Characterization and Analysis of On-Chip Microwave Passive Components at Cryogenic Temperatures

TL;DR

This study characterizes microwave passive components at cryogenic temperatures, providing essential data and models crucial for designing cryogenic CMOS RF circuits in quantum computing applications.

Contribution

First comprehensive characterization and modeling of microwave passives at 4.2 K, aiding the development of cryogenic CMOS RF circuits for quantum computing.

Findings

Capacitance, inductance, and quality factor vary with temperature.

Physical parameters influence the behavior of passives at cryogenic temperatures.

Models enable better design of cryogenic RF components.

Abstract

This paper presents the characterization of microwave passive components, including metal-oxide-metal (MoM) capacitors, transformers, and resonators, at deep cryogenic temperature (4.2 K). The variations in capacitance, inductance and quality factor are explained in relation to the temperature dependence of the physical parameters and the resulting insights on modeling of passives at cryogenic temperatures are provided. Both characterization and modeling, reported for the first time down to 4.2 K, are essential in designing cryogenic CMOS radio-frequency integrated circuits, a promising candidate to build the electronic interface for scalable quantum computers.