary charge) and h (Planck constant). Thus, metrologists are nowadays trying to extend the astonishing accuracy attainable in dc measurements to ac and beyond, moving towards calibrations aiming quantum ac voltage generation. Programmable Josephson Voltage Standards are nowadays capable of fulfilling primary metrology requirements only for stepwise-approximated voltage signals up to few hundreds Hz. Pulsed Josephson standards are instead capable of generating arbitrary waveforms at higher frequencies, so are generally called Josephson Arbitrary Waveform Standards (JAWS). Despite of the lower attainable voltage, JAWS are very promising and are the subject of intense research activity. In particular, the capability of generating high spectral purity signals allows high accuracy measurements especially at the low voltage levels (<100 mV rms), which are challenging to be performed by the traditional ac-dc transfer difference using thermal converters. We report in the following about our setup for quantum-based calibrations of a true-rms ac voltmeter with low uncertainty, first results obtained and unsolved issues
Development of Josephson voltage standards
Neurology & clinical neurophysiolog
Chapter Development of Josephson voltage standards
Neurology & clinical neurophysiolog
Programmierbare Josephson-Arrays für Impedanzmessungen
An innovative way of networking two programmable Josephson arrays generating synchronous waveforms for impedance ratio measurements, as the first of its kind, is presented. This pioneering approach of the Josephson Impedance Bridges is far more flexible than conventional bridges at the same level of measurement uncertainty. Results prove that aside from having the capability of measuring
over a wider frequency range, the Josephson bridge permits measurements on two impedances with any value of phase angle between them. In the two-terminal-pair Josephson bridge setup, measurements are made for a 1:1 resistance ratio at the 10-k level in the frequency range between 25 Hz and 10 kHz. Uncertainties reach to levels of better than a few parts in 108 and results agree to the values measured from conventional impedance bridges.
Two methods for four-terminal impedance measurements have been investigated, the potential comparison circuit and the coaxial setup. Both methods are capable of measuring from DC to 6 kHz with uncertainties to 10−8. The four-terminal-pair coaxial setup has potential to decrease the relative uncertainty down to 10−9 once systematic errors are analyzed and canceled. Thermal converter measurements have been made to investigate the effects of transients on stepwise approximated sinewaves. Rms measurements show that transients limit the uncertainty to about 10−6 at 1 kHz. A simple model with an equivalent time constant is presented to evaluate the influence of different parameters on the shape of the transients. It has been experimentally established, at the 10−8 level of uncertainty for the determination of impedance ratios, that the variations of the transients in stepwise approximated waveforms can be neglected when using the fundamental component of rectangular waveforms. Quantization at up to 10 kHz has been confirmed by varying the bias current of the Josephson arrays resulting in constant resistance ratios within the measurement resolution.Ein innovativer Weg, zwei programmierbare Josephson-Schaltungen für Impedanz-Verhältnismessungen zu verknüpfen, wird erstmals in dieser Arbeit präsentiert. Dieser neuartige Ansatz einer Josephson-Impedanzmessbrücke ist flexibler als konventionelle Impedanzmessbrücken bei gleicher Messunsicherheit. Es wird gezeigt, dass neben der Möglichkeit, über einen wesentlich größeren Frequenzbereich zu messen, die Josephson-Impedanzmessbrücke auch Messungen sehr unterschiedlicher Impedanzverhältnisse und beliebiger Phasenwinkel erlaubt. In einer Zwei-Tor-Anordnung der Josephson-Impedanzmessbrücke wurden Messungen für ein 1:1 Widerstandsverhältnis bei 10 k im Frequenzbereich von 25 Hz bis 10 kHz durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse stimmen mit denen einer konventionellen Messbrücke im Rahmen der Unsicherheit von wenigen 10−8 überein.
Für eine Vier-Tor-Anordnung wurden zwei unterschiedliche Methoden untersucht, eine Spannungsverhältnisschaltung und eine koaxiale Vier-Tor-Anordnung. Letztere hat das Potential, Unsicherheiten von 10−9 zu erreichen, sobald systematische Fehler eliminiert sind.
