Tunable Superconducting Josephson Dielectric Metamaterial

TL;DR

This paper presents a superconducting dielectric metamaterial with tunable properties achieved through Josephson junctions, enabling control over its electromagnetic response with low dissipation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel low-loss dielectric metamaterial whose properties can be dynamically tuned via the Josephson effect, expanding the capabilities of superconducting metamaterials.

Findings

Tunable cutoff frequency and permittivity demonstrated

Agreement with analytical microwave transmission model

Low dissipation in superconducting dielectric metamaterial

Abstract

We demonstrate a low-dissipation dielectric metamaterial with tunable properties based on the Josephson effect. Superconducting wires loaded with regularly spaced Josephson junctions ($I_c \approx 0.25$ $\mu$A) spanning a K-band waveguide and aligned with the microwave electric fields create a superconducting dielectric metamaterial. Applied dc current tunes the cutoff frequency and effective permittivity of this unique electric metamaterial. The results are in agreement with an analytical model for microwave transmission through the artificial dielectric medium.