Febvre, Pascal

Fritzsch, Ludwig

Kunert, Jürgen

Meyer, Hans-Georg

Mielke, Olaf

Ortlepp, Thomas

Töpfer, Hannes

Digitale Bibliothek Thüringen

   Information Technology and Electrical  Engineering - Devices and Systems, Materials  and Technologies for the Future        Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology    Startseite / Index:  http://www.db-thueringen.de/servlets/DocumentServlet?id=14089 54. IWK Internationales Wissenschaftliches Kolloquium International Scientific Colloquium 07 - 10 September 2009 PROCEEDINGS Impressum  Herausgeber: Der Rektor der Technischen Universität llmenau  Univ.-Prof. Dr. rer. nat. habil. Dr. h. c. Prof. h. c. Peter Scharff  Redaktion: Referat Marketing   Andrea Schneider   Fakultät für Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik  Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Berger  Redaktionsschluss: 17. August 2009  Technische Realisierung (USB-Flash-Ausgabe):  Institut für Medientechnik an der TU Ilmenau  Dipl.-Ing. Christian Weigel  Dipl.-Ing. Helge Drumm  Technische Realisierung (Online-Ausgabe):  Universitätsbibliothek Ilmenau    Postfach 10 05 65  98684 Ilmenau  Verlag:   Verlag ISLE, Betriebsstätte des ISLE e.V.  Werner-von-Siemens-Str. 16  98693 llmenau   © Technische Universität llmenau (Thür.) 2009   Diese Publikationen und alle in ihr enthaltenen Beiträge und Abbildungen sind urheberrechtlich geschützt.   ISBN (USB-Flash-Ausgabe): 978-3-938843-45-1 ISBN (Druckausgabe der Kurzfassungen): 978-3-938843-44-4  Startseite / Index: http://www.db-thueringen.de/servlets/DocumentServlet?id=14089  DESIGN, FABRICATION, AND TESTS OF RSFQ CIRCUITS BASED ON THE FLUXONICS FOUNDRY  Jürgen Kunert, Ludwig Fritzsch, Hans-Georg Meyer Institute of Photonic Technology, Quantum Detection Department Albert-Einstein-Str. 9, D-07745 Jena, Germany   Thomas Ortlepp, Olaf Mielke, Hannes Töpfer Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute for Information Technology Postfach 10 05 65, D-98684 Ilmenau, Germany  Pascal Febvre University of Savoie, LAHC - Campus scientifique, 73376 Le Bourget du Lac Cedex, France  ABSTRACT  The paper provides an overview of the design and fabrication process of Rapid Single Flux Quantum (RSFQ) circuits [1] and a demonstration of the established integrated framework of the FLUXONICS Foundry [2]. Test circuits demonstrate the integration of functional elements into more complex devices. The circuits were extensively tested, including an on-chip 30 GHz test using a ladder-type clock generator, as well as by bit error rate measurements. The results presented here show the potentials and the reliability of the European FLUXONICS Foundry for the design and fabrication of robust RSFQ circuits for end-users in research and industry.   This work has been supported by the European FP7-Project S-PULSE [3].  Index Terms - RSFQ, Josephson Junction, Superconductor Electronics, Fabrication, Foundry  1. INTRODUCTION The today’s life is unimaginable without electronic devises. The development of semiconductor electronics is directed to higher integration and speed.  The clock speed of semiconductor microprocessors seems to reach a status of saturation in the range of 3-4 GHz. Heat dissipation problems are the main reason for this limitation. The RSFQ electronics, based on effects in superconductor materials, offers high speed together with very low power dissipation. So these circuits can be operated at several tens of GHz without the limitation of heat. The availability of effective cryo cooling systems has improved the opportunity to build easy-to-use complex superconductor electronics systems [4].  2. RSFQ STANDARD PROCESS In the fabrication process of RSFQ circuits equipment and technologies like thin film deposition and patterning are used comparable to semiconductor processes.  The process is the standard for RSFQ at IPHT since several years [5] and certified by the DIN EN ISO9001. Information of the current standard process RSFQ1D is available for circuit designers including design rules on an internet platform [2].  A cross-section of the typical elements of the RSFQ circuitry is shown in figure 1 as schematic and in figure 2 as REM picture.  ShuntVia, PadJosephson JunctionM2 M1 I2 I1B I0B I0A M0 R2 R1 I1A T1 Fig.1: Schematic cross-section  Fig.2: REM picture of the cross-section   The topological structures are defined with photolithography engineering on thermally oxidized © 2009 - 54th Internationales Wissenschaftliches KolloquiumSi wafers of four inch diameter. The used contact lithography defines the overlap from layer to layer of 2.5 μm.  In table 1 all layers and film thicknesses are listed.   Layer name Layer function Thickness [nm] Material R2 Bond pad 50 Au M2 Upper Wiring 350 Nb I2 Insulation 150 SiO R1 Resistor 80 Mo I1B Insulation 150 SiO I1A Insulation 70 Nb2O5T1 Josephson Junction 60 12 30 Nb Al2O3 Nb M1 Lower Wiring 250 Nb I0B Insulation 200 SiO I0A Insulation 50 Nb2O5M0 Ground plane 200 Nb Tab. 1: Layer description of the Process RSFQ1D  The physical properties are determined by the materials. Niobium (Nb) is used as superconductor with a critical temperature TC of 9.2 K. The Nb is deposited by dc magnetron sputtering and patterned by reactive ion etching (RIE) in CF4 plasma.  