Doppler-induced tunable and shape-preserving frequency conversion of microwave wave packets

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel Doppler-based method for tunable, shape-preserving microwave frequency conversion using superconducting transmission lines, enabling precise control without spurious mixing.

Contribution

It introduces a Doppler-induced frequency conversion technique that is continuously tunable, shape-preserving, and avoids traditional mixing artifacts in superconducting microwave systems.

Findings

Achieved up to 3.7% frequency shifts at 500 MHz and 4 GHz.

Preserved the temporal shape of microwave wave packets during conversion.

Demonstrated potential for unlimited frequency shifting with engineered transmission lines.

Abstract

In superconducting electronics, the ability to control the frequency of microwave wave packets is crucial for several applications, such as the operation of superconducting quantum processors and the readout of superconducting sensors. We introduce a new approach to microwave frequency conversion that harnesses a dynamic Doppler effect induced by a propagating front that separates regions of different phase velocities. Employing a high-kinetic-inductance superconducting transmission line in a travelling-wave geometry, we were able to implement frequency shifts of microwave wave packets at 500$\,$MHz and 4$\,$GHz of up to 3.7$\,$% while fully preserving their temporal shape. In contrast to conventional methods based on frequency-mixing, our Doppler-induced frequency-conversion method avoids spurious mixing products, is continuously tunable by a quasi-dc current amplitude, and allows to imprint arbitrary patterns on the instantaneous frequency profile of temporally long wave packets. By engineering transmission lines that allow for larger phase-velocity changes and/or by cascading multiple Doppler-induced frequency conversions, an unlimited amount of frequency shifting is in principle attainable. These features demonstrate the potential of our frequency-conversion technique as a promising tool for advanced control of microwave wave packets for different quantum applications.