Three Parallel Generation of a 4-bit M-Sequence Using Single-Flux-Quantum Digital Circuits

Maximum-length sequences (M-sequences) are known as pseudo-random numbers generated with relatively simple digital circuits. In this paper, we present a single-flux-quantum digital circuit that generated three output bits of a 4-bit M-sequence in one clock operation. The circuit comprised three clocked exclusive-or gates, one delay flip-flop, three dc/SFQ converters (for set, reset, and low-frequency clock signals), and three SFQ/dc converters (for three parallel outputs), all of which were integrated on a superconducting Nb chip. A 10-GHz clock generator was also implemented for high-speed testing. The total number of Nb/AlO
_x
/Nb Josephson junctions was 568. Verilog simulation demonstrated correct circuit operation with a 20-GHz clock, which corresponded to the generation rate of 60 Gb/s. The measurement was carried out in a liquid helium bath. Low-speed testing with a 1-kHz clock demonstrated periodic signals of three parallelized 4-bit M-sequence. We also confirmed that the outputs were correctly shifted when 13 clock signals of 10 GHz were fed between two 1-kHz clock signals.