For the insulation between the niobium layers Nb2O5 and SiO are used. The Nb2O5 insulation is made by anodization [6] up to a voltage of 25 V. The insulation is reinforced by two evaporated SiO layers. Holes for connection through the insulation are opened by lift-off. The electrical active functional element is the Josephson junction (JJ). The JJ is a very thin insulator between superconductor layers and works as tunneling barrier. In the RSFQ standard process the tunnel barrier consist of Al2O3. This so called trilayer [6] is a stack of Nb, Al, Al2O3, and Nb. The trilayer is deposited without vacuum interruption. The thickness of Al2O3 is determined by oxidation of the Al film at room temperature in a pure oxygen atmosphere. The oxide thickness is in the range of one nanometer. The area of JJ is defined by following complete anodization of the trilayer counter electrode up to a voltage of 35 V.  For the anodization all structures in the ground plane and in the lower wiring layer have to be connected to the anodization terminal. For the not grounded structures of the circuit this is done with additional wires, which are removed by a cut etch step using RIE in CF4 plasma.  The density of the critical current JC of the trilayer is 1 kA/cm2 in the standard process. Resulting from the contact lithography the smallest junction area is 12.5 μm2. The typical characteristic of such a JJ is hysteretic. The RSFQ electronics need a non hysteretic function. A shunt resistor suppresses the hysteresis. The resistor layer is consists of molybdenum (Mo) and has to be protected by SiO against air and environmental influences. The sheet resistance of the Mo layer is 1 Ohm. The Mo film is sputtered and patterned by lift-off. For the RSFQ electronics the inductors are important passive elements. These inductors are defined by the thickness of the Nb layers and the insulation layers. The bonding pads are covered with gold (Au) to improve the bonding conditions..  3. PROCESS CHARACTERISATION Each fabricated wafer has to pass a characterization procedure. This procedure consists of measurement of critical currents IC, the resistances, the inductances and their tolerances. If all parameters are inside the specification, a functional RSFQ test completes the characterization procedure. The specification of parameters and tolerances are listed in table 2.   Tolerance  in ± % Parameter Nominal Value Total On Wafer On Chip Critical current density JC1kA/cm2 20 15 5 Sheet resistance RSquare1 Ohm 20 10 5 Inductance   M1-M0 0.52 pH 10 5 2 Inductance   M2-M1 0.64 pH 10 5 2 Inductance   M2-M0 0.81 pH 10 5 2 Tab. 2: Specification of parameters and tolerances  Unified test circuits are placed on each wafer for the measurement of parameters. These test structures consist of resistors, unshunted JJ and shunted JJ.  The value of IC and the shrink of critical dimensions can be calculated from the measurement results. Other measurements are done for the normal resistance RN of the JJ and for the sub-gap resistance RS at 2 mV. A product ICRN more than 1.4 mV and a ratio RS/RN more than 20 are parameters for high quality JJ.  The spread of the IC can be measured with arrays of 200 JJ. SQUID structures with different layer configurations exist for the measurement of the inductances.   If all parameter tests have been passed follows the function test of an unified RSFQ circuit. The test circuit is a configuration of a DC/SFQ converter, a Josephson transmission line (JTL), and a SFQ/DC converter. Figure 3 shows this test circuit.  Fig.3: Picture of the test circuits  The test circuit has terminals for bias currents IB1, IB2, IX, input current IIN and output voltage VOUT. A triangle form input current IIN clocks the circuits. The DC/SFQ converter switches on the increasing slope. Figure 4 and 5 show the behavior of the circuits for input current IIN amplitudes corresponding to one and four magnetic flux quantum Φ0.    Fig.4: Function of the test circuit with IIN corresponding to one Φ0 shows one switch of VOUT on each increasing slope of IIN   Fig.5: Function of the test circuit with IIN corresponding to four Φ0 shows four switches of VOUT on each increasing slope of IIN 4. TEST OF RSFQ CIRCUITS The bit error rate (BER) is an important parameter for digital circuits and gives information about the reliability of complex circuits.  As example the BER of the circuit in figure 6 was measured in dependence of the two bias currents IB1 and IB2.    IB1 IB2IXIIN VOUTFig.6: Schematic of the test circuits for the 2D BER.  This 2D BER measurement was performed in a DSP controlled test set-up.  The input IIN was fed by a triangle form input current with an amplitude corresponding to one Φ0. The measurement set-up checks the correct output voltage behavior. The number of errors is notified. The measurement time of 0.2 s and the frequency of 50 kHz correspond to 10,000 tests for each point.  In this case zero error means a BER of better than 10-4. Figure 7 shows a plot of the 2D BER depends of the two bias currents.    