Narrow-band microwave radiation from a biased single-Cooper-pair transistor

Phys Rev Lett. 2007 Jun 1;98(22):227001. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.227001. Epub 2007 May 29.

Abstract

We show that a single-Cooper-pair transistor (SCPT) electrometer emits narrow-band microwave radiation when biased in its subgap region. Photoexcitation of quasiparticle tunneling in a nearby SCPT is used to spectroscopically detect this radiation in a configuration that closely mimics a qubit-electrometer integrated circuit. We identify emission lines due to Josephson radiation and radiative transport processes in the electrometer and argue that a dissipative superconducting electrometer can severely disrupt the system it attempts to measure.