Galaxy clusters are some of the largest known structures in the universe. Studying them observationally and theoretically can provide a lot of information on how these clusters form and are structured. One way to study them is through the so-called Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (SZ) effect, which is an interaction between the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and hot electrons in the cluster medium. The SZ effect can be further broken down into a thermal component (tSZ) arising from the random motion of the electrons, and a kinematic component (kSZ) arising from the bulk motion of the cluster medium, making it a good probe for several properties of the cluster. The SZ effect can be observed as a distortion of the CMB spectrum using submillimeter spectrometry. However, at many submillimeter frequencies radiation is absorbed strongly by the atmosphere. This makes it hard to interpret the measured SZ signal, and measurements require long observation times in order to reach a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio. In this thesis, we present a framework that simulates a submillimeter spectrometer observation of the tSZ effect including noise factors. It then fits a model tSZ signal to the noisy signal. This allows us to investigate the relation between observation time, noise and retrievability of cluster properties. We simulate a galaxy cluster with an electron temperature 𝑇𝑒 = 15.3 keV and central optical depth 𝜏𝑒 = 0.0172 with two simulated DESHIMA-type filterbanks spanning different frequency ranges. For each filterbank we perform 20 simulations with an observation time of 16 hours each, and 20 simulations of 32 hours. We fit every simulation separately, but average over simulations to obtain an expectation value for 𝑇𝑒 and 𝜏𝑒 given a filterbank and observation time. We also repeat each fit over rebinned copies of the noisy spectra, combining 7 data points into each bin. All tested combinations of filterbanks and observation times produce fits with results that are consistent with the input parameters. The 160-320 GHz filterbank consistently gives lower errors than the 220-440 GHz filterbank. From rebinning, we do not find any significant improvement or degradation of the quality of the fits. The estimates obtained from rebinned data deviate very little from the original estimates, by at most 5%, and show no change in consistency. From this result, we conclude that SZ observations using DESHIMA 2.0 could provide estimates on cluster parameters. These estimates are already consistent after 16 or 32 hours of observation time. However, we recommend a new filterbank design that covers 160-320 GHz since the error on estimates using this range are smaller than the errors obtained using the original 220-440 GHz filterbank. This is likely due to the atmosphere absorbing much less radiation at this frequency range. Additionally, the results from rebinning show that this new filterbank could contain fewer filters with a lower resolving power without degradation of fit quality.

The field of quantum acoustics studies high frequency sounds generated at low temperatures such that quantum mechanical effects become relevant. The studies mainly revolves around propagating quantized sound waves, or phonons, a collective excitation of atoms in solids or liquids. In quantum acoustics, the engineering and design tools described by circuit quantum acoustodynamics (cQAD) are used to develop quantum acoustic devices that are coupled to superconducting qubits. cQAD enabled the demonstrations of quantum ground state cooling mechanical objects, generating mechanical Fock-states, and Schrödinger cat states of motion. This makes quantum acoustic devices appealing candidates for applications such as quantum metrology, information processing, and quantum memory. This thesis focuses on the coupling between a planar superconducting transmon qubit and a high-overtone bulk acoustic resonator (HBAR) and explore its possibilities. Here,experimental demonstrations are shown where the transmon is used to drive the HBAR into a phonon lasing state making it a superconducting single-atom phonon laser. Furthermore, the transmon-HBAR device is used to probe the nature of ghost modes observed in strongly driven nonlinear systems.@en

