Superconducting field-programmable gate array

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10879905-B2
Application number	US-201916473550-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 12, 2019
Priority date	Feb 14, 2018
Publication date	Dec 29, 2020
Grant date	Dec 29, 2020

Abstract

The various embodiments described herein include methods, devices, and systems for operating superconducting circuitry. In one aspect, a programmable circuit includes: (1) a superconducting component arranged in a multi-dimensional array of alternating narrow and wide portions; (2) a plurality of heat sources, each heat source thermally-coupled to, and electrically-isolated from, a respective narrow portion of the multi-dimensional array; and (3) a plurality of electrical terminals, each electrical terminal coupled to a respective wide portion of the multi-dimensional array.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A programmable circuit, comprising:
a superconducting component arranged in a multi-dimensional array of alternating narrow and wide portions;
a plurality of heat sources, each heat source thermally-coupled to, and electrically-isolated from, a respective narrow portion of the multi-dimensional array; and
a plurality of electrical terminals, each electrical terminal coupled to a respective wide portion of the multi-dimensional array.

2. The programmable circuit of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of heat sources is configured to selectively provide heat to the respective narrow portions sufficient to transition the respective narrow portions from a superconducting state to a non-superconducting state.

3. The programmable circuit of claim 1 , wherein a first subset of the plurality of heat sources are configured to provide a constant heat to the respective narrow portions sufficient to maintain the respective narrow portions in a non-superconducting state.

4. The programmable circuit of claim 3 , wherein a second subset of the plurality of heat sources are configured as logical inputs to the superconducting component.

5. The programmable circuit of claim 1 , wherein the superconducting component is configured to:
operate in a first logical mode while a third subset of the plurality of heat sources is providing constant heat; and
operate in a second logical mode while a fourth subset of the plurality of heat sources is providing constant heat.

6. The programmable circuit of claim 1 , wherein the superconducting component is arranged in a two-dimensional array.

7. The programmable circuit of claim 1 , wherein the superconducting component is patterned from a single thin film of superconducting material.

8. The programmable circuit of claim 1 , wherein each narrow portion of the multi-dimensional array has substantially the same shape.

9. The programmable circuit of claim 1 , further comprising a current source coupled to the superconducting component, the current source configured to, in the absence of heat from the plurality of heat sources, maintain the superconducting component in a superconducting state.

10. The programmable circuit of claim 1 , further comprising an output circuit coupled to at least a subset of the plurality of electrical terminals.

11. The programmable circuit of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the plurality of electrical terminals are coupled to a reference node.

12. A method of operating a programmable circuit, comprising:
providing a first current to a superconducting component arranged in a multi-dimensional array of alternating narrow and wide portions, the first current configured to maintain the superconducting component in a superconducting state;
configuring the superconducting component to perform a first logical operation by providing constant heat to a first subset of the narrow portions, the constant heat configured to transition the first subset of the narrow portions from the superconducting state to a non-superconducting state;
while the superconducting component is configured to perform the first logical operation:
receiving one or more inputs via a second subset of the narrow portions, distinct from the first subset; and
obtaining an electrical output via a subset of the wide portions, the electrical output corresponding to a result of the first logical operation on the one or more inputs.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
configuring the superconducting component to perform a second logical operation, distinct from the first logical operation, by providing constant heat to a third subset of the narrow portions, the constant heat configured to transition the third subset of the narrow portions from the superconducting state to the non-superconducting state;
while the superconducting component is configured to perform the second logical operation:
receiving one or more second inputs via a fourth subset of the narrow portions, distinct from the third subset; and
obtaining a second electrical output via a second subset of the wide portions, the second electrical output corresponding to a result of the second logical operation on the one or more second inputs.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first logical operation is selected from a group consisting of:
a logical AND operation;
a logical OR operation;
a majority gate operation; and
an input counting operation.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the one or more inputs comprise heat inputs configured to transition the second subset of the narrow portions from the superconducting state to the non-superconducting state.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein configuring the superconducting component to perform the first logical operation comprises coupling one or more of the wide portions to a reference node.

Assignees

• Psiquantum Corp

Inventors

• Najafi Faraz
• Jin Stone Qiaodan

Classifications

• H03K19/195 Primary

  using superconductive devices · CPC title

• G01J2001/442

  Single-photon detection or photon counting · CPC title

• G01J1/44

  Electric circuits {(for command of an exposure part G03B7/02)} · CPC title

• H01L39/10

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L39/16

  Electricity · mapped topic