SUPERCONDUCTING NON-RECIPROCAL DEVICES FOR MICROWAVE SYSTEMS

HIGH TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTING MICROWAVE PASSIVE COMPONENTS PROMISE TO SHRINK BY ONE TO TWO ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE, WHILE LOWERING THEIR LOSSES. SUPERCONDUCTING FILTER STRUCTURES, DELAY LINES AND HIGH-Q RESONATORS ALREADY HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATED FROM LTHROUGH K-BAND AT TEMPERATURES UP TO 80K. REAL SYSTEMS ADVANTAGES ARE EXPECTED FROM THE INTEGRATION OF SUCH COMPONENTS INTO A COMPACT SUBSYSTEM THAT JUSTIFIES THE ADDITIONAL COOLING. A KEY COMPONENT IN MOST PRACTICAL MICROWAVE SYSTEMS IS THE NON-RECIPROCAL DEVICE IN THE FORM OF A CIRCULAR OR ISOLATOR. THIS SBIR WILL SHOW THE FEASIBILITY OF SUCH DEVICES USING SUPERCONDUCTING THIN FILMS IN A MINIMUM VOLUME AND WITH MINIMUM LOSS. THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS THE INTEGRATION ON A COMMON GARNET SUBSTANCE.