This thesis investigates fundamental properties of Josephson junctions embedded in microwave circuits, and an application arising from this hybrid approach. We used the versatility of superconducting coplanar DC bias cavities to extract previously inaccessible information on phase coherent and subgap mechanisms of graphene Josephson junctions. Chapter 1 gives an introduction to the technology of Josephson field effect transistors, among which graphene junctions show promise for future improvements in quantum computation. Together with an overview of the Josephson effect in superconducting-semiconducting systems, we introduce the concept of coplanar DC bias cavities for probing Josephson junctions at gigahertz frequencies. In chapter 2, we describe the experimental methods developed for carrying out the subsequent measurements. We include details on fabrication, material properties and measurement setup. Results of graphene Josephson junctions embedded in DC bias microwave resonators are presented in chapters 3 and 4. By following the resonance frequency and losses of the circuit, we are able to extract the junctions’ Josephson inductance and subgap resistance. Studying the nonlinear power and bias current response reveals further information on the underlying loss mechanisms and current phase relation. We turn to an application of our hybrid bias cavity – Josephson junction devices to detect small, low-frequency currents in chapter 5. Our device is competitive with state-of-the-art techniques for microwave radiation detection and, with minor modifications, should be able to outperform existing technologies by orders of magnitude. Finally, we conclude the presented work in chapter 6 and provide an outlook on potential future research. @en

In this project, we have done a calibrated measurement on a previously designed and fabricated current pumped Josephson Parametric amplifier. We have installed a microwave switch into our crygenic fridge tobe able to get a calibrated response measurement using Short-Open-Load calibration, which we used withmeasurements of the gain and flux tunability of the device. This showed that our previous measurements onthe gain deviated significantly, with about 10dB. We also did a thermal calibration on the amplifier by heatingthe plate it was attached to, and found that the input noise approximates the limit of a half quantum of noise.

A multilayer graphene oscillator is coupled with a superconducting microwave cavity. A nonlinear term in the restoring force is determined and the behavior of the oscillator is investigated.

Producing arbitrary quantum states in mechanical oscillators is an essential part of the research con- cerning combining the theory of quantum mechanics with general relativity. In recent years, a lot of progress was made by the development of optomechanics and circuit quantum electro dynamics using which a quantum mechanical interaction between an LC oscillator and a mechanical oscillator can be created. This only left the need for the ability to create arbitrary desired states in an LC oscillator while keeping its properties as a linear resonator in tact. The interaction needed for this was recently designed in the group and is called the photon-pressure interaction. Using this interaction, effectively a Jaynes-Cummings interaction between a qubit and a LC oscillator was created which can truly be turned on and off, keeping the linear properties of the LC oscillator while the interaction is turned off. In this thesis a protocol that makes use of the Jaynes-Cummings interaction and qubit drives to create arbitrary states in the LC oscillator is developed. To show that the desired oscillator state has been created a protocol is also developed to perform Wigner tomography on the LC oscillator. Both protocols have been tested using simulations with loss effects corresponding to the ones encountered in our lab setting. The simulation results show that using the current lab system settings, states can successfully be produced in the LC oscillator and measured using the tomography protocol. This paves the way for arbitrary state generation and state measurement experimentally in the lab.

One of the main components used in superconducting quantum chips is the Josephson junction. Currently when fabricating Josephson junctions, the resistance uniformity at wafer-scale is not optimal. It is also known that an annealing process can alter the junction resistance and with it the qubit frequency. However, laser annealing has only shown to be able to increase the junction resistance. An equally effective and minimally invasive technique to decrease junction resistance is necessary to have full control on frequency targeting. Thermal annealing in a reducing environment is known to result in a global decrease in junction resistance. To get better control on frequency targeting the techniques could be combined. A die containing not-capped Manhattan type Josephson junctions has been annealed using forming gas at 200°C for 2 minutes, based on a non-linear least squares reciprocal function fit to the data an asymptotic lower bound of 467 μSμm-2 for the change in conductance per unit area has been found. Smaller junctions with an area of approximately 0.03 μm2 undergo a bigger change in conductance per unit area of around 800 μSμm-2. Annealing at higher temperatures such as 300 and 400°C results in a decrease of the conductance. There is no substantial change in yield of usable SQUIDs when using a rapid thermal annealing process.

Superconducting quantum circuits came out as promising candidates for the exploration of topological phenomena that are currently inaccessible in condensed matter systems. One such circuit is a Cooper pair transistor which has already been widely studied in different regimes of operation due to its importance in quantum computation. However, it has only recently been appreciated that a Cooper pair transistor hosts a non-trivial Chern number and topologically protected current switching behavior. We provide here a more detailed analysis of Cooper pair transistor operation for different parameter regimes and explore the quantized ac current.

