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    Broadband kinetic inductance parametric amplifiers with impedance engineering

    Chih-Chiao Hung1,*, Hiroki Kutsuma2, Chung Wai Sandbo Chang1, Arjan Ferdinand van Loo1,3, and Yasunobu Nakamura1,3,†

    • *Contact author: chih-chiao.hung@riken.jp
    • †Contact author: yasunobu@ap.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp

    Phys. Rev. Applied 24, 064019 – Published 4 December, 2025

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/6xk3-tvpb

    Abstract

    Broadband quantum-limited parametric amplifiers (PAs) are essential components in quantum information science and technology. Impedance-engineered resonator-based PAs and traveling-wave PAs are the primary approaches taken to overcome the gain-bandwidth constraint. While the former PAs are simpler to fabricate, the target characteristic impedance ZNR of the nonlinear resonator has been restricted to be below 10Ω, requiring large capacitance. Moreover, these PAs have only been implemented with aluminum-based Josephson junctions (JJs), hindering their operation at high temperatures or strong magnetic fields. To address these issues, we propose a three-stage impedance-transformer scheme, showcased with a 20 nm thick, 250 nm wide, high-kinetic-inductance niobium-titanium-nitride (NbTiN) film. Our scheme enables ZNR up to several tens of ohms—a tenfold improvement over conventional designs, achieved through an additional quarter-wavelength transmission line with a characteristic impedance of 180 Ω. Our kinetic-inductance impedance-engineered parametric amplifiers (KIMPAs), featuring a 330 fF shunt capacitor, demonstrate a phase-preserving amplification with a 450-MHz bandwidth at 17 dB gain, and added noise ranging from 0.5 to 1.3 quanta near the center frequency of 8.4 GHz. Owing to the high critical current of the NbTiN nanowire, the KIMPA also achieves an output saturation power of up to −51±3 dBm, approximately 25 dB higher than that of JJ-based PAs. This scheme also opens new possibilities for other three-wave-mixing building blocks.

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