Um Effekte der Transienten in stufenförmig approximierten Sinuswellen zu untersuchen, wurden Messungen an Thermokonvertern durchgeführt. Diese Effektivmessungen zeigen, dass Transienten die relative Messunsicherheiten auf etwa 10−6 bei einer Frequenz von 1 kHz beschränken. Es wird ein einfaches Modell vorgestellt, das die Form der Transienten in Abhängigkeit der wesentlichen Parameter beschreibt. Experimentell konnte bei Impedanzverhältnismessungen mit einer relativen Messunsicherheit von 10−8 nachgewiesen werden, dass die Variation der Transienten in stufenförmig approximierten Wellenformen vernachlässigbar ist, wenn die fundamentale Komponente eines Rechtecksignals verwendet wird. Quantisierte Plateaus wurden bis zu Frequenzen von 10 kHz gefunden, bei denen die Variation des angelegten Stroms durch die Josephson-Schaltungen keine Veränderung des Impedanzverhältnisses zur Folge hatte
Towards a quantum representation of the ampere using single electron pumps
Electron pumps generate a macroscopic electric current by controlled
manipulation of single electrons. Despite intensive research towards a quantum
current standard over the last 25 years, making a fast and accurate quantised
electron pump has proved extremely difficult. Here we demonstrate that the
accuracy of a semiconductor quantum dot pump can be dramatically improved by
using specially designed gate drive waveforms. Our pump can generate a current
of up to 150 pA, corresponding to almost a billion electrons per second, with
an experimentally demonstrated current accuracy better than 1.2 parts per
million (ppm) and strong evidence, based on fitting data to a model, that the
true accuracy is approaching 0.01 ppm. This type of pump is a promising
candidate for further development as a realisation of the SI base unit ampere,
following a re-definition of the ampere in terms of a fixed value of the
elementary charge.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
A Comprehensive Analysis of Error Sources in Electronic Fully Digital Impedance Bridges
open12sìFully digital impedance bridges are emerging as measuring instruments for primary electrical impedance metrology and the realization of impedance units and scales. This article presents a comprehensive analysis of electronic fully digital impedance bridges for both generating (based on digital-to-analog converters) and digitizing (based on analog-to-digital converters) bridges. The sources of measurement error are analyzed in detail and expressed by explicit mathematical formulas ready to be applied to the specific bridge and measurement case of interest. The same can be employed also as a basis to optimize the design and the operating parameters of digital bridges and evaluate the measurement uncertainty. A practical application of the analysis to the digital bridges developed and measurements performed in the framework of an international research project is presented.openOrtolano, Massimo; Marzano, Martina; D'Elia, Vincenzo; Mai Tran, Ngoc Thanh; Rybski, Ryszard; Kaczmarek, Janusz; Koziol, Miroslaw; Musiol, Krzysztof; Christensen, Andreas Elmholdt; Callegaro, Luca; Kucera, Jan; Power, OliverOrtolano, Massimo; Marzano, Martina; D'Elia, Vincenzo; Mai Tran, Ngoc Thanh; Rybski, Ryszard; Kaczmarek, Janusz; Koziol, Miroslaw; Musiol, Krzysztof; Christensen, Andreas Elmholdt; Callegaro, Luca; Kucera, Jan; Power, Olive
The ampere and the electrical units in the quantum era
By fixing two fundamental constants from quantum mechanics, the Planck
constant and the elementary charge , the revised Syst\`eme International
(SI) of units endorses explicitly quantum mechanics. This evolution also
highlights the importance of this theory which underpins the most accurate
realization of the units. From 20 May 2019, the new definitions of the kilogram
and of the ampere, based on fixed values of and respectively, will
particularly impact the electrical metrology. The Josephson effect (JE) and the
quantum Hall effect (QHE), used to maintain voltage and resistance standards
with unprecedented reproducibility since 1990, will henceforth provide
realizations of the volt and the ohm without the uncertainties inherited from
the older electromechanical definitions. More broadly, the revised SI will
sustain the exploitation of quantum effects to realize electrical units, to the
benefit of end-users. Here, we review the state-of-the-art of these standards
and discuss further applications and perspectives.Comment: 78 pages, 35 figure