This thesis analyses a lumped element circuit proposed for an analogue quantum simulation of opto-mechanics. The circuit consists of two resonators, a simple LC-resonator, and a similar resonator in which the inductor is replaced by a SQUID as a flux tuneable inductance. The interaction between the two resonators is established by mutual inductance between the inductor in the LC-resonator and the SQUID loop part of the other resonator. This makes the resonance frequency of the SQUID-resonator a function of the flux in the LC-resonator. It is shown that mutual and self inductances in the SQUID loop give rise to two transcendental constraints, for the magnetic flux in the SQUID loop, and the generalised flux across the SQUID. By an approximate solution for the constraints and under the assumption that the loop inductance is small compared to the SQUID inductance, we derive an approximate description for the circuit dynamics. We demonstrate that the circuit Hamiltonian contains the asymmetric opto-mechanical interaction, but in addition also a self-Kerr non-linearity in the analogue optical cavity, as well as a weak cross-Kerr interaction between the two resonators.

Superconducting microwave resonators based on coplanar waveguides (CPWs), which allow for on-chip implementation, have a wide variety of uses, from the coupling of qubits to the detection of photons from interstellar clouds. With the integration of a bias circuitry, the already versatile resonator will become even more so. However, applying a DC voltage or current bias to the resonator without significantly degrading its quality factor Q is no trivial task. One of the first superconducting microwave resonators with the ability to allow for the application of a DC bias, made use of symmetry points. In order to not rely on those symmetry points, our group came up with a different design that used a shunted capacitor instead. However, this design needs a more extensive and in particular more complicated fabrication process. As the groups focus is now completely away from the original design, we go back in this thesis, to honestly evaluate such a resonator by applying a bias to its center. We present a design with the cavity length l to be a full wavelength (l = λ) terminated on both ends to ground, fed in by a capacitively coupled AC-feedline at λ/4 and a DC-bias line at its center (λ/2). After the first fabrication trial we were unable to successfully judge the performance of the microwave resonator as it suffered from bad internal loss, leading to a low internal Q ~ 300 at 4 K. The only thing that this showed us, is that its design is perhaps not as straightforward. On the other hand, interesting results specific to the design were obtained from QUCS simulations (using a combination of lumped and distributed elements). These simulations showed that the quality of the resonator is highly sensitive to the position of its galvanically connected bias line, with respect to the center of the cavity (voltage node). Where Qint drops down to 10 % of its maximum for < 0.1 mm (= l/320) away from the center. Furthermore, we saw that asymmetry in the ports causes the maximum Qint (voltage node) to be off-center by 9 μm, and that adding an extra feedline in symmetry to the existing one puts it back on-center. Demonstrating the voltage node susceptibility to asymmetries of the cavity mode. Despite the unpromising signs the results show, suggestions have been put forward about better isolation of the bias line that have the potential to still make the design attractive. While these isolations still baring the traits of a faster and less complex fabrication.

A single photon interacting with a single atom is the most fundamental form of light interacting with matter and has been extensively studied in the field of Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics (cavity QED). Here, a non-linearity like an atom is coupled to a single mode of the electromagnetic field in a cavity. Another field which explores the quantum mechanical nature of photons is Circuit Quantum Electrodynamics (cQED) where photons are the quantized excitations of a superconducting microwave resonator and non-linearity is introduced by the Josephson junction. Like this, setups analog to that of in cavity QED can be copied to cQED, with a number of differences. For example, the photons propagating in a transmission line are more confined and the circuits are made with conventional lithography techniques, allowing for more freedom in engineering the system parameters. In the first part of the thesis, we build a numerical model in order to examine the feasibility of quenching the ground state of a coplanar waveguide (CPW) interrupted by a tunable coupling element. Next, by means of experiments and simulations we considered the feasibility of observing experimentally a synchronization effect in a driven CPW with its central conductor interrupted by equally spaced capacitively shunted Josephson junctions (Josephson crystal) based on a recent proposal. Finally, we made a first step in understanding the synchronization from a classical perspective by modelling a Josephson crystal of two junctions as two degenerate non-linearly coupled Duffng oscillators. Concerning the quenching experiment, we found that the plasma frequency must be tuned faster than 1/f with f the resonance frequency of the CPW, which is in the sub-nanosecond regime and therefore unfeasible with current state the art electronics. We also found that, in contrast to what was claimed in the proposal, the synchronization effect cannot be observed for the parameters common in cQED. One way would be to push the limits of the capacitances to several picofarads. Finally, we found that the non-linear coupling causes the two degenerate non-linearly coupled Duffng oscillator to synchronize, which is a first step in understanding the proposed synchronization effect in a fully classical way.

