Highly Efficient Superconducting Diodes and Rectifiers for Quantum Circuitry

Superconducting electronics is essential for energy-efficient quantum and classical high-end computing applications. Towards this goal, non-reciprocal superconducting circuit elements, such as superconducting diodes (SDs) can fulfill many critical needs. SDs have been the subject of multiple studies, but integrating several SDs in a superconducting circuit remains a challenge. Here we implement the first SD bridge with multiple SDs exhibiting reproducible characteristics operating at temperatures of a few Kelvin. We demonstrate its functionality as a full wave rectifier using elemental superconductors and insulating ferromagnets, with efficiency up to 42±5%, and ac to dc signal conversion capabilities at frequencies up to 40 kHz. Our results show a pathway with a highly scalable thin film platform for nonreciprocal superconducting circuits. They could significantly reduce energy consumption as well as decohering thermal and electromagnetic noise in quantum computing.超导电子学对于实现高能效的量子与经典高端计算应用至关重要。为此，非互易超导电路元件（如超导二极管（SDs））可满足诸多关键需求。尽管超导二极管已成为多项研究的焦点，但在超导电路中集成多颗超导二极管仍是一项挑战。本研究构建了首个搭载多颗超导二极管的超导二极管桥路，其特性可复现，工作温度为数开尔文。本研究采用单质超导体与绝缘铁磁体，验证了该桥路作为全波整流器的功能，其整流效率可达42±5%，且可在最高40 kHz的频率下实现交流-直流信号转换。本研究结果为非互易超导电路提供了一条基于高度可扩展薄膜平台的技术路径。该技术可显著降低量子计算的能耗，并抑制热噪声与电磁噪声所导致的退相干效应。