IINVOUTFig.7: Result of the 2D BER measurement  In the white area the BER is lower than 10-4. The white rectangle box is the expected figure.  The previously described tests are at low frequencies in the kHz range. The destined frequency range for RSFQ electronics is in the range of tenth of GHz. Tests in this range is difficult. They need very expensive equipment and the complete set-up has to be optimized for this frequencies. For general tests of the function of circuit elements the on-chip test is a good alternative. Such a test was implemented on a circuit for pseudo high frequency tests. The schematic is shown in figure 8.  IINVOUT Fig.8: Schematic of the pseudo high speed test circuit  The DC/SFQ converter input follows a cascade of four splitters and four confluence buffers. The cascade generates by each input signal sequences of five single flux quantum (SFQ) pulses. This cascade is called ladder-type generator. The distance of pulses is determinate by delays inside the cascade and corresponds to a frequency of 30 GHz. This high frequency sequences recur with the input clock frequency in the range of kHz. For each clock event at the input the measurement in the kHz range at the output shows the circuit function corresponding to five SFQ pulses. The device under test is a cascade of three toggle flip-flops (TFF). This TFF cascade is fed by the ladder-type generator and is read out by a SFQ/DC converter. Because the SFQ/DC converter operates also like a TFF, the whole circuit is a 4 bit ripple-counter. The output signal behavior is a 16 bit pattern in the kHz range and can be calculated. Figure 9 shows the simulated wave form.   Fig.9: Simulated output signal of the pseudo high speed test circuit  The measured wave form in figure 10 shows this predicted pattern.    Fig.10: Measured output signal of the pseudo high speed test circuit  The TFF cascade operates internally correct at 30 GHz. The complete test circuit is build of 99 Josephson junctions.   5. FLUXONICS FOUNDRY The presented RSFQ circuits have been designed, fabricated and measured in the FLUXONICS foundry. The FLUXONICS Foundry [2] for RSFQ circuits was established by the European FLUXONICS network. This Foundry provides a complete design and fabrication infrastructure including a library of designs for basic gates, and design support. The fabrication is based on a DIN EN ISO9001 certified circuit fabrication process associated with an extensively tested cell library of basic RSFQ gates.  The library serves as a key access to the field of RSFQ electronics and provides also general as well as detailed descriptions for the superconductor electronics technology. The cell-based design is the most straightforward solution for a standard design process in digital electronics. The cell library includes the interface cells between RSFQ and semiconductor electronics as well as all general cells for the transmission, distribution and combination of SFQ pulses. All cells have been analyzed experimentally and can be integrated into larger circuits without further optimization.   6. OUTLOOK The world wide direction of the development of fabrication processes for complex RSFQ circuits is to higher integration level and faster operation speed. The higher integration level corresponds to smaller structures. The higher operation speed needs higher current densities resulting also in smaller structures. These two aspects presage the future developments of the RSFQ process of the FLUXONICS Foundry. The change from contact lithography to wafer stepper based projection lithography will be done in the near future. First JJ with sub-micron dimensions have been fabricated and successfully tested [7]. The long term improvement will be the increase of the critical current density.   IINVOUT 7. REFERENCES [1] K.K. Likharev, V.K. Semenov, IEEE Trans. Appl. Supercond. 1, 3 (1991) [2] www.fluxonics-foundry.de, “Foundry for design, fabrication and testing of superconductive electronics” [3] www.s-pulse.eu, European Support Action: “Shrink-path of ultra low power superconductive electronics” FP7-215297 [4] M. Schubert, M. Starkloff, M. Meyer, G. Wende, S. Anders, B. Steinbach, T. May, H.-G. Meyer, „First Direct Comparison of a Cryocooler-Based Josephson Voltage Standard System at 10V”, IEEE Trans. Instrum. Meas. Vol. 58, no. 4, pp. 816-820, Apr. 2009 [5] S. Lange, E. Romanus, L. Fritzsch, M. Khabipov, F.H. Uhlmann, H.-G. Meyer, “Nb/Al-Al2O3/Nb process for the fabrication of RSFQ circuits and washer structures for Digital SQUIDs”, Proceedings 43. IWK , Ilmenau, Germany, pp. 219-223, 1998  [6] H. Kroger, L.N. Smith, D.W. Jillie, Appl. Phys. Lett. 39 (3) 280-282, 1981 [7] S. Anders, M. Schmelz, L. Fritzsch, R. Stolz, V. Zakosarenko, T. Schönau, H.-G. Meyer, „Sub-micrometer-sized, cross-type Nb-AlOx-Nb tunnel junctions with low parasitic capacitance“, Supercond. Sci. Technol. 22(2009)064012 (4pp) 

Design, fabrication, and tests of RSFQ circuits based on the fluxonics foundry

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Design, fabrication, and tests of RSFQ circuits based on the fluxonics foundry

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