Characterization of superconducting pulse discriminators based on parallel NbN nanostriplines

Abstract

A superconducting pulse discriminator based on a cascade switch to the normal state of parallel ultrathin NbN nanostrips has been fabricated and carefully investigated. Correct operation was achieved using 1 ns input pulses with amplitudes down to 15 mu A. The discriminator had a peak current gain of 12 and an FWHM timing jitter of 80 ps, limited by our measurement instrument resolution. These characteristics, together with simple on-chip integration, small area and low dissipation, make this device suitable for applications such as readout of fast cryogenic detectors and the output stage of superconducting digital circuits.