Integration of Optical Waveguides With Single Flux Quantum Circuits

Single flux quantum (SFQ) circuits and optical circuits are expected to be used in next-generation integrated circuits. This study investigates basic technologies for integrating optical circuits with SFQ circuits to exploit the advantages of both technologies. We calculated, designed and evaluated metal-clad waveguides, which can be fabricated by the ISTEC standard process (STD2). Light propagates along an 830-μm-long waveguide with a propagation loss of 16 dB/mm. We also designed and evaluated an optical-electrical (O-E) converter that uses a Josephson junction, which can be fabricated by the same process used to fabricate the SFQ circuits. When an optical signal with a peak power of 1.15 mW at 1.548 μm is input, the Josephson O-E converter generates SFQ pulses.