Quantum-limited parametric amplifiers have become increasingly interesting and relevant with the progressing field of quantum computing. However, currently it is still challenging to fabricate these complex devices. In this thesis, we developed cross type Josephson junctions (JJs), lumped element LC resonators, lumped element Josephson parametric amplifiers (JPAs) and Josephson traveling wave parametric amplifiers (JTWPAs). We found and resolved several fabrication issues however we suspect that both the JPA and JTWPA suffered from microshorts in the circuits during the cryogenic measurements. Nevertheless, we managed to measure the resonance frequency of the JPA and have noticed the flux focusing effect when we flux tune it. We preformed room temperature measurements on over 300 JJs and calculated the relative standard deviation (RSD) for various JJ sizes. We found the spread of 30 fabricated resonators and a rough estimate of their Q factors. The JTWPAs developed are non-degenerate four wave mixing amplifiers that use the resonant phase matching (RPM) technique to reduce the phase mismatch problem. The transmission through the measured JTWPA showed 50 dB loss probably caused by presumably a short from the transmission line to ground. However, when the JTWPA was driven with a pump we observed 20 dB increase in transmission in some frequency bands.

Superconducting resonators used in mm/sub-mm (MMW) astronomy would greatly benefit from deposited dielectrics with low dielectric loss. The excess loss in deposited dielectrics is mainly due to two-level systems (TLS), and there is no consensus on their microscopic origin. To study the relation between hydrogenated amorphous silicon’s (a-Si:H) microwave (MW) loss at 120 mK and its void volume fraction, hydrogen content, microstructure parameter, bond-angle disorder, and infrared (IR) refractive index, we deposited films at substrate temperatures of 100°C, 250°C and 350°C using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). We measured the room temperature properties of the films using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and ellipsometry. All room temperature properties except the IR refractive index decrease monotonically with increasing substrate temperature. The IR refractive index approaches the refractive index of crystalline silicon (c-Si) when increasing the substrate temperature to 350 °C. We measured the dielectric losses using superconducting coplanar waveguide resonators. Interestingly, we do not see a correlation of the room temperature results with the MW losses. All films have an excellent 120 mK MW loss tangent below 1e−5 at −50 dBm internal resonator power. More research on the loss tangents is recommended, for example using microstrip lines or lumped element parallel plate capacitors. The low dielectric losses make these films promising for application in MW kinetic inductance detectors and on-chip filters. These promising results could lead to the application of the dielectrics in the integrated superconducting spectrometer DESHIMA 2.0.

In this thesis, a we have designed and fabricated a Josephson Parametric Amplifier (JPA) using a new double-angle evaporation method without a Dolan bridge. We have found and resolved several issues in the fabrication procedure, but it requires further tuning before being fully functional. We have also simulated the behaviour of a general parametric amplifier with an additional Duffing non-linear term, and found that this term appears to limit the oscillation amplitude. We have attempted to characterize Josephson junctions fabricated with the new double-angle evaporation procedure, but without much success. Using a different fabrication method, a JPA was made and successfully characterized. The maximum measured gain is 16 dB, with a bandwidth of 1 MHz. The noise temperature is comparable to the cryostat temperature of 250 mK, but it was not characterized accurately.